Having suddenly become aware of the ring's true purpose, Eric realized he had a whole world of opportunities. Still, he could hardly believe it was real. Maybe he should test some things. First, he had to get Amy out of here. He knew she had really looked forward to seeing her family this weekend, even if reality had somehow changed so that she wasn't there. It seemed unfair to keep her from them.
"Actually, Amy is here," Eric said, watching Amy closely. The ring tingled on his finger, and suddenly she was gone again, presumably back to her weekend with her family - though she would never know she had been gone.
"Well, which is it?" Kim asked, sounding a little annoyed. "She is, or she isn't?" Eric realized that it wouldn't matter whether Kim knew reality had shifted; she wasn't here to see Amy's disappearance. Muting her for a moment, Eric looked around for something else he could try. His eye fell on his bike, with its simple black frame.
"My bike is not red," he said. The ring tingled, and instantly he was looking at a red bike - a completely red bike, including frame, pedals, and wheels. Eric guessed that there was some level of interpretation going on here in how the ring interpreted the statements as "lies" to be corrected, and he realized he might have to be careful in how he worded things.
"I do not have five $20 bills in my pocket," he tried. He put his hand inside his pocket, and sure enough he had a hundred dollars in twenties. This could certainly get him places, but he felt vaguely uneasy about continuing along the financial route. Belatedly, he realized Kim's voice was still coming from his phone.
"Eric, are you there?" she was saying, sounding annoyed.
"Well, I'm not 'there'," he said reflexively, a tired old joke that he had used back when they were still together. Before he could say anything else, though, he suddenly found himself standing at Kim's front door. Right away, he realized his mistake, but that didn't mean he hadn't made it.
"Well, now you are," Kim said as she opened the door. She was as beautiful as ever, with her long blonde hair, blue eyes, and hot body. If anything, she was even hotter now with boobs that had grown a bit since he remembered - probably from having the baby. She giggled as she turned off her phone and set it aside. "I'm so glad you came."
"Right..." Eric said, slowly lowering his own phone. He tried to think of what reality shift might have gotten him here. Then he saw the birthday decorations strung up around the room with a toddler sitting in a birthday hat, and he remembered that in this new reality he had a son. Suddenly worried, he raised his phone and flipped through it. Had the ring made it so he and Amy never met? But no, there were still his usual pictures with her, and she was listed among his top contacts. He sighed with relief, but caught a sour expression on Kim's face.
"What, your girlfriend miss you already?" she asked. "Can you at least try to pretend you want to be here?"