Jon and Susan exited the locker room at the gym, a matching set. The same sneakers, the same yoga pants, the same workout top, even the same blonde hair pulled back into a bouncy pony tail. As they passed a mirrored wall, Jon felt her chest fill with pride. Here she was, out with Susan McMillan, dressed like Susan McMillan, being as close to Susan McMillan as possible. She was like Jon's role model, and Jon felt a new tingle of adrenaline with each identical step she took, each identical sway of her hair, the identical smile that formed on her face. With the mirror there, it felt like she was with Susan twice, and that felt even better.
On the machines, Jon made sure to keep exact pace with Susan. The closer their movements were to one another, the more electrifying the experience was for Jon. She almost didn't notice how Susan kept calling her Sarah, but every time she did it felt more correct. Jon knew that she had to answer when Susan called for Sarah. And despite the thoroughness of their workout, Susan managed to find several opportunities to call for Sarah.
"Hey Sarah, check out the stretches she's doing over there."
"We can try those next time, Mom."
"Hey Sarah, do you want to join the spin class?"
"That looks like fun, Mom."
"Hey Sarah, pass me that towel."
"Sure, Mom."
Jon wasn't sure why she felt compelled to specifically address Susan as "Mom" every time she replied, but nevertheless she continued to do so. And each time Susan called her Sarah, and each time she called Susan Mom, the labels seemed to fit just that much more.
"Hey Sarah."
"Yeah, Mom?"
"Simon is working today." Susan nudged Jon's shoulder and pointed at a particularly well-proportioned personal trainer.
"I see him."
"You know, I'd never risk what your father and I have, but sometimes I wish I had the guts to just go over there and give him my phone number."
This was Susan's second wish, and it was granted to the person closest to her.
A confident smirk formed on Jon's face as she turned to look at Susan and raised a single eyebrow. "You mean like this?" Jon gave a little spin move and sauntered confidently towards the gym employee.
Jon wasn't entirely sure how she knew to put on a puppy-dog face just at the moment when Simon turned his head in her direction, but it felt right. And she wasn't entirely sure how the words "Hey, I need to see your phone a second" ended up on her lips. And she didn't recognize the phone number she found herself tapping out when the boy inevitably did hand over his device, but a moment's thought told her that this was Sarah McMillan's phone number.
Jon blinked, imperceptibly to Simon, but consequential to herself. A thousand thoughts went through her head in that blink. Why was she giving Simon someone else's phone number? Sarah McMillan's phone number. She should be giving him her phone number. But Susan had been calling her "Sarah" all evening, and she didn't want to contradict Susan. And more than that, she'd been calling Susan "Mom" all night, so if Susan McMillan was her mom then shouldn't her last name be McMillan, too? And your mom chooses your name, anyway, so whatever Susan said must be correct. So if her first name was Sarah, and if her last name was McMillan, then she was Sarah McMillan, and she was giving her own phone number to gym stud Simon.
The blink ended, and Sarah McMillan, confident in who she was, gave Simon back his phone. "That's for you to have for later." Then she turned on her heel and walked straight back to the other side of the floor, where her mom, dressed in a gym outfit that matched her own, was squealing like a schoolgirl.
