Cloned Lives by Sargent Pamela

Author:Sargent, Pamela [Sargent, Pamela]
Language: eng
Format: azw3, epub
Publisher: Open Road Media Sci-Fi & Fantasy
Published: 2014-03-31T16:00:00+00:00

Mike sat in Esther’s kitchen, trying to swallow the orange juice she had placed in front of him. He tried not to think of his brother who was home busily packing his things. He would forget the past week, his attempts at being lighthearted while Ed prepared to leave. He would ignore the fact that by tomorrow, he would be alone in his apartment. After all, I always wanted to get away from the others finally.

He would get to know Joe Lahani better in India. He would arrange with Morel to get some weekends off with Esther. He would be more open with her than he had been. She might even stay with him in his apartment until he left.

He was beginning to feel a bit better. He looked over at Esther as she sat down across the table from him.

“I was right, then,” she said. “Well, now you can go to Bihar and get some sense into your brain and Ed can do what he wanted to do.”

“All right, all right.”

“You’ll be better off, you know.”

He finished his juice. “I have to ask you something, Esther. Why did you do it, telling Ed all of that business about Bihar? I wasn’t going to, I didn’t want to make him feel guilty about standing in my way.”

“I figured it was best for you if I did. I think I was right.”

“That’s not the only reason. I don’t know why, but I feel as if there’s another reason.”

“You’re right, there is.” She got up and circled near him, brushing against his shoulder with her bare arm. “I want you to go to Bihar, I don’t want you around here any more. I might start falling in love with you, I feel as though I have been for a while. I don’t like it, it makes me feel dependent and foolish. I’d rather look after myself, you know. Besides, I know enough to know you won’t ever feel that way about me, and there are all those damned clones competing for your attention. If you leave, I’ll have enough time to forget you.”

He forced himself to look up at her. Her brown eyes seemed to shine. “Esther,” he started to say. He took her hand. “It doesn’t have to be that way. I think I…”

She pulled away. “Don’t you understand?” she cried. “I don’t want to be like this. I was going to put in for a transfer if you didn’t go. I don’t want to feel this way.”

“Esther…”

“We’ll both be better off this way. I’m not substituting for Ed.”

Mike left the kitchen and soon found himself outside her house. He hurried toward the elevator. The houses on either side of the road seemed to swirl around him. He bumped into an older man and shoved him aside angrily. He pushed his way onto the elevator and heard it humming around him as he moved down past the levels of houses and office buildings.

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