:=: Elizabeth :=:

It was just past six-thirty when Liz finally got home from work. She enjoyed her job, but occasionally the days seemed to drag on and on. Thursdays in particular tended to be long days for her, but they were good ones. She usually spent Thursday afternoons working with James.

She'd first met him towards the end of January. He was a client, she helped him buy a house, he was happy. Then he wanted another house, and she found out he worked for some investment group or something. He was never really clear about who he worked for, but over the course of two months, she helped him buy three more houses.

She wasn't sure what James' employers did with the properties. She assumed they were leasing them or turning them into rental units. He had never explained it, and she didn't want to pry.

Then in March he'd encouraged her to expand into commercial properties. His employers wanted to invest in that market as well, and James wanted to keep working with Liz. Now it was nearly the end of April and she'd helped James's organization buy and sell a few commercial and industrial properties, in addition to her usual retail work.

James was a pleasure to work with, and quite handsome too. It wasn't strictly professional, but now and then their business meetings had taken place over dinner. And on a few occasions, those had led to some very unprofessional encounters afterwards.

Liz wasn't concerned about the relationship growing beyond a purely business one. She had been on her own for almost a year now, James was handsome, and he seemed interested in her. He was a great client too, she'd made quite a lot of money working with him over the past few months.

The only thing she wasn't ready for yet, was for her girls to meet him. She wasn't sure how any of them would handle it. Perhaps in a few more months. Late summer, or autumn maybe. James seemed to understand that too, he was interested and asked about her girls, but hadn't pressed her about coming home and meeting them.

With the mini-van parked, she grabbed her purse and folio, then headed into the house. As soon as she walked in the door, Liz could smell dinner cooking. She smiled a little. Her girls were pretty good about taking care of themselves and the house while she was busy with work. She left her things on the hall table and walked into the kitchen.

The table was all set, and Jenny was sitting there waiting.

"Hi mom!" she grinned.

Liz smiled back, "Hello Jenny."

Her youngest had turned thirteen last month, and was almost always smiling. The girl had started growing over the winter, and if she kept going the way she'd been lately, she'd probably wind up taller than Liz before long. Jenny had her mother's fair skin, blonde hair, and blue eyes. She was letting her hair grow long, she'd said she wanted it to reach down to her bottom eventually. At the moment it was a few inches past her shoulders.

Jenny enjoyed wearing skirts and dresses when the weather was nice, but when it was colder out she stuck with jeans or leggings. Tonight she was in a pair of leggings and a top that was somewhere between a short dress and a long shirt.

"You're just in time for dinner." Amanda said as she pulled a tray of store-bought lasagna out of the oven and set it on the counter.

Liz grinned, "So perfect timing, in other words. Do you need a hand with that?"

The older girl was one of her twins. Amanda was also blonde, but her hair was a little darker. She'd recently had it trimmed, so it was just about shoulder-length now. She got her slightly tanned complexion from her dad, and her hazel eyes also came from his side of the family.

Amanda preferred jeans and t-shirts or blouses, which is what she had on at the moment. She was wearing a pair of tight black jeans, and a little powder-blue t-shirt.

The sixteen-year-old shook her head, "No thanks mom, just get yourself something to drink." There were already glasses of soda infront of Jenny and at Amanda's spot. There was cutlery at Sadie's usual spot next to Jenny, but nothing to drink, and no sign of Amanda's brunette twin.

Liz got herself a bottle of water out of the fridge, and asked, "Where's Sadie? Wasn't it her turn to cook tonight?"

Amanda was dishing up the lasagna onto plates as she replied, "She's up in her room. I don't think she's hungry though. She's really upset."

"Why?" Liz asked, frowning. "What happened?"

Amanda set plates down infront of Jenny and Liz, then picked up her own before she joined them at the table.

"Lucy broke up with her at lunch... Basically dumped her, infront of the whole school."

As she started eating, Amanda added "After class, people were already saying Lucy was hooking up with Kevin Walker... Sadie's been crying in her room since she got home."

Liz sighed, "You two eat your dinner before it gets cold."

She got up and headed upstairs, to check on her other sixteen-year-old. She stopped at Sadie's door and knocked, then waited. There was no response, and after a few moments she opened the door and looked inside.

