"So, how does it feel to be married to a millionaire dreamboat sports star?" asked the impostor Johnny Helms,
who in reality was just average joe Steve Donaldson.
"It's wonderful" said Stephanie, really Janet, hanging off her husbands shoulder as the two of them decided to
take the long way towards the VIP dining hall this evening. They had first gone through the main gambling area
of the casino and were now passing through the regular dining hall.
"If only Alan and Megan could see us now. They'd flip out, wouldn't they?" asked Steve.
"Not as much as knowing their mom accidentally acquired wishing powers" teased Janet, cutely touching the
taller man's nose with her index finger.
"Yeah, speaking of that. How the hell do you think it happened to you and Wendy?"
Janet was hiding the real answer, but she just shrugged.
"No idea, honey. Serendipity,"
"If you don't understand it, you can't control it. What if it just goes away one day, as fast as it came?"
"I wish that Wendy and I have wishing powers forever."
There was no flash of magical light, and no feelings of dread or power overwhelming either of them. But Steve
had no reason to doubt that his wife's power was still in effect.
"Oh great. Now I'll really be in trouble when I forget our anniversary again" he joked.
"Oh, you'll pay for that dearly, honey" cackled Janet, sounding more like a creepy witch than ever before.
Steve knew that she was the sweetest woman alive, but the idea of her and Carl's wife being nigh-omnipotent
now kind of scared him a little.
***
Back at the dinner table, Jon Adams-Reilly watched as Carly and Wendy made their way back from their private
little chat.
"Nervous?" he asked Carly.
"A little, yeah."
"It's OK to be nervous. Why don't I get to know you both a little better. What do you and your sister do?"
Crap. Carl hadn't created a cover story yet. He didn't even want to be here in Las Vegas, and now he was being
flirted to by strange guys and drunken Thai girls. What was he going to say? That he had a family and a job
from out of town? "Carly" looked young enough to be a kid herself. He didn't have to come up with a quick and
terrible lie, however, as Wendy did it for him.
"We're actresses" exclaimed Wendy.
"Wendy!" shouted Carl.
"Cool. Been in anything I've seen?" asked Jon.
"Probably not" said Wendy. "Just some community theater and a couple of student films. But we really want to
hit it big!"
"I don't!" shrieked Carl.
"Just doing it for the art, then?" mused Jon.
"Er...yeah. I'm really...dedicated to being a thespian."
"A game like Big Brother requires a lot of acting, so you're both in luck. You have to deceive your fellow
contestants into believing they are in a safer position than they really are. Eventually, you might have to
'out-act' each other, as it were."
"We're not doing any such thing" said Wendy. "It's us two all the way to the end" she said proudly.
"We'll see. We'll see" laughed Jon. "Oh, looks like some of our food got here early."
The waiter had come back with two plates, each for Carl and Wendy.
"Here you go, ladies. Everyone else, your food will be here momentarily."
"The service in this town" said Jon with mock indignation. Carl looked over at Wendy, and Wendy winked at him,
confirming his suspicion that she made a wish for their dinners to be given higher priority than the other's
dinners.
Carl began eating, oblivious to the tradition that you should wait until everyone's food has arrived to begin
feasting. Only Wendy seemed to mind however. Thankfully, after a few minutes more of shooting the shit, the
rest of the parties food arrived. As Jon and crew were being served, Carl looked up from his plate through the
crowd of gamblers and glittering lights when he saw something more unbelievable than these last few days stuck
as a woman.
"Holy crap, it's Johnny Helms!"
But who that woman with him? She looked just like Stephanie. Wait, Stephanie? Steve! That's Steve! That lucky
bastard is hanging off of Johnny Helms? Had he no shame?
"Hey! Hey, Johnny! Johnny Helms! Come on over, and bring your girl with you!"
Steve and Janet turned sideways, and saw a bubbly blonde in a bikini top motioning towards them. She was
sitting next to what looked like her twin sister, a youngish looking guy with some stubble, and a dozen
gorgeous Asian women making a loud ruckus of themselves.
"Oh hey, it's Carl" whispered Janet. "Let's go over and see him."
***
Just as the famous baseball legend approached the table, a mousy young woman of about nineteen with straight,
light brown hair, a purple cargo shirt, and some thigh high black boots came walking into the bevy of Thai
girls with two thick stacks of paper wrapped in plastic.
"Ahh, here's my lovely assistant. Lynne, meet Carly and Wendy Matson. They just won the topless bikini contest
over in the pool area. I propositioned them to apply for next season's show, and they said yes."
"Charmed" said said, shaking Wendy's hand first, and then Carly's.
"Here's the show applications you asked for."