Announcementcontent warning: discussion of medical symptoms; brief mention of suicidal intentionsJenna and I turned our stay-at-home date night on Friday into a weekend-long event, where neither of us got dressed or left the house at all. We spent Saturday morning watching cartoons on the big screen in the basement, then tried out the pool table and had a go at pying darts.

  Saturday night we did another stay-in date, but instead of heating up frozen food we had pizza delivered. Sunday was a little more productive. My girlfriend took a couple hours to do homework, while I checked my work emails. I also reviewed the newest local property listings online, so I'd know what was avaible in case I had clients looking for something specific.

  Now it was Monday, and I couldn't help feeling apprehensive about seeing Erin when I got to the office. I knew she was pnning on making her new arrangements official today. She was going to tell Jason about her pn to cut back to one day a week, and that information would probably go up on the web site too.

  I really wanted to speak with her first though. I needed to know what she'd decided, and if she'd given my offer serious thought or if she was just dismissing it out of hand due to her own fears and prejudices.

  So after I dropped Jenna off at college I headed straight into the office. I was the first one in so I opened the pce up and turned on all the lights and everything. Then once I was at my desk I sent my boss an email asking if we could talk as soon as she got in.

  Jason was the next to arrive, about five minutes after me. He was in a surprisingly good mood too, despite it being Monday morning.

  "Here you go Vikki," he announced as he pced a cup of hot coffee down on my desk in front of me. Then he held out a box of fresh-baked goodness and added, "Have a donut!"

  "Thanks Jason," I smiled and picked out one of the creme-filled treats.

  Then before taking a bite I commented, "You're awfully cheerful this morning. What happened over the weekend that's got you in such a good mood?"

  For a moment it seemed like he wasn't going to answer, but he quickly relented.

  "I don't remember if I ever mentioned this," he began as his mood dropped, "But my wife walked out on me a couple years ago. Entirely my fault, honestly she should have left even sooner. Hell I was lucky to have her at all, the way I used to be."

  His mood quickly picked up again as he continued, "But Lay and I started talking again about a month and a half ago, after I had my epiphany? Then four weeks ago we went out on a second first date. We've had a few more dates since then, and as of two days ago we're officially patching things up between us!"

  "Wow," I responded as my eyes widened and I smiled at him again. "That's great news Jason, congratutions!"

  As happy as I was for the guy, I still had some mixed feelings about the whole situation. Like on the one hand I felt pretty confident this was more fall-out from my accidental wish way back at that very first open house. On the other hand I couldn't deny that it felt like nothing but good news came out of that accident.

  Not only was he less of a jerk and a lot nicer to work with, but despite his initial guilt about his past behaviour he seemed a lot happier over-all. Especially this morning. In fact he even started humming to himself as he disappeared into his office, after leaving the box of donuts on top of a filing cabinet so we could all help ourselves to more.

  So I tried to focus on the positive, as I sat there sipping my coffee and savouring my donut. That sted about a half hour, then Erin arrived right about the time I finished the st of my coffee. She looked weary though, which worried me considering it was barely half past nine in the morning.

  Jason had left our boss's coffee on her desk, and after greeting her he pointed her to the donut box as well. Erin thanked him for being so thoughtful, but only a minute or two after getting settled she called me into her office for a meeting.

  "Close the door please Vikki," she added as soon as I stepped inside.

  I did so, then sat down in one of the guest chairs and asked, "Is everything ok Erin? How are you doing? How's Sherry?"

  She took a deep breath then let out a long sigh before responding, "I'm fine hon. Just tired. It's been a rough weekend, for both Sherry and I."

  "And before you ask," she added quickly, "I have indeed been considering your offer."

  I nodded once, but it felt like there was no point pressuring her for an answer. Same with trying harder to convince her, although I'd probably give that a shot if she made the wrong choice. So for the moment I simply kept quiet and waited to see what she had to say.

  Erin had a sip of the lukewarm coffee Jason left for her, then set the cup aside. She took another deep breath, which she let out in a second long slow sigh. And when she finally spoke, instead of answering my unasked question she began by talking about her wife.

  "Sherry's symptoms first showed up almost fourteen years ago," my boss said quietly, as she stared at a spot on her desk. "They were retively minor at first, easy to overlook or dismiss. It took a full year before I was able to convince her to speak with our doctor about them. And that led to a few years of guesswork and tests, trying to figure out exactly what was wrong. She didn't get an official diagnosis until about eleven years ago."

  After a brief pause she continued, "It's a neurodegenerative disorder, and there's no cure. We were able to manage the symptoms for quite a while, longer than the doctors expected, but the prognosis was never great. Sherry has good days and bad days, and for a long time the good ones outnumbered the bad. Earlier this year things started to change, she began having more and more bad days. And a few weeks ago her symptoms got worse again, now it feels like the good days are few and far between."

  I started to say how sorry I was but Erin cut me off, she wasn't finished yet.

  "None of this was unexpected," she stated softly. "Sherry and I have talked about how things would py out a dozen times over the st decade. We both knew what was going to happen, and we both agreed that we were grateful for whatever time we had together. And I swore I'd always be there for her, no matter what."

