The Third Ten

by Jacqueline Druga

  “May I see?”

  Roy handed her the bag.

  Jenny opened it and pulled it out.

  John smiled. That was it. The moment he saw the tacky shirt, he knew his wife would suspect something was up with Dean. She had to know. Dean wouldn’t be caught dead wearing that shirt.

  “Oh I love it!” Jenny boosted.

  “Huh?” John asked.

  “Love it. It so you,” Jenny handed it back. “Oh, Dean, did you ... are you planning on joining us for dancing and karaoke?”

  With a blushing tilt to his head, Roy nodded. “No one knows how well I dance. I only danced in my lab.”

  “Really?” Jenny asked. “And you kept it a secret all these years.”

  “Yes, I had a revelation today that I have to do more things that are enjoyable.”

  Jenny nodded. “Oh, I agree. Andrea said you had a new attitude. I like it, Dean. I like it a lot. So, you’ll join us tonight?”

  “I’d love to. I’ll stop by Hoi-Hoi on the Range after I play poker and drink Frank under the table.”

  “Drink Frank under the table?” Jenny asked then giggled. “Maybe we won’t see you, but will you try?”

  “I will.”

  She exhaled. “Well, we got to go eat. John?”

  John just stared at Roy.

  “John?”

  “Sorry. Dinner waits. Dean, see you later.” John took Jenny’s hand.

  “I look forward to it.”

  Leaving Roy behind, John escorted Jenny down the street. He had to know. “Jenny, did you … did you notice anything different about Dean?”

  “Different?” she asked.

  “Yes, different. Did he seem different to you?”

  “Hmm.” Jenny hummed out as she strolled along with her husband. “Physically?”

  “Any way.”

  “Hmmm.”

  “Jenny.”

  “John I’m thinking,” she said. “Is this a trick question?”

  “No.”

  “Is there something I should have noticed?”

  “No.”

  “Then why are you asking?”

  “I just … he just seemed different.”

  “Then what? Then yesterday?”

  “No ... just …” John grunted. “Just forget it.”

  “Well, you don’t have to get mad. I didn’t notice anything.”

  “I’m not mad, Jenny. I just... never mind. Probably my imagination.”

  “Probably,” Jenny said. “But in your defense.”

  “Yes?”

  “How well do any of us really know Dean? I mean, how much do we see him, talk to him, hang out with him to know he’s different.”

  Truth. At the moment John realized no one was going to know the difference between Dean and Dean the clone. No matter how badly dressed, how geeky, weird, or strange the clone was, no one knew Dean well enough to know he wasn’t secretly any of those things.

  CHAPTER TWELVE

  Hal looked at his watch. “Well, he certainly takes after Dean in the punctuality department.”

  Robbie, carrying a drink, walked around the table set for poker and sat down. “Hal, he’s like five minutes late.”

  “Frank? Why didn’t you bring him?” Hal asked.

  “He wanted to come early,” Frank shrugged. “Wait until you meet him.”

  Hal breathed out heavily and joined Frank, Robbie, and Elliott at the table. “He’s been part of Beginnings all day. Has anyone said anything to you?”

  Frank shook his head. “Wait until you meet him. You’ll know.”

  “Odd. He must be very difficult to distinguish from Dean,” Hal said.

  “Wait until you meet him,” replied Frank.

  Elliott added. “His speech patterns, dialect, wordage… is it the same. I mean, one would think it isn’t considering the fact that he’s form a totally different era.”

  “Wait until you meet him.”

  Hal gave a quick cross look at Frank. “What if his entire purpose and existence was to eventually come to Beginnings and take Dean’s place.”

  Robbie nodded. “Then he would have had to study Dean and would be hard to know who was who. Frank?”

  “Wait until you meet him.”

  Hal grunted. “Wait until we meet him. Is the plan simply to gain his trust? To get him to open up to us that he is the clone? Or do we want to bust him?”

  Elliott answered. “I believe we want him to open up to us. “

  Frank stated, “Yeah, maybe he’ll like us, feel sorry for us and one day say, ‘Hey, I’m not Dean my name is ….Roy.”

  Hal quickly looked at him. “Roy?”

