Conversing with Sarah's mother

While eating my lunch, I received a call on Sarah's phone, from her mother. I instinctively smiled, feeling warmth within me. I never met her mother while we were dating the first time, but Sarah always seemed to love and respect her a lot, and I could now confirm it was the case with her own feelings flowing through me.

“Hey Mom, what's up?” I asked in Sarah's usual jovial tone.

“Good morning, dear.” Sarah's mother said, her voice soft and tender. “How are you?”

“I'm good. I should hopefully be nearly done with my PhD, and I've been hanging out with my ex more, recently.” I announced.

Both Sarah and I were unsure about whether to announce we were back together, considering that my time as myself was now very limited. I wasn't even sure if I'd ever return to being myself after this Monday. Once I'd find a suitable identity to keep long-term, though, I'd love to meet Sarah's mother.

“What was his name, Edmunds?” She asked, making me giggle.

“Edward.” I corrected her.

“Are you two back together?”

“No, not really.” I unfortunately lied. “But we are still on very good terms.”

As I was talking, Claire was staring at me, her eyes wide. It was probably a surreal sight to see me switch personalities so fast and act exactly like Sarah.

“Anyway, did you want anything?” I then asked, now feeling slightly uncomfortable and shy.

“Your father called. He's visiting tomorrow, and is wondering if you'd like to eat together.”

I suddenly felt another emotion surging through me hearing that. Disdain. “Why would I want to see him?” I coldly inquired.

“Because he's your father?” Sarah's mother replied with uncertainty.

“It's not because his blood runs through my veins that I have to follow his every whim. He chose to abandon us. It's not something you can just backpedal on.” I stated, anger slowly rising.

Sarah had a low opinion of her father, and while I knew the gist of it, I could never have imagined just how much she really hated him. We were extremely similar in that regard, even if our hatred for our fathers was born from different circumstances.

“Tell him it's too late to pretend to care. I won't see him.” I answered dryly. “Now, excuse me, I have things to do.”

“Alright…” Sarah's mother sighed. “Sorry for mentioning that. Have a good weekend, dear.”

I smiled slightly. “You too, Mom.”

As I hung up, I noticed that Claire was still fixated on me, baffled. I almost forgot about her, completely taken over by Sarah's emotions.

“Sorry, it was Sarah's mom.” I awkwardly explained. “You're okay?”

“I'm… stunned. It was like… you were fully Sarah for a moment.” She replied.

“I kinda was, in all honesty… Her emotions were so strong I lost control…” I admitted quietly, honestly taken aback by what just happened.

“Really?”

I observed my borrowed hands, sighing. “I had no idea she hated her father to that extent, she never told me much about him before. I got lost in her anger as soon as her father was mentioned.”

“I-I see. And are you alright?” She asked afterwards.

I smiled at her. “Yeah, don't worry.” Glancing down, I chuckled softly. “In a way, it's more proof of how seamless my abilities are, if I even managed to fool you for a moment.”

“So, uhh… What are your plans for now?”

“I'm still thinking about it. There's a few people around Sarah I wouldn't mind trying to be short-term. And ideally, I'd like to find an identity I could keep long-term without feeling guilty. A bully or someone corrupt would be perfect.”

Claire chuckled awkwardly. “W-well, the police aren't lacking in any of those…”

I laughed. “True. Maybe I should ask for your suggestions, then.”

“W-what kind of person would you prefer to be?” She more shyly replied.

My cheeks reddened slightly. “In all honesty, besides being a woman, I don't really have any preference…”

She nodded. “Alright, I'll think about it.”

I gave her a warm smile. “Thanks, Claire.”

We finished eating our meals mostly in silence, until Angela brought me my cake and took our plates away.

Claire spoke again shortly after we got our desserts. “So, you're, uhh, gonna go to college as Sarah this Monday?”

“That's the plan, yeah. I'll spend the day teaching as her. I had a lot of fun when I was Katherine, I wanted to experience it again.” I admitted.

Claire chuckled quietly. “I often thought you'd be a great teacher or professor when we were younger, you know?”

It surprised me, it was the first time Claire mentioned this to me. “Why? You've always been much smarter than me.”

And it was true. We often studied together when we were younger, but Claire quickly outsmarted me. While I was fairly average in most subjects apart from PE, Claire excelled almost everywhere. The only subjects she struggled with more were creative ones like Art and Music.

“It has nothing to do with smarts.” She explained. “But you have the patience and care to teach things, like when you taught me and your previous ex some boxing moves or fitness tricks. Or how to make some of the cocktails you've been preparing.”

Her words made me blush slightly. “I guess, yeah. I definitely wouldn't mind living as a teacher or professor for a while. Maybe I could become a PE teacher.” I concluded with a chuckle.

“You'd be great at it.” Claire affirmed, smiling at me.

“In any case, it's something I'd like to discuss with Sarah and Dahlia too.”

I finally finished eating the delicious cheesecake. The food here was so good, and apparently all homemade, if what Angela claimed was true. And despite that, it was fairly affordable, it was one of the reasons Claire and I loved the place.

Angela approached us with a big smile after noticing that we were done. “Was it to your liking, miss? Claire is a regular, but it's the first time I've seen you.”

I smiled back at her. “Yes, it was delicious, thank you. Ed often mentioned this place, so I wanted to try it out.”

It seemed to have piqued her curiosity. “Oh, are you a friend of Ed?”

“His girlfriend, actually.” I replied.

For a brief instant, Angela appeared surprised, but she then smiled politely again. “Ah, I see. I'm glad he found someone again.”

“Thanks.”

I wondered what it was all about, and got a theory thanks to Sarah's smarts. Recalling the numerous interactions I had with Angela and this reaction she just had, it made me wonder if she might have had a crush on me…

I could have noticed it sooner had I been less dense. I thought. Angela seemed like a great girl, and if it weren't for Sarah and I getting back together, I would have loved to date her.

Maybe in another life…

Afterwards, Claire and I paid for our food and we left the cafe. I could see that she was still a bit tired, she often liked to laze off during weekends when she wasn't working. I decided to let her rest more and escorted her back home before returning to Sarah's flat.

There, I let the birds out and went to work on Sarah's PhD in her stead. It was the least I could do, after all. Thanks to her soul, it was fairly easy to think the way she would. I kept working for part of the afternoon and then relaxed with the birds while watching a fantasy TV show Sarah was currently into. Even just doing Sarah's usual routine was so enjoyable, I felt so good.

During dinner, I decided to text Dahlia, wondering if she'd like to hang out tomorrow. This time, I used Sarah's phone for that, since they shared numbers. Dahlia quickly replied, asking if I'd like to visit her flat. Telling her I'd love to, we agreed to meet early in the afternoon.

Finally, after dinner, I got changed into Sarah's comfy pajamas and went to bed. I was really tempted to have another round at what I did this morning, as it just felt so incredible, but I didn't want to look like too much of a nymphomaniac pervert…