Jake's Clone Saga

Off Camera

It had been a fairly long day for Jake Chandler as he got home from work. He’d been rather busy with it now being Unstoppable season with his job. Plus he had to catch a flight first thing tomorrow to go to Breaking Point and then Future Shock after that. So his plan was an early night of crashing, but not too early. After he kicked the door shut behind him, he dropped his eyes on a table and plopped down in a recliner.

He pulled out his phone, and remembered the text message he’d gotten from his mom while he was working. She always wanted to chat and check in with him every so often, and he tapped the speakerphone as he dialed her number. She tended to answer on the third ring, today was no different.

“Hi, sweetie. Home from work?” Elizabeth Chandler asked.

“Yeah, just got in and remembered to give you a call. How’s Dad?”

“He’s fine, he’s at a menswear store picking up a new suit for our anniversary dinner in a couple weeks. I’ll tell him you said hi.” She told her son. Jake’s dad, Charles, was not a phone person. He didn’t like talking on them if he didn’t have to. Most of his communication with Jake was video calls or emails.

“I appreciate it. Well unless there’s something on your mind, I should probably start–” Jake didn’t finish his sentence for his mom cutting in.

“Well there is one thing actually. I wanted to talk with you about your new girlfriend.” She said with a lilt to her voice. She’d never brought Arabella up to Jake since they had begun dating, so now Jake was curious. Dreading it, but curious.

“Okay.” He said cautiously. Some of the women Jake had dated didn’t always meet with approval from his parents. But that never stopped him.

“How long has it been now since you started seeing each other?” She asked.

“Since March. Everything’s been great.” He answered.

“Well that’s nice. Does she live there now?” Elizabeth’s tone was becoming a bit more inquisitive now.

“No. I still live alone. We tend to coast hop. One week, I’ll go see her in Boston. The other week, she’s here. Little too early for living together, I think.” Jake told her, which somehow seemed to assure her.

“That’s very sensible. I was a little worried when I saw her, to be honest.” Elizabeth answered. “She looked a little…..”

Jake’s brow furrowed. “A little what?”

“Well….she looks a lot like one of your ex-girlfriends from a few years ago. I mean…a LOT like her. When I first saw her, I thought you had gotten back together with Kaylee.” Elizabeth admitted.

“Kaylee?! No, she and I aren’t together and haven’t been in years. She’s in Canada last I spoke with her, and that was a while back. Arabella’s totally different. For one, she’s from England. Pretty fair distance from Canada.” Jake rolled his eyes, and was glad he wasn’t on a video call with her so she could see it.

“But Jake, they look exactly alike. Are you sure this isn’t some way of transferring your–”

“Mom, I don’t know what you’re talking about. I don’t see even the slightest resemblance. Arabella’s not as tall as Kaylee was. They don’t sound alike when they talk, and again…one of them has been in Canada for a long time and I haven’t spoken to her or missed her. I mean I appreciate you using all 3 credits of your psychology class to try to find something that isn’t there, but–”

“Jake! You mean to tell me you don’t see even the slightest resemblance between her and Arabella? None at all!?”

“I’ve never made that connection, no. And I don’t miss her. Arabella is ten times better for me. She’s an awesome girlfriend. Kaylee wasn’t….because ya know….she dumped me and left. We kinda grew apart after that.” He said with a mild annoyance to his tone.

“I can’t believe you don’t see any kind of resemblance. They could be twins, Jake!” Elizabeth chided him.

“If you say so. I don’t see it personally, and I know them both better than you. Look, if you ever get to meet Arabella, don’t bring this up to her. Maybe you miss Kaylee. I haven’t thought about her in ages.”

Elizabeth let out a deep breath. “I still don’t…. I wasn’t ever going to mention her to Arabella whenever I got to meet her. That would be rude to her. But I just want you to find a picture of her and compare it to a picture of Arabella.”

“Sure thing, Mom. On the top of my list. Digging up pictures of my exes to compare them to Arabella. Sure sounds like a fun time to me! Maybe Arabella would enjoy it too.” If his eyes rolled back any harder, they would have fallen into his mouth at this point. “Listen, I gotta get ready to pack for the weekend. Two shows and lots of flying. I’ll tell Arabella you said hi..and that you didn’t call her Kaylee.”

“Of course, I didn’t! Have a safe trip, text me when you’ve landed so I know you’re alright. Bye.”

Jake ended the call, and got up from his recliner. He started a text as he headed upstairs to begin the packing.