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20:05 Tuesday 24 September 2069
Maurice and Karen arrived at the restaurant early. Both were anxious to meet Marcus but for different reasons. Karen was looking forward to meeting the kind and considerate man who appeared to be sweeping her youngest daughter off her feet, whilst Maurice wanted to see what kind of monster was taking advantage of his little girl.
After a brief five minute wait, Caitlin and Marcus arrived. Maurice stood up, discreetly gritting his teeth, disguising his true feelings with a forced but welcoming smile, and shook Marcus’s hand. He was surprised how normal the hand felt, considering that Caitlin’s boyfriend was a clone. He wasn’t really sure what he had been expecting; Marcus had been manufactured, for all intents and purposes, but he had been developed from a human cell so there was no real earthly reason why he shouldn’t have felt human, no reason why he should have an alien texture to his skin. Introductions done, the four of them sat down. Marcus ordered a bottle of wine, the most expensive in the restaurant, whilst Maurice hoped that he wouldn’t be expected to pay for the extravagant choice. After a few seconds Marcus broke the silence.
“So Mr Boone. Caitlin tells me that you’re an accountant. Perhaps I might call upon your services someday if my current accountants let me down. And Mrs Boone. What do you do?”
“Oh, this and that, you know, the kind of things that mothers do.”
She didn’t let on that One Life had acknowledged the fact that all mothers need to master many skills in their home lives that can be relevant in the workplace, and had given her the responsibility of training its members in time management, prioritizing tasks, and delegation. When Maurice had told her about his trip to the mysterious tropical island, he had left out the critical information about Marcus, so she was completely in the dark about his real identity. It had been a difficult decision not to tell his wife what he had learnt and it was gnawing at his insides that he had to keep this secret from her. He couldn’t make good on his promise not to say anything to Caitlin; he was sorry, but Caitlin was his daughter and her well-being must come before anything else. He would tell her, but he would wait until after the meal. He would gather his family around him, Caitlin and Michelle included, and let everybody know just who they were dealing with. He had no idea how Caitlin would react but he was sure that she would need her family around her.
The evening went much as any first meeting between parents and their youngest daughter’s boyfriend could be expected to go, an evening of not particularly confrontational questions and answers. Maurice hoped that he was giving an Oscar worthy performance and that he wasn’t showing any trace of the disgust that he felt for this man. Although he wanted to grab Marcus’s head with both hands and pound it against the wall until his brain seeped out of his ears, he fought to resist the temptation to be anything other than a doting father meeting his daughter’s boyfriend for the first time.
The waiter approached their table with the dessert trolley, and Maurice was eying up a particularly delicious looking tangerine cheesecake, when he felt a strange sensation in his chest, a sensation that he had never experienced before. He suddenly became aware that it was becoming difficult to breathe but what really frightened him was the pain that he was in. If forced to describe it, he would have to say that it was as if an elephant was sitting on his chest. Or perhaps it was more like somebody was reaching inside his chest and trying to rip his heart out. Whichever it felt like, Maurice knew that it wasn’t good. Not good? That was the understatement of the century. He felt very dizzy. Was he dying? Is this what dying was like? It would stop the pain, for sure, but he wasn’t ready to die yet. He had to tell Caitlin what was going on, who Marcus really was. He tried to speak but no words came out. He fell to the floor, pouting like a goldfish out of water.
Suddenly he was aware of being lifted up and thought that perhaps his soul was leaving his body. Perhaps he had died and his soul was seeking its next host. He looked around him and saw that not only were his wife and daughter looking at him, tears streaming down their faces, but they had been joined by a team of paramedics. It appears that he wasn’t dead after all, but he was being lifted and placed upon a medivac stretcher. A new thought struck him. He couldn’t afford to pay for private medical treatment. He didn’t want to die and leave his family with an unmanageable debt. He couldn’t die yet. He had to explain to his daughter that she was dating the most dangerous man on the planet.
One of the paramedics held Maurice’s mouth open and placed a few drops of medication under his tongue. Maurice had no idea what drug they had just given him but the effects were almost immediate. His panic diminished and he became more aware of his surroundings. The paramedic was still leaning over him, monitoring his immediate recovery. Maurice whispered to him.
“I can’t afford the treatment. Not enough money.”
The paramedic whispered back so that nobody else could hear.
“Don’t worry. It’s all been taken care of.”
Karen walked alongside the stretcher whilst Maurice was carried into the waiting ambulance. She held his hand as he was settled into position and hooked up to various medical monitoring devices.
“The paramedic says you’ll be fine in a few days, but you might need surgery. The doctors at the hospital will know more a bit later on when they’ve had a chance to check you over.”
“Wait, mum, I’m coming with you.”
Caitlin had said her rushed goodbyes to Marcus and was determined to go with her mother and father to the hospital. A few minutes later the ambulance was darting between the traffic, sirens blaring and lights flashing, and after only twenty minutes Maurice was in the hospital emergency room, receiving the best healthcare that money could buy. The best healthcare that the Businessman’s money could buy.