The girl was laying on her bed, curled up on her side hugging her pillow. She had her curtains closed so the room was a little dark, but Liz could see her eyes were red and there were streaks of tears on her face.

Sadie and Amanda were nearly identical twins. The only physical differences between the two were their eyes and hair. Sadie's hair was brown, the exact same shade that Liz's husband's had been, and she had his brown eyes. The two girls also dressed very differently. Sadie tended to be a little more fashionable, and preferred to wear dresses or skirts.

Liz stepped into the room and closed the door behind her. "Sadie, how are you feeling?" she asked softly. "Amanda told me what happened..."

The teen didn't answer, she just hugged her pillow a little tighter as fresh tears started welling up in her eyes.

Liz sighed quietly as she looked down at the despondent girl.

It had been almost nine months now since Sadie had become Amanda's twin sister. That had been a difficult adjustment for their family. Liz and Amanda in particular had found it very hard to accept.

David had been thirty-nine years old. He'd been Liz's husband for almost seventeen years, and father of their two children. Then last June, Jenny came out as trans, and David's sister had turned out to be a witch. By the end of July, their family had completely changed. Jenny got her wish and had become a girl, and then so had David.

Liz never did find out for sure if David had always been trans but had repressed it, or if those feelings had been a result of the four days he'd spent under the curse his sister had cast on him. In the end though, it hadn't mattered. Wherever the feelings had come from, David had been desperate to act on them. And so Liz had lost her husband, her two daughters lost their father, and Sadie re-joined their family as Amanda's twin.

Jenny had accepted Sadie as a sister almost instantly. Liz suspected that was thanks to a combination of Jenny being trans herself and knowing what it felt like to need that change, along with her age. She was twelve at the time and still something of a child, willing to accept the strange and unusual at face value.

Amanda had needed more time. She'd accepted Sadie as a girl, and a part of their family. But it had taken her a couple months before she'd started thinking of her brunette twin as a sister, rather than her dad.

For Liz, it had taken even longer. It was one thing to know her husband David was now a sixteen-year-old girl named Sadie, and the nearly-identical twin of her oldest daughter Amanda. It was quite another thing entirely, to realize that she would actually have to act like a mother to the girl.

For months, Liz had bristled whenever Sadie called her 'mom'. And she'd refused to think of or address Sadie as her daughter. It had even got to the point where people were starting to notice, and question why she treated one girl so differently than the other two. Liz could never tell anyone the truth of course. Thanks to the magic that had transformed Sadie, the rest of the world believed Liz had always had three children. No-one outside their family knew what had really happened.

She wasn't sure exactly when things had changed between Sadie and herself.

As the months had gone by, hormones and emotions and life as a teenage girl had slowly changed and shaped Sadie. And that had had an effect on Liz as well. She might not have given birth to the girl, but she'd been forced to act like a mother to the teen. She'd looked after her, and for the better part of a year, she'd raised her alongside Jenny and Amanda. Gradually, she started thinking of Sadie as one of her children, and eventually she'd come to accept the girl calling her 'mom'.

Now as Liz watched Sadie quietly sobbing in her bed, she could tell there was very little of her husband left in there. None of them would forget David of course. But Liz knew she wasn't watching her ex-husband cry over another woman. Sadie was her child now, and she was heartbroken and hurting.

Liz finally approached, and sat on the edge of the bed. She put a hand on Sadie's shoulder.

"I'm so sorry, sweetheart. I know it hurts..."

Sadie sobbed a little more. "I thought she liked me, mom... We were together more than a month... And she just humiliated me... Infront of everyone..."

Liz sighed. "I'm sorry, Sadie. I know it feels awful right now, but you'll get over it. These things take time, but you'll get over it and move on..."

The teen sobbed again, "I can't even show my face at school tomorrow... Everyone knows... They'll all be laughing at me..."

"Honey, you know that's not true," Liz said softly. "And by next week, nobody will even care. I know it feels like the end of the world right now, but things will get better. I promise."

Sadie just sobbed a little more, burying her face in her pillow.

Liz sighed again, then said quietly "Sadie, we'll save some dinner for you. If you're hungry later, just let me know and I'll heat it up for you. Or if you want to talk, you just say so, ok? I'm here for you."

