She actually smiled at him. "Hey, squirt." That was the name she used for Mikey. Apparently, older Zoe called him that now too.
"Jon, are you all right?" his mom said. "You look pale."
"I'm fine," he croaked, lying.
His mother urged him into a nearby chair. "Do you need me to call a doctor?'
"I'm fine," he insisted, the croaking faded.
"Well, sit right there. If after you have something to eat, you don't feel better, I'm taking you to the Immediate Care place."
He nodded, but knew that wasn't necessary.
She resumed working with Zoe, which was surprising in itself...Zoe wasn't usually helpful. But apparently, while he could still see evidence of her temper and somewhat fiery personality, she seemed to have grown out of being pissed off perpetually, which he certainly appreciated.
"Have you thought about what you are going to do when you finish school?" Linda asked Zoe.
"Mom, I'm only in my first year..." Zoe protested.
"Yes, but time goes by so quickly. Before you know it..." her mother replied.
Jon coughed at that. "What about you?" Zoe said. "Why aren't you doing what you want to do?"
"What? You mean going back to law school? The ship has sailed on that one." Linda began to fidget again as she said that. She wasn't fully aware things were shifting subtly, but Jon could see it as he sat there.
Zoe reached for something on the top shelf that was just out of reach, and suddenly seemed to grow again to reach it. When she turned around to put it on the counter, she noticed she was at height level with...her mind whirled again, looking at the woman next to her. "Linda, could you hand me the tongs?"
Linda paused for a second. It seemed...wrong for a moment for Zoe to call her by her name. She looked at the woman next to her, disoriented, and tried to figure out why. Why would it bother me? She asked herself, looking at the 20 year old. I'm only... she paused, it taking her a moment. I'm only 28. It's not like I'm much older than she is.
"Linda...? Hello, in there," Zoe said.
She shook her head. "Sorry..." she said.
"Jeeze," Zoe responded. "you are acting spacey today. I thought you were supposed to be the responsible older sister."
That was right...Zoe was her kid sister. Somehow, it seemed right, and didn't.
To Jon, sitting there, temporarily forgotten about by the two women in the haze they seemed to be in, it was definitely wrong. He'd watched his sister mature before his eyes, and his mother regress. He couldn't peg down their exact ages, but there was less than a decade between them. They did look more like sisters.
But...if they were sisters...who was he? This wasn't like a traditional wish. Wishes were instantaneous. This was slow...and seemed limited. So far, although that might not keep up, only Zoe and his mom had changed. Nothing else seemed to. He didn't recognize his mother's clothes, but Zoe was wearing the same ratty black t-shirt that was, with her height increase, on the edge of indecency.
