Karyn and Jon talked for a little while longer as they finished their coffee. Jon was eager to hear how things were going with her family, and Karyn was just happy to hear her best friend's voice, even if it wasn't his voice. When they had finished, they got up from the table, and Karyn clamped Jon in a hug so tight she could barely breathe.
"I'm so glad you're alive, Jon," she said. "You're the best friend I've ever had, you know that?"
Jon smiled and returned the embrace. It felt kind of odd, now that she was the shorter of the two; even odder was the sensation of her breasts squashing against Karyn. This was entirely new to her; Dr. LaRue was a nice enough person, but not really a hands-on type, so this was the first time Jon had hugged someone as a girl.
"Thanks," she said. "I know it must have been a whole lot harder for you, but...I can't even begin to tell you how glad I am to see you."
They remained there for a while, just holding each other, until Jon spoke up. "Listen, Karyn," she said, extricating herself from her friend's bear-hug, "I have to go pretty soon; the doctor drove me here, since I don't actually have a legal identity, let alone a driver's license. But...if you're not busy, do you want to come over for the evening?"
Karyn laughed. "Are you kidding? I'm not letting you out of my sight!"
They found Dr. LaRue in a Radio Shack on the other side of the mall, after several minutes of searching. It was during this time that Jon began to notice people noticing her. At first, she figured they were just looking at Karyn, and in fact many of them were; she stood out a fair bit, after all. She'd always been a bit on the tall side for a girl of her age, but with her wish-altered breasts and hair she cut a pretty distinctive figure indeed. But as many stares as Karyn got, Jon realized that some were directed at her, as well.
She wasn't quite sure how she felt about that. It was a weird and kind of unsettling realization, but it didn't seem to feel as disturbing as she'd figured it would. Maybe it was just that nobody was approaching her. People would turn to look at pretty much any random passerby, but if anybody was more interested in Jon, they were keeping it to themselves, which was fine with her.
She set these thoughts aside as she approached Anne, who was idly browsing through drawers of TTL components. "Hey, doctor," she said, "ready to go?"
Dr. LaRue looked up. "Oh, hi, Jo-uh, dear," she said. "Yes, I'm about ready to head out here. Is this your friend?"
Jon nodded. "Yes, this is Karyn; she's going to be coming over for the evening. Karyn, this is Anne LaRue."
Karyn smiled. "Pleased to meet you."
The doctor nodded. "Likewise. Let me just pay for these, and we can get going."