"Ok..." Sadie sniffed a bit. "Thanks mom..."

Liz leaned over and gave her a hug, and a kiss on the cheek. She whispered, "I love you sweetheart, so do your sisters." She then quietly left Sadie's room, closing the door again behind her. She returned to the kitchen and sat down again with Jenny and Amanda.

The two of them had nearly finished their dinner, but both sat waiting for their mom.

As Liz started to eat, Jenny asked "Is Sadie gonna be ok?"

She nodded, "Eventually. Your sister's very upset right now, but I'm sure she'll be ok in a couple days."

Amanda scowled, "I wish there was some way to get back at that Lucy bitch. Like, if she was gonna break up with Sadie, why couldn't she have been nice about it? She didn't have to be so nasty, and make it a big public scene."

Jenny grinned, "Oooh! Maybe we could ask Aunt Maria to curse her? Turn Lucy into a toad or something!" She giggled a little.

Liz frowned, "Jenny, you know better. We don't talk about that sort of thing." She added, "And Amanda, just let it go honey. I know you're upset that your sister was hurt, but you're better off thinking about helping Sadie, rather than worrying about getting revenge."

Both girls just sighed and nodded.

"Ok mom." Amanda grumbled.

:=: Sadie :=:

Sadie stood by herself in the hallway. It was lunch time, but she wasn't sure if she wanted to go into the cafeteria. It was Monday, and the weekend had helped her feel a bit better, but she was afraid of people staring at her. And she was afraid she'd see Lucy in there. Or worse, Lucy and Kevin.

She thought about skipping lunch and just hiding out in the library again like she'd done on Friday.

As she was trying to decide, Amanda approached.

"Hey sis," her twin gave her a sympathetic smile. "Wanna have lunch with me today?"

Sadie sighed, "Thanks for the offer, Amanda. But nah it's ok. You don't need to make yourself a social pariah on my account. Go hang with your friends."

"Are you sure?" Amanda asked. "I don't mind keeping you company."

Sadie smiled slightly, "I'll be fine. Thanks though."

Amanda just nodded, "Ok, Sadie. See you later." The blonde went on into the cafeteria.

Sadie waited another minute or so, then she finally decided to risk it. There wasn't much of a line now since she'd wasted five or ten minutes in the hall, so she was able to grab a salad and some fruit juice without having to spend much time queued up with the other students.

She found herself an empty table in the corner and sat down at the far end.

It wasn't that she liked being alone, but it didn't bother her too much. She'd known it would be like this. Back in the summer when aunt Maria and her witch friend had helped her, they'd warned her about this. Changing reality and stuff, they said people would all remember her as Sadie, but they wouldn't really know her. It'd be up to her to start making friends.

And she'd tried to do that, but it hadn't been easy. This life was very new for her and even though she'd had a month to prepare before school started, she was still somewhat awkward. It had been over twenty years between when she left high-school in her old life and when she'd returned to grade eleven in this life, and almost everything was different.

As of next week, it would be nine months since she'd become Sadie. And in all that time, she'd only made a handful of friends. Lucy was the closest or so she'd thought, until last Thursday when she found out that was all just lies.

Sadie sighed deeply, realizing she'd just made herself sad again. She was only half finished her salad, but pushed it away a little. She'd lost her appetite.

"Hey, Sadie?"

She looked up to see Gord Nesbitt standing across the table from her. He wasn't exactly a friend, but they shared a couple classes and they sort of knew each other. Like Sadie, he was a bit of a loner.

They were both around the same age, he was only a month or two older. Gord was about average height, 5'6" or so. He was a bit skinny, and he kept his black hair kind of long. He was wearing loose jeans and an oversized hoodie, which sort of made him look even skinnier than he was.

He was quiet, maybe a bit shy. He tended to stay at the back of class and avoided groups. Generally he tended to stay off everyone's radar. It was a bit weird for him to be approaching her right now, they weren't all that close. Sadie knew he wasn't here to gloat or tease, he wasn't like that. She also remembered, he liked people to call him Ash for some reason.

"Hi Ash. What's up?"

He was holding a tray with his lunch on it, and asked, "Just wondering if you'd like some company?"

Sadie shrugged a little, "Yeah, sure."

