=::= Erin Rhodes' PoV =::=

  I knew Vikki was eager to help Sherry, and for that matter I was almost impatient to see my wife's health restored. But I certainly didn't expect the young woman to use the 'W' word right there in the restaurant. The explosion of pink confetti and sparkles was an even bigger surprise, but the real shock came as all that faded.

  Sherry and I found ourselves sitting alone in the booth. Both Vikki and her girlfriend had vanished, along with our meals and the dishes and gsses and everything else. In fact the entire restaurant seemed to have receded into darkness. The only source of light was the one directly over our table, leaving my wife and I alone in a quiet eerie empty space.

  My heart was racing and I only just had time to wrap my arm around Sherry's shoulders when the genie reappeared. She wasn't sitting across from us though, she was standing next to the booth this time. And instead of the little pink dress she'd been wearing a few moments earlier she was now done up like one of the waiters, in bck scks and a white button-down blouse with a little bck bow-tie.

  "Hello Sherry and Erin," she greeted us with an excited smile. "I'm Jenna, and I'll be your genie this evening. Would you like to hear about our wish specials tonight, or if you prefer I can leave you with some wish menus to look at?"

  Sherry and I both stared up at Jenna for another second or two as I slowly figured out what was going on. Instead of just talking to us about saving my wife's life like a mature responsible adult she was pretending to be a waiter and making this into some sort of silly make-believe game.

  And I didn't know whether to be angry that she wasn't taking the matter seriously, or terrified at her casual demonstration of reality-bending power. I had no idea what had happened to Vikki and everyone else in the restaurant. Or maybe they were all fine and it was Sherry and I who'd vanished, spirited away to some shadow realm to be subjected to the genie's whims.

  That's when I felt my wife slip her arm around me, and she gave me a reassuring squeeze while addressing the supernatural being in front of us.

  "Is this how genies really work?" Sherry asked. "I was expecting a ntern and smoke and the offer of three wishes."

  Jenna grinned, "I like to mix things up now and then, so it doesn't get stale? And since you two already know I'm a genie there wasn't really any need to do the whole 'genie wishes reveal' speech."

  "If you don't like the waitress schtick I can drop it and try something else," the young woman offered with another enthusiastic smile. "Oh! I could give you the whole big song and dance if you like? Vikki never let me do that, and it's really good! I mean, there's choreography and back-up dancers and everything!"

  My wife replied patiently, "That's alright Jenna. The waitress thing is fine, I was just surprised. So please, go ahead and tell us about the specials. Then I think Erin and I should have a look at the menu."

  "Ok!" the genie replied brightly. "So thanks to my gorgeous selfless generous girlfriend, you two lovebirds are here for an all-expenses-paid magical evening for two! Of course that includes the full three-course wish meal. And if I may, I'd strongly recommend starting off with our 'long happy healthy lives' appetizer. It's the perfect size for sharing with that special someone!"

  She continued, "For the entrée we have a selection of popur favourites, such as fame, wealth, and adventure. Our full make-over for two is another big hit, but if none of those appeal to the pate then we're happy to cook up any fvour of wish that interests you."

  "And for dessert may I suggest the exotic vacation travel package?" Jenna added. "Or if travel's not your thing, we also have some lovely home improvement wishes to chose from. And of course there's the ever-popur fshy new hers-and-hers matching cars option."

  By that point I wasn't sure if she was still doing a waitress thing or if the genie had slipped in to a 'game show host' act instead. Either way the hype really wasn't doing much for me. Sherry didn't seem to mind it though, and I wasn't about to spoil things for her.

  Then the genie produced two slim leather-bound menus out of thin air, and pced them down on the table before my wife and I. She smiled, "Please have a look at these, and of course if either of you have any questions, don't hesitate to ask! I am something of a wish sommelier, and I'm always happy to share a little knowledge and wisdom to ensure my customers enjoy the very best wish experiences possible!"

  "Thank you Jenna, we'll keep that in mind," Sherry replied as she picked up her menu.

  I kept one arm around my wife as I opened up my menu with my other hand. Inside there was just some sparse text printed on either side, and rather than more hype it actually seemed to be useful information.