  She sighed once more, "Now that things are accelerating we may only have six months left together. I'll have to become a full-time caregiver for my wife, while every day both her mind and body waste away a little more. She's having trouble swallowing food now, and she already needs a cane to get around. She's actually at the point where a walker would be safer, but it won't be long before she isn't able to walk at all. She's having mood swings, and her memory problems are getting worse..."

  "Erin I'm so sorry," I whispered after her voice trailed off.

  She nodded quietly as she continued staring down at her desk. Then after another deep breath she admitted, "Last year Sherry talked to me about making alternate arrangements. She... A lot of people with her condition do. Nobody wants to go through that, to have their life and mind slowly taken away bit by bit. People in that position, my wife included, would rather end it on their own terms. While they're still capable of understanding and making those sorts of decisions."

  By that point my blood had run cold. I gulped, "Please tell me she hasn't already...?"

  "Not yet," Erin replied as she shook her head. "But the topic came up again st night."

  "Oh," I sighed quietly.

  I went quiet after that, as everything she'd told me slowly sank in. And my boss was quiet as well. She seemed to be lost in thought, perhaps going over that conversation she mentioned. Or maybe she was actually thinking about accepting my genie's help.

  After another minute or so Erin finally spoke up again. She stated sadly, "So that's the future Sherry and I are facing. If we wait for the disease to run its course I might have one more xmas and new years with her, but odds are she'll be gone by spring next year. She's not prepared to leave it that long though. She doesn't want to lose any more of her memories, or her sense of self. She doesn't want that to be how we end our time together. And she doesn't want that to be how I remember her after she's gone."

  There was another brief pause before she looked me in the eyes and asked, "Are you certain your girlfriend can help? Could she actually cure this? Not just stop it where it is, but reverse the damage that's already been done? And without any negative side-effects, or magical shenanigans down the road?"

  I was about to reply that yes, absolutely Jenna could fix everything. I caught myself though, and ended up thinking for a few seconds. While I had no doubt whatsoever that my girlfriend could heal any physical ailment, I had no idea if her magic could recover lost memories or reverse any brain damage Sherry'd already suffered.

  On the one hand that seemed impossible, if information was gone then I couldn't think of any way to recover it. Then again, the more I thought about it the more certain I was that my genie could in fact do the impossible. She basically had the power to change reality after all. She even hinted once that time travel was possible, but she didn't like doing it because it was complicated.

  With that in mind I gave Erin my answer, "I'm confident that Jenna's magic can completely heal Sherry. Possibly even make it so she was never sick in the first pce. My girlfriend is able to change reality, so the ws of physics don't really apply to her."

  "And I can guarantee there will be no negative side-effects either," I added. "No unwanted magical shenanigans, no costs, no hidden gotchas. Like I told you on Friday, Jenna's got a soft-spot for queer people and she's a total romantic. She also knows how important you are to me Erin. She'd bend over backwards to help just based on that fact alone."

  My boss frowned as she considered my words. It wasn't long before she came up with another question though. "Would Sherry have to find out about the supernatural? Would she need to know about the magic?"

  "Not necessarily," I replied with a very small grimace.

  Erin frowned, "But? I can tell by your expression Vikki there's more to that answer."

  "Yeah there is," I nodded slowly. "A few things actually."

  I paused to collect my thoughts then began, "First off she's going to know something happened. If she's suddenly cured she's going to have questions. She probably won't jump straight to magic or genies or wishes, but she'll know something strange just happened. If she's religious maybe she'll assume it was a miracle or something like that?"

  My boss was already shaking her head, "Neither Sherry or I are religious. She doesn't believe in god, or magic, or any of that sort of thing."

  "In that case she might start searching for answers," I pointed out. "She might start digging for a rational or scientific expnation. And I'm sure she'll want to talk about the situation with you. Would you be comfortable lying to her, over and over, keeping the truth from her about what really happened?"

  That st question was rhetorical, and I didn't wait for a reply before I moved on to the other detail that was on my mind. "After thinking this over all weekend I'm not entirely comfortable doing anything behind Sherry's back. Or the fact that you're potentially making these decisions on her behalf, without her knowledge or consent. I feel like she should have a say in what happens to her, even though that means she has to find out that genies are real."

  Erin opened her mouth to protest but I cut her off before she could get a word in, "Especially because Jenna can do so much more for both of you, rather than just curing your wife's illness."

  After that I was finally quiet, while my boss regarded me with a frown.

  "Like what?" she finally asked. "What more could your girlfriend to for Sherry and I?"

  "I could gift you and your wife some wishes of your own," I replied.

  When she didn't respond right away I continued, "Instead of relying on me to wish for Sherry to be cured, she could do it herself. Or you could do it together. And more. I know it's possible, Jenna and I have already done it. She granted someone else three 'free' wishes, and that person used them to greatly improve their life and their health."

  My boss remained quiet for another few seconds, then she sighed. "Alright Vikki. Give me an hour or two to think this over, to try and come up with a way to talk to Sherry about all this. After I've spoken with my wife I'll let you know what we've decided, and we'll see where we go from there."

  I gave her a weak smile as I nodded, "Of course Erin. Thank you for listening, and for considering all the other possibilities."

  She just nodded slowly as she sat back in her chair with another thoughtful look on her face.

  PurpleCatGirl