"And this one?"
"That's a d'Orsay - see how the vamp is cut away? It shows off the arches of your feet."
"Oh, right," Jon said as he handed the shoe back to Mikey. She slid it on her foot with its match, then hopped up from her seat on the bed and began strutting around the room.
"How do you even get through life not knowing this stuff? It's pretty basic." Mikey scoffed.
Jon didn't answer. His former brother - and everybody else in town - now had a seemingly encyclopedic knowledge of shoes, fashion, makeup, and countless other girly stuff. How could he ever hope to keep up? He sighed, knowing his only option right now was to play along. Fake it 'til you make it, as the saying goes.
"Which ones do you want to try?" Mikey asked, a little more excitedly than Jon expected.
Jon looked over the pile of shoe boxes scattered on the floor. How could she afford all this? Did everybody get her bank account too? The wider implications of Sarah's wishes were starting to weigh on Jon's mind...
"Well? What's it gonna be, girly?"
"Um... how about those? The suede ones," he said, pointing to a pair of fuchsia pumps with a generous platform.
Mikey rolled her pretty blue eyes. "That's nubuck, honey, not suede. There's a difference." She picked up the shoes and tossed them playfully to Jon, who was still sitting on the bed. But before he could slip them on, he heard another pair of heels clicking up the stairs. Seconds later, another Sarah strolled through the open bedroom door with at least a dozen shopping bags. She looked right at Mikey, smiling with glee "You have got to see the dress I just scored. Your mom was so jealous I got the last one."
"Dad?!" Jon exclaimed. The blonde glanced at him, then did a double take.
"Jon? Is that you?? OMG you finally look cute! Tell me you've finally come to your senses."
"I uh... I guess so," Was all Jon could think to say.
"We're trying," Mikey interjected, "Still doesn't know the difference between mules and clogs, though."
"Well, it's a start, at least," his dad said, tossing down his load of shopping bags.
Jon could still detect a hint of disdain from both of them - that he wasn't living up to these new, ridiculous standards. He was going to have to do better if he wanted to get close to the real Sarah. He watched his former brother and father slide into an in depth discussion of their fashion hauls.
And as he watched, something strange began to happen. It was barely perceptible at first, but as the two duplicates continued talking, their movements would occasionally sync up. A hand gesture, a flip of the hair, the occasional giggle. Was the psychic link going even deeper? He listened to their conversation.
"...and it has this asymmetrical hemline," his dad said. "I think it would look really cute with those-"
"-satin peep toes?" Mikey interrupted without missing a beat. They were starting to finish each others' sentences, but if Jon closed his eyes, it just sounded like one person... talking to herself.
"Exactly! You read my mind! And for makeup I'd totally do a smokey eyeshadow with-
"-a classic red lip. And keep the hair simple, worn up- "
"-and then some chandelier earrings."
"Very Audrey Hepburn," Jon opened his eyes when he heard that last line in stereo. Had they both said the same thing at the same time? They turned to Jon, smiled, and tilted their heads in unison. Jon just stared.
"Say, Jon," They said in perfect harmony. "We were thinking tomorrow would be a perfect beach day. Why don't we try on some bikinis?"
Jon didn't really hear the question. His little jaw dropped open. Things were starting to get even more complicated.