  According to the 'wish menus' Sherry and I had three wishes, to be made jointly. Combination or 'couples' wishes were allowed, like the genie implied during her spiel. There were a few brief rules mentioned as well, which interested me. Like we couldn't wish someone back from the dead, nor could we wish for people to fall in or out of love. Time travel was also forbidden, and finally we could not wish for more wishes. Nor could we wish for Jenna to become 'our' genie, this was strictly a time-limited engagement.

  In addition to the 'rules' the text also expined that once we'd selected our 'three-course wish meal' all three wishes would be granted simultaneously. And finally, the 'menu' suggested that we make our wishes as specific as possible, to ensure the best and most-accurate outcomes possible.

  "What do you think love?" Sherry asked quietly. "We have three wishes to make between us, we should make sure not to waste them."

  I took a deep breath then agreed just as softly, "We should definitely think this over, and needless to say we need to be very careful about how we word things."

  Then I looked over at Jenna again and asked, "Could we have a little privacy for now please? So we can discuss our options?"

  "Of course!" the genie smiled. With a flick of her wrist a bottle and two gsses appeared on the table before us as she added, "Here's some complimentary refreshments incase you get thirsty. When you're ready to order just give me the signal and I'll be back!"

  She vanished a moment ter, leaving my wife and I completely alone once again in the dark quiet empty restaurant.

  "I get the feeling we're going to be trapped in this twilight-zone experience until we make our wishes," I sighed.

  My wife leaned against my side as she replied, "I'm sure Jenna would restore everything if we asked, love. I don't think she means to frighten us, she's just trying to be pyful."

  That made me grimace, "Supernatural beings with reality-bending powers being 'pyful' is an inherently terrifying concept."

  "Perhaps," Sherry agreed. Then she gestured, "Could you pour us both a drink please Erin? Then let's figure out what we're going to wish for. The sooner we do that, the sooner this will all be over."

  I couldn't argue with that, so I reached out and picked up the bottle. I was expecting the same sort of fine red Bordeaux we'd had with dinner, although this bottle was a different shape and didn't have any bels on it. The gsses were another clue, they were champagne flutes rather than wine gsses. And when I poured, the complimentary drink turned out to be some sort of bubbly rosé.

  "Oh!" Sherry reacted with surprise when she saw the pink sparkling wine. She picked up her gss and sniffed it then smiled, "Do you know what this is?"

  "Cheap pink bubbly?" I replied as I reluctantly poured a gss for myself.

  My wife had a sip of her drink then her smile grew wider, "It's pink Baby Duck! We had this on our very first date, back in eighty-nine!"

  "Oh," my eyes widened as I picked up my gss and took a small experimental sip.

  Sure enough Sherry was right. It was the same cheap sweet bubbly rosé we drank back when we were young and didn't know any better.

  "I think this is a sign," Sherry stated softly as she carefully pced her gss back on the table.

  I frowned, "A sign of what? Jenna's bad taste? Or that she's too cheap to spring for real champagne?"

  My wife gave me a little swat on the arm, "No silly. Think of what she said, the suggestions she made? A long healthy life together? A full make-over for two? I think she's suggesting we could start over..."

  Her voice trailed off for a moment as a thoughtful look settled on her expression. Then she said, "We had to wait almost twenty years before we could get married. It wasn't until we were in our te forties when the ws finally changed. Perhaps Jenna's hinting that she could let us have those years back, as wives this time?"

  "According to the menu she doesn't do time travel," I pointed out. "And even if she could, I'm not sure I'd like to go back to nineteen eighty-nine again. What would be the point? Unless she was to change the ws back then, we still couldn't get married right away."

  Sherry gave me a look, "That's not what I meant love. What if we could be in our twenties again right now? I think that's what she meant by a full make-over. And that's what she's hinting at, with the Baby Duck."

  "Oh," I mumbled as my eyes widened once more.

  That made a lot more sense than just going back in time to repeat what already happened. On the other hand it was still a scary concept, and left me with numerous questions. Like would we still have all the knowledge and experience we do now, or would we lose all the years we'd already had together? What about our home, our savings, and my business? Would we still have all of that if we were suddenly in our twenties again? And if we did, how would we expin that to people?

