Karyn giggled, "Mine silly, we're already here."
They exited the study, and encountered Karyn's parents.
"Ah, they've emerged.", Karyn's mother, Carol said. "Jon, since you're my new son-in-law, you can call me Mother or Carol. We've already phoned your parents and told them you'd be spending the night at our house. We knew you two needed a chance to talk, so we left you alone, but we were just about to interrupt. Now come on, it's getting kind of late and the restaurant will be closing before we get there if we don't leave soon."
Jon and Karyn were caught in Karyn's parent's wake. When Jon tried to tactfully disengage Carol made it quite clear that they were all going to celebrate the new marriage at the restaurant tonight. It would have taken a wish to alter that fate, and Jon was by now far to cautious to use a wish just to avoid something like going out to dinner with the new in-laws.
Dinner was good, but it was late when they left the restaurant. Carol made it clear that they were expected to go to school tomorrow. All of the parents involved would support the newlywed couple for the next eighteen months so that the pair got their high-school diplomas. But finishing school with acceptable grades was the priority. Jon and Karyn had to do about an hour's studying and homework on the dining-room table before the new mother-in-law was satisfied.
"Ok, you two, now go take a bath together upstairs. It's the best way to get used to each other.", Carol instructed. "Jon, put your clothes outside the bathroom door and I'll start a load of laundry. They'll be ready by a few minutes before you have to leave for school. And remember, you have to get up in the morning, so try to get some sleep tonight too. "
They were both yawning as they went upstairs.
Getting undressed in front of each other was definitely a new experience. Though the rock had fabricated a past where Jon had made Karyn pregnant, this was their first time for such an intimate experience. They washed each other slowly and carefully as this was a new task, and were both struggling to keep their eyes open by the time they were both clean.
When they got to Karyn's bedroom, she immediately crawled under the covers, already almost asleep. Jon, sleepy but also wanting to satisfy his desires, gently reminded her that this was their wedding night, and he hoped to finally experience what it was all about for the first time. He was met with a soft, cute, snore. Jon couldn't bring himself to wake Karyn up.
The temptation of using a wish crossed his mind as he tried to find a solution. Jon quickly discounted using a wish, especially as tired and likely to make a mistake as he was. But it was suddenly urgent that he found where the rock had gone to. He must have left it in his pants pocket, outside the bathroom door.
Jon went to search for the laundry area wearing a towel.
Jon found the washer running, stopped the washer, and fished through the soggy clothes for several minutes. His towel tried to fall off several times. Finally, he noticed his wallet, keys, and the box with the wish rock among other apparently rescued items on a nearby shelf.. Relieved, he took his prizes back to Karyn's room. He really needed to be more careful.
But he was still in the same dilemma as before. And with Karyn sprawled out all over the bed, there really wasn't much room to sleep if he did give in.
