On the way back to the church, Margaret asked Laura about the ring she was wearing.
"Oh, you finally noticed that, huh?" Laura said.
"Yeah, where'd you get it?" Margaret asked.
"It was a gift. An anonymous gift, actually. I ain't gotta a clue who sent it to me," she said.
"Did you just say the word 'ain't'?" Margaret asked.
Laura blinked. Did she?
Margaret drove the car into the church parking lot, then parked next to Laura's car ... the only other car in the lot. They both got out and stared at the car next to them.
"That's not my car," Laura said. It was a gray-colored sedan, the same one she drove to the church that morning. But Laura's new memories told her that she drove a sportier, more vibrant-colored car, not something as plain-looking as that. "What happened to my car? Did someone steal it?"
"Hold on," Margaret said. "I'm sure there's a good reason for this. We don't live in a bad neighborhood. Maybe it was towed or something."
"Why would my car get towed?"
Margaret shrugged her shoulders.
"I think I should call the cops and report it stolen. I can't believe this is happening to me. How will I explain this to Roger?" Roger was Laura's husband (both in the normal reality and in the new one ... which only existed for Laura and Margaret, so far).
She took her cellphone out of her purse (a much more stylish-looking purse now), and called 9-1-1. The operator on the other end said that a police car would be meeting her at the church parking lot soon.
"They'll be here soon," Laura said. She sighed. "I hope whoever stole my car isn't doing something horrible to it, like chopping it up and selling off the parts."
"I'm sure that's not the case." Margaret looked at the ring on Laura's finger. "You know, David and I are hosting a dinner tonight. I think that ring would look good on me. You don't mind if I borrow it, do you? I'll give it back to you tomorrow." David was Margaret's husband and the pastor of the church.
Laura looked down at the ring, which stood out on the still-darkening skin tone of her hand, then said ...
