Entry 11: STILL October 4

Dear Diary,

Well, Dad has finally fallen asleep, so I can talk to Mom alone now. I'm not sure how to bring it up, exactly, but I HAVE to know if she's pregnant. I mean, this could totally change my life. And besides, if I have to play one more game of Monopoly with Uncle Roger and Eric, I think I'll shoot myself. Here goes.

Walking up to the door of my parents' bedroom, I go to knock but the door swings open itself, and, surprisingly, my mom is standing, looking way better, on the other side.
"Whoa, Mom, what are you doing up?"

"Well, I actually feel much better now. I am still not quite sure what was wrong. Did you need me for something, sweetie?"

"Um, no. Well, actually, yes. Could we maybe talk.alone?" I glance pointedly towards the living room, where Uncle Roger and Eric are trying to look as if they are immensely interested in their tenth Monopoly game, but of course I know they are listening.

"Oh, of course. Why do we not chat in the kitchen? I am STARVING!" My eyebrows must have shot up at this like my dad's always do, because she adds, defensively, "Well, this morning I lost just about everything I ate yesterday, so it is as if I have not eaten for two days! Oh, but it feels more like twenty. do we have any pickles?" "Um, I could blink some up for you," I say feeling completely confused at this sudden change in my mother.

Once she is busy eating her pickles (dipped in peanut butter! Ewww!) I decide to question her.

"You know, Mom," I say carefully, "aren't you wondering if maybe there's nothing wrong with you at all? Like maybe something is very, very right?" I look at her hintingly.

She stops eating for a minute and looks at me thoughtfully. "Sweetie, I can understand why you might have come to that conclusion, but of course you realize, your father is not exactly a young man anymore, and- "

"Mom." I interrupt seriously. "You and I both know that when he had such bad arthritis a few years ago, you restored him with the health and body of a 35 year old man. I watched you do the incantation, remember?"

"Well, I suppose that is true. But I never had morning sickness with either you or your brother, and I cannot imagine that it would be any different now."

"It could be different this time!" I shout, growing impatient. "Mom, don't you even want to consider the possibility that you could be pregnant again? Wouldn't you WANT another baby?"

"Of course I do!" She says, raising her voice. "But there are so many odds against it. I do not want to get my hopes up, nor your father's! And with my powers gone completely, also another symptom I did not have when pregnant with you or your brother, I am beginning to wonder if maybe I am just… aging. Sometimes genies lose their powers in their old age, and. and-" she can't finish as her eyes fill with tears and she starts sobbing.

"Mom, are you crazy! You are NOT old, not even in human standards! You have hundreds, probably thousands of years left! You're being totally irrational," I add gently as I wrap my arms around her.

"Oh, I am sorry," she says between sobs. "I- I just cannot understand what is happening to me! This is just so different from anything I have experienced before, and I did not know what to think."

"It's ok, Mom. But I think that you should go to see Grandma while you still feel up to it. She'll be able to tell you what's going on, and I can handle everything here until you get back."

"That sounds like a wonderful idea. Let me tell you one thing, my beautiful daughter: If I am pregnant with another child, he or she could never have a better big sister than you." Folding her arms, she blinks to leave, but it makes that weird noise it always does when we blink and we don't feel well. That's one cool thing about being a genie- we can always tell how others are feeling by the sound it makes when they blink. I am told, however, that mortals cannot hear that sound.

"Oh, Jeannie. Could you please blink me to my mothers'?"

"Of course, Mom," I say, folding my arms. She disappears then, and now I have probably hours to wait until I know anything. But I will NOT play another board game with Uncle Roger. I am not that bored. Maybe I will invite Kellie over (telepathically, of course, since the phones aren't working).

Kellie. I say in my head. Tell your parents you have a headache and are going to take a long nap. I'm blinking you over in ten minutes!