Brad stared at his sister, confused, but decided to let it go. It helped that Brad's current crush was walking his way. Soon, Brad was talking with her and not worrying about his mother's whereabouts.
I walked up to Becky and spoke. "You know it's really her, don't you?" I said. "Your mom?"
"Uh huh," said Becky in a voice as low as mine was. "Here's how."
Becky turned her infant mother ever so slightly, and I saw a strawberry-shaped spot on her thigh.
"A birthmark!" I whispered.
"Uh huh," said Becky. "Mom's had it all her life. I've seen several on the family over the years, but no one has one that looks like this, EXCEPT Mom!
"So how do you do this?"
"It's a long story. Just accept that I did it, and can undo it if you want to. Think of me as your personal genie."
"My personal genie, huh? And I just have to make a wish?"
"Anything you want," I said. Becky got a distant look on her face, kind of like what the guy on SCRUBS gets when he starts daydreaming. The look went away and she faced me.
"What I wish for ... "she began to say.