Jenna and I shared a quick kiss then I told her, "I wish we could do something to help Sherry and Erin."

  "Granted of course!" my girlfriend responded with a bright smile and flick of her wrist.

  It almost seemed as though reality flickered just then, and I blinked once or twice as it dawned on me that several details had suddenly changed.

  Jenna and I remained seated together on one side of the rge booth in that fancy restaurant. Erin and Sherry were still seated across from us, and the four of us were all part-way through our meals. Except this wasn't an awkward dinner meeting with my retirement-age boss and her dying wife anymore. Now it was a double-date, and the four of us were here to celebrate and have a good time.

  Erin was still my boss and coworker, but she was also my friend. She was roughly a year and a half younger than me at age twenty-three, and she looked fantastic. Her long lustrous brown hair hung down past her shoulders instead of being tied up in a tight little bun, and her hazel eyes sparkled with youthful vigour. Her fair skin looked smooth and soft, with a warm healthy glow. She now wore a cute little bck dress with a low neckline, and her make-up was subtle but on point.

  It was the same with Sherry, who at twenty-five years old was now the same age as me. Her sunny blonde hair hung down to her shoulders in rge loose curls, and her bright blue eyes twinkled with excitement. Her smooth fwless skin looked slightly tanned, and there was a rexed confidence to her posture and the way she sat. She was dressed in a pair of loose bck scks and an attractive maroon blouse.

  Apart from our dining companions I noticed a couple other subtle changes to the scene. Our wine gsses had all vanished, and so had the bottle of fancy French wine. Instead there were now four half-full champagne flutes on the table, along with an open bottle of some local Ontario sparkling wine currently chilling in a bucket of ice. And instead of a pasta dish she'd barely touched, Sherry now had a half-finished sirloin steak in front of her, and a baked potato with all the trimmings.

  Neither Sherry or Erin were bothering with their food at the moment though. They were both staring at each other, and from what I could see their emotions were a mix of surprise, amazement, joy, and love. That st one became even more obvious as they gravitated closer together, then exchanged a long hug and a passionate kiss.

  After a second or two I looked away, so I wasn't staring while they shared an intimate moment. Instead I stole a quick gnce around the restaurant to see if anyone else noticed the magic that just happened here. Nobody was staring though, and there'd been no change in the quiet din of other guests enjoying their own meals and conversation throughout the dining room. It seemed like only the four of us were aware of the impossible transformations that had just taken pce.

  Eventually the sound of soft but intense whispers pulled my attention back to the young couple seated across from Jenna and I. They were still hugging each other, but were now engaged in a quiet discussion. And while I couldn't make out what either of them were saying, I knew Erin well enough to recognize from her body nguage that something had startled or armed her.

  Considering they'd just been the recipients of some reality-bending magic it wasn't hard to guess that's what my boss was reacting to. And naturally that left me feeling worried. I couldn't help thinking something must have gone wrong, although it seemed like Sherry was quietly trying to assuage whatever concerns her wife had.

  My girlfriend obviously knew me well enough to recognize I was getting anxious, because that's when she decided to distract me. I felt her arms wrap around me, then she pulled me into a hug and pnted a kiss on my lips.

  I returned the kiss before whispering, "What did you do? What's got Erin so surprised?"

  "Shh," Jenna responded softly. She moved so her lips were by my ears then added, "You know I won't share the details of their wishes Vikki."

  She paused a moment to nibble on my earlobe and kiss my neck before continuing just as quietly, "I told them to be as specific as possible, but they were still somewhat vague. Enough to give me plenty of leeway, especially with one of their wishes. So I was able to give them what they truly wanted, even if they didn't specifically ask for it."

  "Don't worry love," she paused there to give me another kiss. "I'd never do anything to upset you. And that means I'd never do anything that upset your friends either."

  I stole another quick gnce across the table, and sure enough it seemed like Erin was starting to calm down again. She and her wife were still hugging and exchanging kisses, in between their own whispered conversation. And from what I could see, it looked like Sherry was doing a good job putting her wife at ease.

  In fact Sherry was the one who eventually broke the silence around the table. After making sure Erin was ok she smiled at Jenna and I then picked up her champagne gss and suggested, "How about a toast? To good health, and good friends?"

  "I'll drink to that!" Jenna smiled back at her and picked up her own gss.

  Erin took up her gss as well and agreed, "To good health, good friends."

  I raised my gss and repeated the toast, "To good health and good friends."

  All four of us gently touched our gsses together, then drank back the st of the sweet bubbly wine.

  "Jenna, Vikki," Sherry addressed us as she set her empty gss back down, "Thank you both. I know I was sceptical at first, but this is amazing. Incredible. Miraculous even. It's wonderful and I don't think Erin and I can ever thank you enough. If there's anything we can ever do for you two, please don't hesitate to ask."

  Despite whatever surprise she'd been reacting to earlier, Erin seemed to agree wholeheartedly with her wife. She nodded, "The two of us are in your debt. This is... Like my wife said, it's a miracle. Thank you."

  "You're both very welcome," Jenna responded.

  I nodded, "I'm just gd you're both happy."

  "And you look amazing," I added with a smile. "Really, you both look fantastic. Young, beautiful, and above all, healthy."

  The other couple both smiled, and shared a loving look between them. Then Sherry suggested, "Perhaps we should focus on our dinner again? This lovely food's going to get cold if we keep ignoring it."