Ash sat down across from her, and took a bite of his sandwich. As he was chewing, he said "Sorry about all that stuff with Lucy last week. What a bitch. I thought she was better than that."

Sadie sighed, "Thanks... It's ok. I'm trying not to think about it, though."

"Ok. Sorry Sadie," he apologized. "Are you doing ok?"

She shrugged, "I guess. I'll get over it eventually."

Ash nodded slowly, then said "If you ever want to talk or whatever, I'm a pretty good listener."

Sadie looked at him and smiled slightly, "I'll keep that in mind. Thanks Ash."

She pulled her salad closer again, and the two of them ate together in silence. As she ate, Sadie wondered at first if Ash was trying to come on to her or something. But in the end she decided that wasn't it. He wasn't acting like that at all. He seemed to be legitimately just trying to be nice to her, after her public humiliation last week.

When their lunch period ended, Sadie and Ash split up, going to their different afternoon classes.

At the end of the day when classes were over, they ran into each other again in the hall.

"Hey Sadie," Ash asked, "Wanna hang out for a while?"

Sadie thought for a few moments, then nodded, "Yeah, ok." She'd been feeling lonely after all, and so far Ash seemed like a nice guy.

Ash followed her to her locker and Sadie got her jacket and things, then she went with him to his locker.

After that, they wandered for a bit, and eventually wound up at Robbie's Grill, a local burger place down the road from their school. They got a couple sodas and split an order of poutine, and then just sat and talked.

"Can I ask you something?" Ash said, washing down a mouthful of poutine with some cola. "You and Amanda are twins, but she's one of the popular girls, with dozens of friends, while you're more of a loner like me? How come?"

Sadie shrugged, sipping her root beer. "I guess I'm just quieter. A bit more shy maybe? And anyways, she's blonde, and everyone says blondes are more fun, right?"

Ash frowned. "I don't know about that. Blonde or not, I think you're the prettier one."

Now it was Sadie's turn to frown. "Apart from our hair and eyes, we're pretty much identical. It's a bit weird to think one of us is prettier than the other."

"I just mean you're more..." Ash tried to explain, but his voice trailed off for a moment. Then he said, "Like, you seem to care more about how you look. You actually have a style, you put together nice outfits, like you do fashion and stuff? You wear nice dresses, or like, coordinated skirts and tops? And you always have nice make-up, and you do your hair nicer. Amanda's just like, jeans and t-shirts usually. Like she doesn't put as much thought into how she looks, I guess."

Sadie felt her eyebrows going up, and also a bit of a blush coming to her cheeks. She hadn't expected a guy like him to notice those sorts of details. It made her wonder again if he might be attracted to her.

"I don't know. That stuff might just mean I'm old-fashioned." Sadie shrugged. "Amanda and I are just different. Different personalities and stuff. She's more outgoing, extroverted I guess."

She then asked, "Anyways, what's your excuse? No offence, but you're not exactly Mr. Popular yourself. Even though you're kind of cute, and you're a nice guy."

Ash blushed a little and Sadie suppressed a smile. He looked a bit flustered, as he stuffed some more fries and gravy into his mouth for now.

After a minute or two, he finally answered quietly. "Well, that's the problem I guess? Guys aren't supposed to be 'cute' or 'nice'. Dudes are supposed to be like, rugged and tough and all that sort of thing..."

He had another sip of cola then added, "I just don't feel like I fit in with most people. I guess I'm like you that way? Shy, quiet, all that stuff."

Sadie nodded then apologized, "Sorry if I put you on the spot with that, Ash. I didn't mean to be rude or anything."

"It's ok Sadie," he shrugged.

They finished the last of the poutine together, then Sadie sighed "I'd better get home."

Ash nodded, "Ok Sadie."

They walked together for a bit, till they got to the corner where their homes were in different directions.

"Thanks for keeping me company at lunch today." Sadie smiled. "And it was nice hanging with you after class too."

Ash smiled, "Yeah, I liked it too. See you tomorrow?"

"Definitely." Sadie then walked by herself the rest of the way home.

When she got to the house, Sadie found Amanda waiting for her.

"Hey sis! I saw you had lunch with Gordon Nesbitt. And then you two went off together after class?" Amanda grinned. "Are you on the rebound already? Thinking about hooking up with him?"

