It’s really unfair that the woman I see in the mirror in my dreams and the daughter I’ve unexpectedly gained look so alike. I nearly gave myself a heart attack.

“Uh… hey, Zoe, can I help you with something?”

“That’s Mom’s bed. We have a guest room for you.”

“Okay, okay, I’ll move down there tonight.”

Zoe turned on her heel and left without another word. On the one hand, I’m a little frustrated that she’s this hostile to me. On the other, she’s lost her father and mother in the course of two weeks and is now being told that her new parent’s going to be someone she never met. I can get why that’s not a welcome concept.

I throw on some of Josh’s clothes – they don’t fit well, but they certainly fit better than Jordyn’s – and head downstairs. Sam and Zoe are making breakfast for three, and I appreciate being included until I see a young woman sitting at the table who I recognize from pictures as Carina. She gives me a shy smile and wave and introduces herself. I do the same, and start looking for something for me to eat as well.

I try to make small talk during breakfast, but it’s clear that Zoe’s having none of it. Sam and Carina seem to be trying to stay out of the middle of the tension – or at least so I think. Near the end of the meal, Sam asks if I’d like Sarah to drive me to shop for some of my own clothes, since I don’t have a license yet. Zoe makes an angry noise and rolls her eyes, and Carina blows up at her. “I know you’re mourning and upset, but that’s no reason to treat this man that way! Zoe, you lost two people who mean a lot to you, he lost nineteen years of his life and he’s still trying to act his age. If you can’t do the same for him, I don’t know how I can expect you to do it for me!” She heads upstairs, eyes tearing up. Zoe forcefully shoves her chair away from the table, glares at me again, and stomps after her.

I look at Sam. “Yes, thank you, I’d love to go buy some clothes today. Maybe something cheap or thrift store while I figure out what style a thirty-eight-year-old man in 2024 should wear?” He nods, and gets his phone out to text Sarah.

I head up to Zoe’s room to try to make peace, but her door’s closed and I can hear her arguing with Carina. I may be younger than my face, but I’m old enough to know not to get in the middle of a fight between girlfriends. I pull out Jordyn’s phone and start looking for more information on the talisman while I wait for Sarah to get here. I do learn something new – that different wishes or different kinds of wishes can turn the center stone different colors – but the resources I’m able to find don’t seem to know what kind of wish makes the gem turn which color.

Sarah arrives, and she, Sam, and I head to the thrift store for some cheap clothes. On Sam’s advice, I go for jeans and khakis and some solid-colored t-shirts and polo shirts – they’re boring, but they won’t make me look out of place or out of time. We make lunch plans as we check out, and Sam texts Zoe and Carina to see if they’ll join us. Carina says she will; Zoe doesn’t reply.

At lunch, Carina opens up a little. Zoe’s hurt in a way I hadn’t considered. Not only did her father die and her mother get “lost”, but the new person in her life looks like Sam, making her feel isolated from him as well, and her girlfriend is “taking sides” on the side of Sam and his “new dad”. So Zoe’s gone from a support network of four people to a support network of maybe one person. Carina looks at me as she emphasizes, “Not that this excuses anything she’s done or said to you, Jordan – I told her she needs to get her act together since you two are going to be in the same house.” I nod in thanks.

Jordyn’s phone buzzes. It’s a text from Terry. He wants to meet with me tomorrow to try to straighten out my family’s estate. I let him know that any time he wants to meet is fine with me and get back to the lunch conversation. They’re discussing what games to get out tonight, hoping that it will help Zoe warm up to me. Most of the games they mention are games I’ve never heard of, so the conversation turns to the great new games of the last twenty years.

As we get ready to leave, the phone buzzes again, startling me. The kids laugh as I pull the phone out of my pocket – I don’t think I’ll ever get used to just how connected people are now. It’s a text from Zoe. She says she’s ready to talk to me. I excuse myself from the table and call her.

Zoe picks up and begins talking before I can say anything. “Okay, I know the way I reacted this morning was unfair, and I’m sorry that I’m still feeling unfair. I know this is hard for you too, and I want to make an effort to make this easier on both of us, but I don’t know what that is.”

I take a breath; this is a conversation that’s probably as far out of my league as it is out of hers. “What do you think your mom would tell you? Or Josh?”

She takes a few seconds before answering. “They’d both tell me that if nothing else, I should treat you as a guest in our house, and we treat our guests with kindness.”

I smile. “That sounds like the Josh Bradford I remember. I know that you’re not comfortable with me in a ‘parent’ role; I’m honestly not really comfortable in that role as well. Can I just be Jordan, a guest in your house? Maybe a distant relative you’ve never met?”

“Yeah, I think I can do that. But guests still sleep in the guest room.” She still sounds a little hardened, but I can hear her starting to soften.

“Deal. We’re all talking about taking some time to play board games tonight, you in?”

“If Carina’s in, I’m in. I need to apologize to her too.”

“I’ll let you get on that. See you tonight.”

Game night involves a lot of negotiation – apparently not too many games are well optimized for 5 players. We start with a drafting game called 7 Wonders, which Sam wins because I don’t realize I should stop him from collecting Science cards. We move on to a cooperative zombie survival game called Dead of Winter, and the group wins after uncovering Zoe as our colony’s traitor. We finish up with another cooperative game, Spirit Island, which goes very long since most of us are still learning it – we try to defend our island from the French, but they overwhelm us in the end. I’m pretty sure everyone has a good time, and it’s the first time since the wish ended that I truly feel like myself again.

After the games, Sarah and Carina go home, leaving me and my new family in the house alone. I ask Sam and Zoe to come with me to their parents’ bedroom. I take the ruby from the shattered wishing pendant out of Jordyn’s jewelry box. “I know this has been a really hard two weeks for you both, and while I want to be a part of your family – part of the family that Josh and Jordyn made – I don’t want either of you to think I was replacing them, and I truly wish you could have your mother back.” I hand Zoe the gem. “I was going to keep this as a memory of the wish I made for Josh that changed our lives, but I realize now that it’s more of a symbol of your mother’s love. You should keep it and have it reset.” I look at Sam. “I know I don’t have something similar to give you, but I will try to find something.” I look at the clock and realize it’s almost midnight. “Oh shit, that’s why I’m getting tired. Off to the guest bedroom for me. Enjoy the rest of your night.” As I leave, I notice Zoe staring into the ruby and starting to tear up. Sam watches me leave, looking like he had something he wants to say but isn’t ready to.

The guest bed is not nearly as comfortable as Jordyn and Josh’s bed, but it’s not awful. I fall into a thankfully dreamless sleep.