Jon felt uncomfortable sitting in Karyn's new SUV. Sure, she apparently kept it clean and in good condition ... but it was a freakin' gas-guzzler! He felt like he riding in a semi-truck or some kind of industrial vehicle. What bothered him the most, however, was that it was Karyn who was gladly driving it. Back before she was changed, she would have been disgusted even thinking about driving one of these things. But now ...
On the way to Sarah's house, she turned on the radio and listened to ... ugh ... Rush Limbaugh. And after only about a half a minute of hearing Karyn constantly agreeing with what that hateful and narrow-minded man was saying, Jon had had enough.
"Karyn, can we talk?" Jon asked.
She looked annoyed at him, probably because he was talking over her favorite radio host and couldn't hear his fascist propaganda. But then she turned off the radio.
"What is it, Jon? Having second thoughts about our compromise?" she asked, sounding irritated.
"No, that's not it. Did you ... uh ... notice anything different about my mom?" he asked. He noticed that when they came downstairs, his mother made no mention of the argument she and Karyn had earlier. Perhaps it was because reality changed and this new version of his mom didn't remember it happening because it didn't happen? Except for Jon, of course. For some reason, his memories haven't changed. Maybe Sarah made it that way to torture him.
"No, why?" Karyn answered.
That settled that. Karyn didn't know anything was different. She actually thought that Jon's mom was supposed be a right-wing bitch, like her. Jon was still wrapping his mind around that. If his mom was conservative now ... how did that affect his family? She didn't really treat Jon any different than normal, other than the fact that she herself had changed and had different viewpoints now, but of course, they barely had a conversation with each other. Not that any of it mattered, though. Once he got the stone back, he was going to fix (or try to fix) everything right away. He wasn't going to live the rest of his life with a Nazi-bitch as his mother.
After stopping at a stoplight for a moment, the light turned green and Karyn almost hit the gas, but before she did (thankfully she was an attentive driver), a guy on a bicycle crossed the road in front of them. Karyn leaned out the window and gave the guy the middle finger, yelling "Get off the road, you fuckin' hippie!"
"Karyn!" Jon yelled, his eyes wide.
"What?" she snapped, turning and glaring at Jon.
"Just because he's riding a bike, it doesn't mean he's a hippie."
"Nonsense. All bicycle-riders are hippies. Thank God there won't be any of those potheads at the mixer tonight."
Jon wanted his Karyn back more than ever. Wait, what did she say? "Mixer?" he asked.
"Yes, the local Republicans are holding a Christian Youth mixer down at the church."
The church? Jon thought. Karyn didn't go to church. Well, maybe on Christmas, but that was a holiday thing. Was there any of the original Karyn left in her? It really was like he was with a stranger, only with Karyn's memories.
"I guess I'll be seeing your mother there," she said. "I'll tell her 'hi' for you."
If Jon had been drinking something, it would have come out of his nose at that moment. "My mom?"
"Yes, she's chaperoning it. You didn't know?" she asked, surprised that he hadn't.
Was his mom a really active church-going person now? He shuddered, feeling like the mother he knew and loved was gone. He needed to get that stone back!
"Well, we're here," Karyn said, parking on the side of the road. "1310 Wilmington Lane." She turned off her monstrosity of a car, then got out. And then Jon got out too, feeling a bit uncomfortable to be seen with her in public like this. He hoped that people wouldn't get the wrong idea, seeing him with her. He didn't want people to think that he was ... ugh ... conservative.
Karyn walked straight up to the McMillan family's front door and pounded on it. "Sarah! I know you're in there! Open up!"
"Hey, what are you doing? How about subtle and covertly?" Jon said in hushed, but emphasized, tones. "We don't want her to know we're here. If she knows, then she can use the stone on us."
A moment later, the door opened.
