Multiples of Six (12 page)

Chapter 26

“My name is James Masterson. My name is James. Doug, right? My name is James Masterson. I don’t know how to tell you this. Dammit. James, my names is James. Jesus Christ. I know you don’t know me from Adam, but guess what? Look at me. I look like you. We must be brothers. This is fucking ridiculous!”

He pounded his hands against the back of the seat. They were parked no more than a block away from where Doug Pederson’s mother had told them her son worked. They had been there for over twenty minutes. The sight of a police car had made Nicole nervous.

“James,” she said, crouching down in her seat, “we haven’t exactly got all the time in the world.”

“I know, I know! I just…” he mouthed wordlessly.

“You could always do it the way I did it,” Kevin said. James didn’t even respond.

“We came all this way, and
now
you’re going to have cold feet?” Nicole said.

“I could use a little support here,” James said.

“What do you want me to do, introduce you to him? He’s not going to need an introduction, James. You’re identical twin…uh…triplets.”

“Thanks,” he said after a moment, and opened the door, “C’mon, Kevin, back me up on this one.”

Nicole grabbed his arm.

“What are you going to do?” she asked.

“No clue. Maybe I’ll just order a couple of bagels and walk back out,” James said. She frowned.

“You can’t just do
that
,” she said, and he turned back to the car.

“Why not?” James said, his hands falling slackly to his sides.

“Do you really want to broadcast this to a bunch of strangers in a small town bagel shop? Might as well put an ad out in the paper,” she said.

“Now you’re full of bright ideas?” James asked.

“I thought you had a plan!”

“My plan was to sleep in this morning and go to work on Monday. Ever since that plan got shot down…no pun intended…I haven’t had a plan!”

“I’ll go in. You two look for a back entrance. I’ll send him out,” she said.

“Good Lord! You can’t do that! He’ll think we’re there to jump him,” James said.

“Yeah,” Kevin said, “How the hell are you going to convince him?”

“I don’t know…I’ll use my girlish charms,” she said.

She winked at them, and James was too tired to keep arguing.

“C’mon,” Kevin said. “It’s probably our best shot.”

The walk to the bagel shop seemed too short for James. He walked methodically, aware of everything and nothing at the same time. He pulled the collar of his coat up. His legs felt stiff as he walked. Too many hours spent in the car. They walked along the street; nearly no other people were visible. A car passed and they crossed the street behind it.

The bagel shop was now one building away. It was hard to miss; a huge fake bagel hung above the doorway with the word ‘Bagels’ in large cartoonish letters. James and Kevin slowed their pace, spotting an alley on the nearest side of the shop. James felt a burning inside, somewhere above his gut and below his neck. If he didn’t already know how nervous he was, he might have thought he was having some sort of seizure.

They were now standing on the sidewalk, paces from the front window of the small store. James wanted to just look in. Just to sneak a peek. He looked at Nicole and for the first time she looked hesitant.

“We could figure something else out,” James said.

“No,” she said. “I got it. Go round the side. There must be a rear delivery door or something.”

James walked to the edge of the front window and peered in. There were shelves blocking most of the all-glass window, but between the bins of fresh rolls, and stacks of wrapped bread, he could see the front counter. The smell of fresh baked bagels was overpowering and his stomach suddenly reminded him that he hadn’t eaten much more than a Slim Jim in the last twelve hours. The window was fogged with the heat from inside. He wanted nothing more than to walk in and get a tea and a fresh bagel. His mouth watered.

At first, James saw no one, but his stomach dropped with the sight of a man that he almost immediately determined could not be related. He squinted through the hazy glass. This man was probably in his early forties, maybe even late forties. His face was round and squat with what looked like several days beard growth. The apron that used to be white looked like a tight fit on a body that had seen too many of his own product. He walked behind the counter carrying a large tray of what looked to be onion bagels. The tightness in James’ chest was followed by a growl from his stomach.

Footsteps to his right forced James to turn away. A bell announced the customer as he pulled open the door to the shop. This was followed by muffled hellos and a back-and-forth conversation that made everyone in the shop laugh.

His chest was pounding hard now. He was close enough to the window to make out some of the banter going on between the man behind the counter and the customer. Then he heard it. The fat man called out to someone in the back to bring out a fresh something-or-other. The name he had used was Doug. James pressed close to the glass, eyeing the counter between a loaf of rye and a loaf of wheat. Someone came out of the back, but ducked beneath the counter before James could see him.

