About fifteen minutes later, a delivery driver showed up with their meal. Mark tipped the driver as June carried the food to the dining room table. Once they were all seated, they dug in. Ty was very happy that there was broccoli beef, and sesame chicken, two of his favorites, as well as several other good dishes. There wasn't really any conversation until, at some point, Mark asked June, "So was being the clothes dryer as much fun as you'd hoped?"
Ty nearly choked on his food, and Dustin's eyes bugged out. Ty thought he heard an undercurrent of disapproval or maybe even disgust in Mark's voice, but if June picked up on it, she didn't give any sign. "Yes dear," she said, "it was quite enjoyable. I'm not sure which I like more, the mobile app form, or the clothes dryer form. And I'm eager to try more. You should probably try some transformations, too. You and Ty can probably come up with something you'd enjoy."
Ty couldn't believe his ears, that June was answering in such a matter-of-fact way about it. She wasn't being so forthright about it to goad Mark, was she? Though if she was, it seemed like maybe he had asked for it. But Mark just said, "That's nice, honey. But please don't let it delay dinner next time."
"Of course, dear," June said. "I'm sorry about that. It was due to the novelty of the experience. But I won't let it happen again. Thank you for being patient tonight."
Mark just said, "OK," and dropped it. The rest of dinner passed in silence.
When they were done, Dustin and Ty put the leftovers in the fridge, and cleaned up. In the kitchen, Dustin whispered to Ty, "Did you really turn mom into the dryer?"
There was no point in denying it."Yes, Dustin. She wanted to try it. She asked Dad first, and I guess he wasn't thrilled with the idea, but he didn't tell her she couldn't."
"But why would she want that?" Dustin asked. "I mean, the phone app thing I kinds get, but a clothes dryer? That just seems weird."
Ty decided that Dustin might as well know the truth about it. "When I do these extreme transformations to people," he told Dustin, "it's not just that they become an app or a dryer or whatever. In the transformed state, they enjoy what they do in that form. As an app, they enjoy answering questions, or doing research on the internet. As a clothes dryer, they enjoy... drying clothes."
"That seems like an odd way to have fun," Dustin said. "I can think of a lot of things I'd rather do that are more fun."
"I see I've understated it, to the point of being misleading," Ty said. "When I said that the transformed person enjoys their function, I didn't mean it like 'I enjoyed hearing that song,' or 'I enjoy playing chess.' The transformed person enjoys their function... quite a lot."
Dustin didn't say anything for a moment, as he thought about that, then turned beet red, and said, "Oh! So when mom enjoyed being the clothes dryer..."
Ty just answered "Yes," but after a few seconds, added, "And I think Dad is none too happy about it."
Dustin didn't ask any more questions. They finished cleaning up and putting things away. Ty was happy not to discuss it further, but now he was very concerned. It seemed that he was driving a wedge between Mark and June, and it made him very upset. They'd only, finally, all become a happy family recently, and he didn't want to lose that. Unfortunately, he couldn't think of any way to fix it.