Catherine-Jane Madison was a ten, almost-eleven year-old girl. But she still had vestiges of Jon in her, including his uncanny emotional insight. She'd seen the look on her mom's face when she'd talked about how dreamy Mr. Stevenson was -- which he was! All the girls in his class had a crush on him, except Molly O'Connor, who was always a bit odd.
But she knew that her Mom was thinking about stopping this romance before it started. CJ didn't know if the wish stone would let her do that, but she wasn't about to take any chances. Waiting until her mother was putting two jugs of skim milk on the conveyor belt, she quickly reached her hand into her mom's purse, grabbed the stone, and whispered, "I wish nothing would stop Mom and Mr. Stevenson from falling in love and getting married." She smiled as the brief flash escaped the purse.
Linda was worried about CJ -- Jon, she reminded herself -- after that last question. Could she seriously consider dating again with CJ in her life instead of Jon? Catherine-Jane was so young -- too young for her mother to be off chasing love again. And she wasn't even CJ! Not really. She had to put a stop to this and at least think about it. She'd call Mark tomorrow and tell him she'd reconsidered
(Even though he's so handsome)
Because Catherine-Jane, or Jon, or whoever she was, was her first priority. So she started to turn from the conveyor belt to tell CJ that they'd need to talk when she thought she saw CJ with her hand in Linda's purse, and then there was a flash, and--
Linda shook her head. Why had she been so worried about CJ? She was ten, almost eleven. She was so mature for her age (thanks to the wish that she would act like Linda would want her daughter to act). She could handle her mom dating again -- and Mark was the perfect first date to test the waters.
Mark's perfect in a lot of ways, she thought, getting that silly grin on her face again. CJ handed her her wallet, which she'd taken from Linda's purse (to cover reaching in for the stone). "Here you go, Mom," she announced in her soft, pleasant voice.
Linda smiled. She had a wonderful daughter, she was a thirty year-old woman in her prime, and she had a date! Life was good.
When they got home, CJ helped carry in the groceries, and after they were all put away, Linda let CJ stay up and read a bit past her bedtime as a reward. As her daughter opened up Anne of Green Gables and began to read, Linda allowed herself to daydream about the feeling of Mark Stevenson's lips on hers.
The next morning...