  “Yeah or something like that,” Frank shrugged.

  “That’s an odd guess Frank,” Hal said. “Is that a guess? Or did you read his mind?”

  “A guess.”

  “You guessed his name is Roy?” Hal asked. “Why do I not believe you?”

  “I don’t know. I’m telling you, I just don’t have the knack anymore that I had when I died. Maybe it was a temporary gift that God gave me when I died.”

  “I don’t believe you died Frank,” Hal said.

  “I did too. I died and met God who looked like John Wayne.”

  Frustrated, Hal wave his hand. “You’re retarded.”

  “Obviously, I am not. I’m president.”

  “Obviously, that didn’t make a difference.”

  “You know …” Frank said. “When you say ‘retarded’ you show a total disrespect to our mentally challenged citizens.”

  “Hmm, yes, you’re right,” Hal said. “Maybe as their ring leader you can smooth things out.”

  “You suck.”

  “You’re slow.”

  “I run fifty-five miles per hour. How fast do you run?”

  Robbie interjected. “Not fifty-five miles per hour, I can tell you.”

  Hal looked at Robbie. Thank you for your assistance.”

  “Anytime. So, Frank?” Robbie asked. “I didn’t get to meet him today. What’s he like?”

  “Wait until you meet him.”

  Hal slammed his hand on the table. “Will you knock it off with that? I am awfully suspicious now. You with your wait until you meet him responses.”

  “What can I say?” Frank lifted his hands. “Wait until you meet him.”

  At that moment there was a knock on the door.

  Robbie, who had been rocking in his chair, snapped forward. “First difference already.”

  Hal stood. “What do you mean, you haven’t met him yet.”

  “Dad would pick up on it right away,” Robbie said.

  Elliott added. “Dean taps. Never knocks.”

  Frank gave a thumbs up.

  Hal shook his head. “You all are digging.” He reached for the door. “We’re about to find out.” He opened it.

  Roy stood in the hall. In one hand, he held a small sack and the other a clear and obviously Unique Boutique bag.

  Hal’s eyes shifted downwards checking out the shirt and the brown leather jacket. “Good God.”

  “Yes, he is, isn’t he?” He gave a pat to Hal’s arm. “Good evening, Moonlight. I’m here for poker and to drink you under the table.”

  As Hal opened the door wider, he spun and shot a look to Robbie who laughed loudly. Elliot sat, mouth agape, and Frank just grinned arrogantly.

  “Have a seat,” he instructed Roy.

  “Frank said it was my turn to bring a sweet treat.” He handed the bag to Hal.

  “Thank you.” Hal passed it to Elliott. “Sgt. Ryder, can you spread the goodies. I need to speak to Frank in the kitchen.”

  “Yes, Captain.” Elliott nodded.

  “Frank.” Hal gave a twitched of his head toward the kitchen.

  Frank stood up.

  Hal, leading Frank into the other room, only paused once with a hard look to Robbie who told the clone, “Nice shirt and jacket”. He walked into the kitchen, waited for Frank, and then closed the door.

  Frank gloated.
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  “Is this insane?” Hal asked in a whisper.

  “Nope.”

  “He’s … he’s no way like Dean and I’ve only met him for a second.”

  “Nope.” Frank shook his head. “He’s nothing like Dean. Barely speaks like him. Fuck, look at the way he dresses.”

  Hal smacked himself in the face, drawing his fingers down his lips. “How are we going to pull off that this is Dean? There’s no way. People will know.”

  “I doubt it,” Frank said. “No one really knows Dean. He hangs out with only people he’s close to.”

  “Fine. Point taken. But what about Ellen. Surely she’ll know.”

  Frank shrugged.

  “You shrug?” Hal shook his head. “We have to get the info out of him. He can’t know we know he’s the clone. Ellen will know.”

  “Then I guess we teach him.” Frank walked to the kitchen door.

  “Teach him what?” Hal asked.

  Another shrug and Frank opened the door. “How to be Dean.”

  Thinking ‘easier said than done’, Hal threw up his hands in defeat and followed Frank.

  <><><><>

  ‘Never in a million years will it work,’ thought Hal as they sat around the table, playing poker. Never will any of them succeed in making the clone be like Dean. Frank wasn’t even trying, in fact, Frank made matters worse.