  "Good idea hon," Erin replied. Then as the four of us started eating her expression fell slightly as something else seemed to cross her mind. She frowned, "How in the world am I going to expin this to Jason on Monday?"

  "And what will I tell Jesse, next time I see her?" Erin added as her frown grew a little deeper.

  Before anyone could respond our waiter approached the table. He picked up the champagne bottle and emptied it into our four gsses as he asked, "How are you dies doing? Can I get you anything else?"

  Sherry gnced around the table at the rest of us and suggested, "Another bottle of bubbly?"

  "Sure!" Jenna smiled.

  Erin needed a second or two to think it over before she agreed, "Yeah ok. It's a celebration after all, so another bottle."

  "All right then," the waiter smiled. "I'll be right back with that."

  He took the empty bottle and the ice bucket with him as he headed away. Then Sherry pointed out to her wife, "Maybe Jason won't realize anything's changed? Our waiter certainly didn't seem to notice anything unusual about us just now."

  My boss frowned slightly as she looked across to Jenna and I. "Is that true? Will nobody else notice how Sherry and I have changed?"

  "Does that mean they'll still see us as we were?" she added as her frown deepened again. "Will Sherry's doctors still think they're treating her for..."

  Jenna kept her voice down as she responded, "Everyone sees you as you are now. Whether or not people notice anything unusual about that will depend on how well they know you and what their expectations are. And for those who do notice, how they react will depend on whether or not they're willing to believe in magic or miracles."

  "If you have any pending doctors appointments you can just cancel them," my girlfriend added as she looked to Sherry. "They won't question it, they won't worry about it."

  Erin frowned, "So the waiter doesn't realize anything's different because we're just customers to him, in another hour or two we'll be gone and he doesn't need to think about us beyond that. But Jason McTavish has worked for me for years, and while he's much better now he used to be a bit of a misogynist. He's going to notice, and I have no idea how he'll feel about working for someone half his age."

  "Jason doesn't know anything about magic though," she added softly. "Surely he'll suspect something along those lines? There's no other expnation for how Sherry and I have changed."

  I grimaced but suggested, "Cross that bridge when it comes?"

  My boss was still frowning when our waiter returned a minute ter with another bottle of sparkling wine in a fresh bucket of ice. He opened it for us then topped up all our gsses before pcing the bottle back on ice again.

  Sherry thanked him, then as the four of us continued enjoying our meal she addressed her wife, "Vikki's right dear. We're supposed to be celebrating tonight, so let's try not to worry too much about those other details. Ok? Let's just enjoy ourselves, this delicious meal, and the company of our friends. Save the worrying for another day."

  "Alright hon," Erin responded. "You're right."

  Then she smiled and picked up her gss as she added, "Cheers."

  That led to the rest of us reaching for our gsses as well. We all repeated her "Cheers" before having a gulp of the cool crisp bubbly wine. Then as I set my gss back down I decided that was enough for me. I still had to drive Jenna and I home after dinner, so from that point I'd be nursing the wine and mostly focusing on my gss of water instead.

  I noticed Erin appeared to have made the same choice, she stopped drinking her sparkling wine at around the same time. Our dates didn't seem to mind though, assuming they even noticed. Sherry was definitely enjoying herself and the drinks along with her meal, and even Jenna seemed to be enjoying the sweet bubbly wine.

  As we all continued our meal the conversation bounced around from one topic to the next, but I could tell Erin was still concerned about how some folks were going to react next time they saw her and her wife. I had some concerns of my own on that front too, especially regarding my coworker. I couldn't help worrying that if Jason found out about magic, and more specifically about Jenna, then it wouldn't be hard to put two and two together and figure out my girlfriend's magic was responsible for his life-changing epiphany a few months earlier.

  Eventually the waiter came back to clear away the dishes, once we'd all had enough to eat. He also asked if anyone was interested in dessert or an after-dinner drink, and Sherry decided she wanted to see the menu.

  We all had a look at the options, then Sherry and Erin ordered a slice of a decadent-looking chocote mousse cake to share. Meanwhile Jenna and I agreed to share a piece of cheesecake smothered in sweet cherry compote. Sherry also ordered an Irish cream coffee, while Erin and I opted for coffee of the non-alcoholic variety. And Jenna got herself a vanil milkshake, although I was pretty sure that wasn't on the menu.

  In the end none of us were able to finish our desserts, but we did our best. Then after we'd all admitted defeat, I ended up cuddling with Jenna while she slurped her shake and I sipped my coffee. My boss and her wife did the same, the two of them sat with arms around each other as they rexed and enjoyed their coffees.

  "Vikki I owe you an apology," Erin suddenly commented. "You too Jenna."

  She took a deep breath then continued, "I'm sorry I was unsupportive of your retionship at first. I'm sorry I was suspicious of you Jenna, and I'm sorry I let my fears and prejudices get the better of me. And finally, I'm grateful for everything you've done for my wife and I. You've given us both an amazing gift, and I don't know that we can ever repay you."

  "Indeed," Sherry stated. She gave my girlfriend a serious look as she went on, "Erin and I are indebted to you two. We can't thank you enough for the miracle you've given us."

  Jenna just smiled at them, but she was apparently too busy trying to get the st of her milkshake to cooperate with her straw to actually say anything.

  So I gave my boss and her wife a warm smile and told them, "You're both welcome. And please don't worry about repaying us. Seriously, I'm just happy Jenna and I could help. Sherry, I'm gd you've got your health back. And I'm gd both of you are happy with how everything worked out."

  PurpleCatGirl