Weird Dinner

John had to admit it, the first dinner on his return was, well, weird. Mina was putting on a brave face, which he loved her for all the more, but he could tell that she was uncomfortable. Some of that discomfort he had to own up to. It's not every day your husband comes home in the body of a young stripper, after all. But she'd get over it. Just as John himself had adjusted to his new life, so would Mina. Their love was far bigger than the Great Shift. Besides, while John hadn't taken his new body for a spin yet, he was pretty sure it was far better suited for love-making than his old body was. Mina would love it.

But then there was all the other stuff. Both Zero and Melody were home for the meal, which John loved. They, like most of the planet, had also been shifted. Zero landed in the body of an older woman, probably about forty, with massive breasts. Melody, too, had shifted across the gender boundary, ending up in a young man's body. That kind of stuff was to be expected. What wasn't expected was how they were behaving.

Zero's bright red hair was messy, tangled. His clothes consisted of a rock band t-shirt and baggy pants. Melody was the opposite. Despite the fact that the young man she now was had a great body, chiseled face, rugged good looks, she had chosen to turn herself into a bizarre exposition of misplaced femininity. Thin eyebrows, heavy make-up, high heels, fishnet stockings, and a minidress.

Nothing made sense.

John stared at his kids and briefly lamented. Their loss must have been much more profound than his own. John got a new lease on life, an energetic body, years added to his life expectancy. Both Zero and Melody had migrated into a reality where they would live a significantly shorter life. That must have been the real reason for their behaviours. It was the only thing that John could think of that made any sense.

John pouted and watched his children. Zero shoveled food into his mouth like a teenage boy, no grace, no manners. It was as if he'd given up. And Melody! Sure, she was pretending that everything was alright, but there was something strange with how she was interacting with Mina. What was it... resentment? Was this just a mother/daughter thing? Whatever it was, it had to stop. They were a family, damnit, and John would be damned if he was going to survive the Great Shift only to come home to a broken family.

Swallowing his last bite of salad, John put his fork down and cleared his throat.

"Now that I'm home," John said, trying to sound like an authority figure, but only coming off as a bit whiny, "We're going to put this family back together properly. We've all been though hell, but starting right now we're going to set things right. We're Malones, and it's time we started acting like it."

John crossed his arms under his breasts for emphasis and waited for a response. When none came, he continued.

"Tomorrow morning," John said, "I'll be spending with Zero. Some father/son time. Melody, you'll be spending the morning with your mother," Melody dropped her fork on the floor, then swore under her breath as she bent to pick it up, "The world has changed, and if we don't learn to keep up, we're going to be left behind. So from now on, no more sulking, no more living in the past. The Malones are going to come out on top!"