  Hal understood the philosophy that Dean only hung out with those he cared about. To others in Beginnings they knew him, but true traits were not known. He was an anomaly. Which explained why everyone was always so quick to jump on Dean and believe the bad in him. They never knew him well enough to know he was not capable of all the things he was accused of.

  He looked at those around the table. Robbie found total amusement in the whole thing, going along, as usual with Frank.

  Elliott stared and studied the clone as if he were a history fact.

  Frank found amusement in ‘messing’ with the clone. Misleading him.

  Obviously, the clone was brilliant. He was able to create another time machine. He worked in the lab all day and according to Andrea did all the lab work fast and enthusiastically.

  So he knew what he was doing.

  Hal was willing to wager anything that the clone was genius beyond genius … but somehow, he had the innocence of a twelve year old. And that made sense. According to Fort, the clone was not in population and locked away.

  What if the clone had been locked away for his whole life, Hal thought. That would explain his naivety. His lack of knowledge in the common sense, life world. How he questioned nothing.

  Then again, if he knew very little about Beginnings, why would he question what Frank showed him.

  Hal grunted in irritation when Frank bellowed out another, ‘Man! You won again. You are so good at this game.”

  ‘Of course he’s good at this game, Frank, you moron,’ Hal shook his head thinking the words. “It isn’t a real game. You just made it up.’

  In fact, Frank kept switching the rules for the clone to win.

  A game called ‘One Eyed Jacks’, was nothing like Frank taught the clone. Basic poker with the exception for the rule when you had a black Jack in your hand, you had to keep one eye closed the entire time you played the game. It was any card you wanted, and two black Jacks, game over, if you had them both you win.

  Hal had to give it to Frank for being smart enough to pick up that the clone didn’t know what it meant to drink someone under the table.

  There was no way he knew, in fact, Hal was pretty certain that the clone never touched alcohol in his life. That was evident by when Frank made the clone down a shot under the table, and the clone jumped up, screamed, gasped, held his throat, and reacted as if he consumed acid.

  What did Frank do? To not allow the clone to realize his alcohol reaction wasn’t normal, Frank did the same thing as the clone.

  Then Robbie jumped in as well.

  One shot and the clone seemed tipsy. He could only image what a second shot was going to do. If Dean’s tolerance level was low, he could imagine how low the clones was.

  “Time again.” Frank said, and poured two shots. “Robbie I think it’s your turn to get under the table.”

  “Dear God,” Hal murmured.

  Saved.

  A knock at the door.

  Hal stood up and retrieved it. “Ellen?”

  “Hi Hal.”

  “What ... what are you doing here?”

  All activity at the table stopped.

  “I know I’m not supposed to be here, but I heard Dean is here.”

  “Yes, we are playing poker.”

  She nodded and stepped in. “Hey, Dean.”

  “Ellen.” Roy smiled. “Are you playing poker, too?”

  Both Frank and Robbie quickly answered ‘no.’

  Frank shrugged. “It’s a guy thing, Dean.”

  “Actually …” Ellen said. “I know you guys probably planned on playing longer. But … I was at Hoi-Hoi on the Range and saw Jenny. She told me that you were planning on line dancing and singing tonight Dean.”

  “I am.”

  “I am so excited about that. The lineup is big; I put you in rotation to sing. And I don’t want you to miss it.”

  “Oh, really?” Roy stood up. “What song did you pick?”

  “I didn’t. I just held your spot,” Ellen said.

  “Oh, I can’t miss it. Will you guys excuse me?” Roy asked.

  Frank nodded.

  Hal smiled. “Be our guest.”

  Roy raced to the couch, and grabbed his Unique Boutique sac.

  Ellen asked. “Is that the shirt, Jenny told me about?”

  “Yes. Yes it is.”

  “Oh, Dean, you have to put it on. Jenny says it’s so nice.”

  “OK. Can you wait?” Roy asked.

  Ellen nodded.

  Roy darted into the other room.

  “So.” Ellen exhaled. “How was the game? You guys aren’t mad at me are you?”

  Frank shook his head. “No. It’s fine. We were finishing anyhow.”