Sadie rolled her eyes, "Me and Ash are just friends, Amanda. And you know I'm not into guys."

Amanda shrugged, "Maybe that'll change though? I mean, you've changed a lot already..."

"I doubt it." Sadie said. "Anyways, what do you care? It's not like you're into him."

Her sister sighed then said quietly, "There's a rumour that Gordon is gay... So like, if you're getting close, don't get your hopes up or whatever."

Sadie sighed, "I said we're just friends. And I don't care if he's gay or not." She then added, "And he likes to be called Ash ok? And he's a nice guy, so please don't go spreading rumours about him, ok?"

Amanda nodded, "Ok sis. Sorry."

"Thanks for looking out for me, Amanda." Sadie gave her a little smile.

She started upstairs towards her room, but Amanda called after her, "Don't forget, it's your turn to cook dinner tonight, Sadie!"

Sadie's shoulders slumped. She wasn't even hungry after the poutine.

"Fine. Let me put my stuff away first, then I'll get started."

:=: Elizabeth :=:

"Sadie," Liz sighed. "I'm sorry hon, but this isn't very good tonight. I know you can do a lot better. What happened?"

It was Friday night, the end of another long week, and Liz was frowning at the overcooked chicken and undercooked potatoes on her plate. It wasn't inedible, but it certainly wasn't enjoyable.

What made it even more disappointing was she'd turned down an invitation from James this evening, so she could have dinner with her girls instead. She could have been enjoying a gourmet meal at a 5-star winery restaurant right now, and then perhaps a more intimate encounter afterwards.

"Sorry mom..." the brunette teen mumbled. "I guess I was kinda distracted..."

Liz frowned at the girl and sighed deeply. Sadie certainly looked distracted, the way she was sort of staring off into space. She had barely any food on her plate, and what she did have, she'd hardly touched.

Jenny and Amanda were eating normally, though they'd both added some ketchup to their food, to try and make it a little more palatable.

Liz asked, "Are you still upset about Lucy?"

Amanda smirked, "She's already forgotten about Lucy. Sadie's seeing a guy now!"

That news caught Liz by surprise. She thought she'd got all the surprises out of her system months ago when it came to her three girls, but she'd never imagined Sadie would become interested in boys.

Jenny had a huge grin on her face, as she turned to look at Sadie. "Oooo really!? What's his name? What's he like?"

Sadie was blushing brightly now, and protested "No I'm not! I'm not 'seeing' him... We're just friends, that's all."

"What's his name?" Liz asked. "Do I know him?"

Amanda was still grinning as she announced, "It's Gord Nesbit. Sadie's had lunch with him every day this week, and she's been going out with him after school too. I'm pretty sure they're an item now."

Sadie was still blushing as she insisted, "We're not going steady, we're just friends! And his name's Ash. That's what he likes to be called."

Liz frowned at the brunette, "Just be careful, ok? I know sometimes after a break-up, it can be very easy to get attached to someone else too quickly..."

Sadie shook her head, "I'm not on the rebound, and I'm not dating him! Why's that so hard to believe?"

Jenny and Amanda were still grinning, and the younger girl asked, "Is he cute?"

"He looks like a dweeb." Amanda replied, rolling her eyes.

"He's not a dweeb!" Sadie glared. "He's just a nice guy ok? He's friendly and shy... And yeah, he's actually kinda cute..."

Jenny giggled. Amanda smiled wider and said triumphantly, "I knew it! You like him!"

Liz finally said, "Ok, that's enough girls. Amanda, Jenny, don't tease your sister. Sadie... Just be careful. Dating or not, I don't want to see you get hurt again."

All three girls mumbled "Yes mom." as they continued eating.

Liz ate a bit more, then added, "Sadie, you'll be doing the dishes tonight."

"What? Why?!" she protested. "I cooked dinner, I shouldn't have to do the dishes!"

"I'm not sure what you did to this food Sadie, but 'cooked' isn't the way I'd describe it." Liz stated. "Pay attention next time. Spoiled food is one thing, but getting distracted while you're cooking can lead to fires, or burns."

The brunette sighed, but didn't protest further. "Yes mom."