  While I was worrying about those details my wife stared at the menu again with another thoughtful look on her face. "It says 'combination wishes' are allowed, so we could do everything as joint wishes. One wish to ask for long healthy lives for both of us. Another wish for the 'full make-overs', so we could start over as young women again. And that still leaves us with a third wish... What do you think Erin? Fame? Fortune? Travel?"

  "I don't know hon," I grimaced. "It seems like too much. And I have so many questions. We need to be careful too, we need to ensure there's no hidden pitfalls, no way she could twist our wishes into something unpleasant."

  Sherry frowned at me, "You don't think Jenna would go to all this trouble just to try and trick us, do you? What about Vikki? Surely you trust her not to put us in any kind of danger? You told me you almost thought of her as an adopted daughter..."

  "Oh!" she suddenly excimed. "What if that was our third wish? That we could have children together? We never got the chance the first time around, we couldn't even adopt. But if we're starting over, this time we could have a family! Wouldn't that be wonderful Erin?"

  I hesitated, "It's... a lot."

  "You don't like the idea?" she asked with another frown. "Is it about having children? Or was it something else that's bothering you?"

  I shook my head and sighed, "It's not that hon. Or not just that? It's..."

  My voice trailed off and I ended up taking a deeper sip of that sickly sweet sparkling wine. Then with my cheeks colouring I admitted, "I'm worried about coming across as hypocritical. Like I told you the other day Sherry, I'm not a fan of the supernatural. I wasn't very supportive of Vikki when I first found out she was in a retionship with a genie. She's probably not going to think very much of me if I turn around and take advantage of that genie's magic as soon as there's something in it for me..."

  My wife frowned, "I obviously don't know Vikki as well as you do love, but I hardly think the girl would be so eager to have her girlfriend help us if she was going to turn around and act judgemental about it afterwards."

  "Honestly Erin," she added in a disappointed tone, "While I do think perhaps you owe both Jenna and Vikki an apology, I also think you're worrying over nothing. Now let's focus on our goals, alright? Then if you have questions we can discuss them with Jenna before we make our final decisions."

  "Alright hon," I agreed with a guilty smile.

  She and I spent what seemed like ten or twelve minutes going over the details of the three wishes she suggested. I ended up making notes on my phone, and tried to come up with some specific wording for each wish so there wouldn't be any chance of misunderstanding or misinterpretation.

  The first one was retively straightforward, and it wasn't too difficult to put it into a form that I figured was clear and concise. It took us a little longer to come to an agreement about the second wish, and I still had some practical and logistical concerns about how it would be executed.

  I couldn't argue with Sherry's reasoning though. Neither my wife or I were especially old, and if not for her health challenges we might have had another two decades or more ahead of us. But with the possibility of magic and the chance of a do-over, I suspected a lot of people our age would jump at the opportunity. Especially if the terms were favourable enough.

  The third wish was the most daunting. There was a time in my life when I desperately wanted children, but that time was long past. Then again, if Sherry and I were to be young again, odds were those maternal urges would rise up once more. I wasn't ready to commit to starting a family immediately, but my wife made the point that it should at least be a possibility.

  Jenna returned to stand next to the table when we were ready, and we spent several more minutes asking questions and receiving assurances that she had no intention of deceiving or deliberately misinterpreting our wishes. The genie also mentioned that Vikki would be especially upset with her if she ever did anything like that, and she'd do anything to avoid disappointing her girlfriend. Which was a sentiment both Sherry and I could rete to.

  In the end my wife and I reviewed our choices one st time. We hugged and exchanged a kiss, then we told the genie our wishes.

  "First," I began, "Sherry and I wish that both of us should have long healthy lives together, free of any illness or disease."

  My wife read the next one, "And to make the most of those long healthy lives, Erin and I wish we could have our youth restored, so that both of us were in our twenties again. However we don't want to start over from scratch, we don't want to lose all the knowledge and experience, all the years we've already shared. Or our home and our other assets."

  "And finally," I concluded after a deep breath, "Sherry and I wish that we should be able to start a family together, when we decide we're ready to raise some children."

  Jenna had a wide happy excited smile on her face as she looked back and forth between my wife and I. Then after I voiced our third wish the genie nodded once, and with a flick of her wrist she announced, "Granted!"

  PurpleCatGirl