  “Yeah,” Robbie said. “I have something I have to do tonight anyhow.”

  Hal added. “It was getting boring.”

  Robbie choked and coughed.

  Hal wondered what he said that caused it until he saw the reason for Robbie’s physical reaction. Roy returned into the room.

  Hal’s eyes bulged at the shirt.

  Frank gave a thumbs up.

  Elliott said nothing.

  Ellen shrieked with joy. “Oh, my God, that’s perfect. I love it!”

  “Me, too,” Roy said. “Shall we.”

  “Yes.” Ellen nodded. “Oh, you look so hot.” She walked to the door with him. “Singing, dancing, that shirt. I don’t know if I can control myself.”

  The door closed.

  Robbie laughed.

  Frank stood up. “Fucker.”

  “Whoa.” Hal held out his hand. “You have no one to blame but yourself, Frank. You made the understanding with Dean before you snatched him from Beginnings. Ellen is crucial, you should have told her.”

  Elliott spoke up. “She knows.”

  Hal turned to him. “Excuse me?”

  “She knows,” Elliott repeated.

  Frank shook his head. “I didn’t tell her. She doesn’t know.”

  “I know you didn’t tell her,” Elliott said. “But she knows.”

  “She doesn’t know,” Frank said.

  Hal added. “She has to know.”

  “She doesn’t know,” Frank reiterated.

  Robbie tilted his head. “I think she knows.”

  “She doesn’t know,” Frank insisted.

  Elliott shook his head. “She knows.”

  Hal asked. “Why do you think she knows?”

  Elliott explained. “It is well established that only those close to Dean really know what he’s like. Ellen is the closest person to Dean. She is going to see the difference right away.”

  Robbie questioned. �
�But if she knows, then why isn’t she saying anything?”

  Hal replied. “If she knows then maybe she doesn’t think we know, and she’s trying to figure things out.”

  “Frank?” Elliott said. “You are going to have to tell her. Get her into this. She is vital. She can also be very influential in the cover up. Of it. You have to tell her if you really think she doesn’t know.”

  “She doesn’t know,” Frank said.

  “Then we have a problem.” Hal said. “If she doesn’t know, she will know, and who knows what she will do.”

  “Worse,” Robbie added. “If she doesn’t know and she then knows and finds out we know, but didn’t tell her what we know, then I didn’t wanna know what she’ll do. You know?”

  Hal nodded. “I know.”

  “Fuck.” Frank blurted out.

  “What?” Hal asked. “Revelation?”

  “No. Confusion. What the fuck are you guys saying?”

  Elliott explained. “In a nutshell Frank. She has to know. Period. If she finds out that we knew about the clone. She is going to be pissed.”

  “But how is she going to know?”

  “How can she not?” Hal asked. “When, Big Brother, was the last time you knew Dean to line dance and sing Karaoke?”

  “Last week.”

  “What!” Hal blasted. “He did not.”

  “Did, too,” Frank came back. “Maybe not line danced. But he talked about it. He definitely sang Karaoke. Faithfully, by Journey. Wait. Or was that me.” Frank paused. “That was me; I sang Faithfully, he sang Tiny Bubbles.”

  “Oh, he did not,” Hal retorted.

  “Did, too. Sang good too. Got a standing ovation.”

  “You are so full of goddamn shit.” Hal shook his head. “He didn’t sing karaoke nor talk about line dancing, and you know it.”

  “Ok. Whatever. But what does that have to do with anything?” Frank asked.

  “He didn’t do it before, but he sure as hell is doing it now.”

  No sooner did Hal say that, Robbie jumped noisily from his chair.

  “Where are you going?” Hal asked.

  “If the clone is going to line dance, sing karaoke and wear that tacky blue shirt. I don’t know about you guys. I’m not missing it.” Robbie flew from the apartment.

  Robbie was out of the door a matter of seconds. And after a few glances at each other, Frank, Hal, and Elliott followed.

  <><><><>

  When did Dean become such a crowd pleaser, George wondered? He was genuinely impressed with his line dancing and even more so with Dean’s rendition of ‘The Twist’. He sang the song perfectly and proceeded to get everyone in the room twisting.