Jon arrived home to find the house in a laughing uproar. His mom had her camera out and set up on a tripod out in the front yard, directing his father on posing with his parasol in front of the rosebush.
"Oh, Roger, you look so good like that!" she laughed, and he laughed along with her, curtsying in his Southern belle dress, twirling a finger in long hair that he didn't have.
"Those should work well for the annual photo album, at the very least," his dad offered. He gestured at Jon. "Jon, c'mon get over here, we don't have any pictures of you yet."
Jon rolled his eyes. Apparently this was a thing now, too, although it made as much sense as anything else. He dutifully walked over and posed with his dad.
"Ok, just Jon by himself for a few. Give us your best party girl look, Jon!" his mom instructed.
Pictures by himself and then alongside the rest of the family took another 15 minutes before his mom was satisfied. "Ok, dinner time, let's eat!"
Dinner itself was the usual, except that everyone seemed to get along a little better than they normally would. Mikey told a story about falling and skinning his knee at recess and worrying he'd ripped his pants for a minute. Zoe shared that her friend Athena had been able to find black options in her closet, even if they were meant for a five-year-old, so Athena had at least come out even on the day. Jon's father mentioned how he'd been able to make a few sales but only because he did them through the phone - if he'd had to run Zoom calls, they probably would have taken one look at him and dropped the call!
Finally, that night, after homework in his room, Jon's phone buzzed. He picked it up.
"... I'm sorry too." Karyn offered.
"No, hey, I get it. I don't think I deserved all of what might happen, but I did basically rewrite an entire town's history with a single wish, so maybe I do deserve it."
"You didn't mean to. We just... we both need to be a bit more careful, I guess."
"Haven't we both known that since Sunday night when you became blonde and changed your, you know?" Jon offered.
"Fair enough. So. How was soccer practice?" she asked.
"I don't know if I know how to play. But apparently we have a few games this month that they need me for, which I guess would mean a uniform, so if what you told me is right, that means I'd be picking up a few physical penalties or something," he guessed.
Karyn chuckled. "It's very funny to think of you getting physically cursed by a witch because of a game you don't even know how to play."
"We'll see tomorrow if your wishes stuck me with some inherent trained ability, I guess, depending on how bad my closet is. I would wish to get off the team but that might set in motion a whole other reality that it's best to avoid." He looked down at his heels. "When am I allowed to get undressed for bed, by the way? Do I have to wear these heels to bed?"
"... generally, if you're going to bed within 30 minutes, you're ok. There's a window of time when you're allowed to take off the clothes you've put on for the day. Once you take something off, you've got a half hour before it needs to be back on or you'll wake up with the physical penalty the next day. But at night, as long as you are in bed within 30 minutes of geting undressed, there shouldn't be a penalty. Most people sleep naked during October, to be honest."
"Well, that's a visual I didn't need," he grumbled.
"Maybe there'll be a good day this week when our clothes match up well enough that we can have a nice date. It'll help if neither of us is in diving gear. And if I'm not pissed at you," Karyn suggested.
"That... that sounds good. Here's hoping," Jon smiled. "Call you in the morning to discuss our next closet assignment?"
"Looking forward to it." He could hear her smiling on the other end of the line. "And Jon... I'll help you through whatever physical penalties you end up with because of my wish, ok? I promise."
"I know you will. Thanks."
"Ok. Night, Jon. Love you." Karyn's voice came soft and sweet.
"Love you, too," Jon hung up and shook his head.
Here's hoping that tomorrow's closet isn't too awful, he thought.
