Just a Chat with Mom

A quick wish for matching shoes, and Megan admired her new outfit in the mirror briefly, then grabbed her bag and went back downstairs.

Her mother was standing at the bottom of the stairs. "Oh, good, I was just about to check on you. I probably shouldn't have let you go. You can get in trouble with this power if you're not a little careful! But all you did was wish for clothes, I see..."

"Yep," answered Megan, not wanting to tell her mother about her "prostitute" blunder.

Her mother glanced at the grandfather clock in the hallway. "Looks like you still have a few minutes before you have to catch the bus. Let's talk a little more." She nodded toward the kitchen.

"So does Grandma have this? Aunt Cindy?" asked Megan as she perched on a kitchen stool.

Her mother busied herself making a cup of coffee. "Yes, like I said, all the women in our family. And no, we don't know where it came from, and as far as we know, no one else in the world has powers like this."

"So, um..." Megan looked around the cramped kitchen. "Why aren't we ruling the world? Or super-rich? Why are you married to Dad and not Chris Hemsworth? Why are you using the Mr. Coffee when you could just wish yourself up a cup? And why didn't I know about this before now?"

"Oh, honey, I admit I sowed my wild oats for quite a while after I turned 18 and learned about my powers," her mother answered. "I tried out a lot of different things, but I wasn't truly happy until I was leading a normal life with the man I love."

"Didn't you meet Dad freshman year of college?" Megan asked. "How much sowing of wild oats could you have done?"

Her mother smiled enigmatically, and then said, "Enough. But, listen, your father knows about our powers, and we've discussed this, and thought it was best to have you lead a normal life until you turned 18."

"Okay, but why not at least make a few wishes behind my back to make my life easier? When I was having trouble with math -- or when I was being bullied for my freckles -- heck, wish up a car for me so I didn't have to take the bus to school all this time!"

"We wanted you to be the kind of young woman who could use your powers responsibly. Which I think you are. All of your experiences have built character, and I --"

Megan interrupted, "Oh, God, Mom, character? I've got character coming out of my eyeballs with what I've gone through! You could have just said a few words and I'd have actually had a date to junior prom -- or I'd have actually made the cheerleading team -- or I wouldn't have had to miss that week of school last year when I had the flu! Mom, you could have stopped it -- what kind of mother does nothing when they could prevent their daughter from getting sick?!"

"That wasn't the only time you got sick -- and what makes you think I did nothing?" retorted Megan's mother.

She let that hang in the air for a moment as she took the carafe out of the coffeemaker and poured the contents into a mug advertising the local public radio station.

"Honey, I think you'll understand once you've used your power for a while, and especially once you have a daughter of your own. All I can say for now is... be careful what you wish for. Yeah, I know that's a horrible cliché." She tapped the mug handle with a thumb. "I do have half a mind to show you what it would be like if you had known about my powers years ago, and I'd given you everything you ever wanted." She smiled at her daughter.