Gary froze for a second as he piled into the back of the cab outside the airport. The guy driving the cab was him! Unable to help himself, he blurted out, "What the hell?!"
The cabbie started in surprise and cranked around for a better look at his passenger. "Gary?"
"What's the hold up?" Gary's dad grumbled and landed a light kick to Gary's backside, effectively encouraging him to get all the way into the cab. Jack Madison climbed in after his son and firmly shut the door behind himself.
"Dad?" Gary and the cabbie said in near perfect unison, though in quite different tones. The cabbie was speaking in genuine surprise. Gary said it in an expectant manner as if hoping to prompt an explanation.
"What are you two doing here?" the cabbie said after a second of uncomfortable silence.
"I could ask you the same thing," Jack said gruffly, completely unruffled by the appearance of a second son that seemed to know him. He was an old hand at navigating the divergent realities created by the stone.
"I pick up fares here. I drive a cab. This is what I do now," the cabbie said somewhat shamefacedly.
"Humph, well, then drive us out to Bricksford Heights," Jack said in a curt, matter of fact way.
"Hang on a second, damnit," the cabbie snapped back, "Everyone thinks you're dead and you just tell me to drive you out to a shithole like the Heights?"
"Everyone thought I was dead back when you boys were in college," Jack said patiently, "Remember how that turned out?"
Gary watched the interchange in silence, but he remembered all too well the year he had thought his father was dead. He had been colossally depressed and doing poorly in his classes until his father had popped back up, brushing things off the strange coincidences in their lives in that way he always did. Something about a boating accident while on a business trip overseas, though the details were hazy after all this time. That was before he knew about the stone and began to understand things better.
"Yeah, I do," the cabbie muttered.
"Well, then," Jack smiled, "Just like then."
"Fine, what the fuck ever," the cabbie turned back around and started his car, pulling away from the curb with an angry jerk, "Bricksford Heights it is."
Gary took the opportunity to silently pantomime confusion. Jack smiled and tapped the side of his temple. A second later, Gary could hear his father's voice in his head as clear as if he were speaking aloud.
"This is Jerry, your brother, twin brother actually, Jerold Madison specifically, named after my own brother long dead. Don't worry, I see this sort of thing all the time. You were out of the stone's range so it twinned you, a common event around the stone. You might remember being married to your wife, but within the bubble of the stone's effect it was actually Jerry here. He's bitter and pissed off, but I suppose he has a right to be. His life was pretty much just like yours until he was created by Mikey's wish. After that he had to live through the fallout you were thankfully spared by moving out west. Be nice to him. It would be easy to think of him as some sort of phantom or automaton but he is an actual being with feelings who has been treated very poorly by life."
"So are you going to tell me what's going on?" Jerry said after a bit.
"Just checking up on some real estate I own out this way. We'll be staying a few nights while Gary helps me take care of some things," Jack said a touch more warmly than before, "Why don't you come by later tonight and we can all catch up."
"No thanks," Jerry sighed, "I don't come out this way too much, not after..."
"After Linda moved here with her new husband?" Jack asked gently.
"Yeah," Jerry took a ragged breath, "They, uh, they live in a place on Linderman. She's pregnant again."
"I'm sorry to hear that, Jerry. I know that has to be rough on you," Jack leaned forward and laid a hand on Jerry's shoulder as he drove.
"Well, you warned me not to marry her," Jerry shrugged the hand away, "Here's the Heights anyway. Where exactly are you going?"
Jack gave an address from memory, a dilapidated brownstone that had been boarded up over thirty years ago. As they unloaded their bags he once more repeated his invitation for Jerry to drop by later.
"No thanks, pop," Jerry said as he waved off the money in Jack's hand, "You know I was always scared of rats and that place looks to be full of them. Call me if you need a cab - - but next time I charge you double for coming out here."