James’ stomach leaped again. He caught a glimpse of a young man. His back was to the front of the store. There was another carbon copy of James…and Kevin. He stood slightly taller than James, as well as he could guess at this distance. He had the same not-black, not-brown, crazy hair that James had always lamented. There was something different about him and James realized that this new incarnation of himself bested his weight by at least fifty pounds. Doug Peterson was a taller, broader version of himself. Then James saw him misstep. At first, he thought that it was just something to do with working behind the counter. But, the more he watched, he could see that he had a distinct limp in his step. He stepped away and rounded the corner, where Nicole and Kevin were waiting.

“It’s him. He’s a beast. Makes Kevin look downright scrawny.”

“Dude, that ain’t sayin’ much,” Kevin said.

“He’s got me by fifty pounds easy,” James said.

“Jesus! Too many bagels?” Nicole said.

“Maybe, but it looks like he might have been in shape once. He’s got a limp too.”

“Oh,” said Nicole.

“You still got this?” James said.

She hesitated, but nodded.

“Yeah, you two go. I got this. Really,” she said.

“Just tell him some old friends are here to see him,” James said.

“Right, and they don’t want to come to the front door like civilized human beings,” Kevin said.

James and Kevin walked around to the back side of the building. They stood outside two large steel doors that looked like they had been given a layer of grey paint every year since they had been installed. The alley was quiet, only disturbed by the distant sound of machinery running and a faint stench from the nearby dumpster permeating the chill air. They didn’t need to speak. Kevin looked at James and shrugged nervously. James blew on his hands and stomped his feet to keep them warm. He wished he had brought a winter hat. After two minutes, James began to worry. After five, Kevin started to look worried. There wasn’t even a hint of sound from behind the doors. So, when a voice called out just behind them to the left, both young men jumped, twisting around.

“Jesus Christ!” James said.

Kevin clutched at his chest.

 “Who…” Doug Pederson stammered, a hand leaning against the brick wall, a door opened behind him to their left.

“Who the…who are you? I thought she said there was a delivery?”

Even in the morning cold, a bead of sweat was trickling down Doug Pederson’s cheek. His face was red at the cheeks. He was still wearing his bagel apron and a paper hat that covered most of his hair. Upon a second good glance, James could see that his counterpart was a good two to three inches taller. He took a step toward Doug, who now looked ready to hit something.

“Doug, right? James. My name is James,” James said, extending his hand.

“And this…this is Kevin.”

Plumes of breath filled the air between them. James’ hand was left suspended between them. Doug looked at the hand warily.

“Don’t leave me hangin’ here,” James said, his face breaking into a nervous worried grin. 

Doug smiled at James sheepishly, then looked back at the hand, still worried.

“Have you ever seen
Time Cop
? Jean-Claude Van Damme? No? Never mind,” Doug said, and he finally wrapped a warm meaty mitt around James’ cold hand.

“Doug, everything ok out there?” The short fat man stuck his head out the door, not really looking closely at the trio out the back.

“Yeah, Leo. Everything’s fine. Just some…old friends.”

“Thought she said delivery,” Leo said, hoisting a bag onto his shoulder.

“Yeah…she did…not what she meant though. Don’t worry about it,” Doug said.

“Alright. Take fifteen if you need it. Shop’s slow.”

“Thanks.”

He turned back to James, taking the two in, looking them up and down. He took an awkward step toward James, favoring his left leg, and patting James’ shoulder as if to test its tangibility.

“How do you know my name? Where did you come from? How come we’ve never met before? Who was the girl?”

It was rapid-fire with a lot of pointing, and James couldn’t help but be awestruck by the simple experience of watching this version of himself act. He almost smiled.

“And, what’s that look for?” Doug said.

“It’s amazing,” James said.

“It is kinda amazing, isn’t it,” Kevin said.

“It’s freakish,” Doug said, the hint of a smile.

James frowned. To him, it had all the makings of a life-moment. One of those times he would look back on and remember to his dying day. This was supposed to be one of those moments. But, somehow, he now felt short-changed as he stood feeling as perplexed and confused as Doug looked. He wanted him to recognize it as something important. But, maybe that was asking too much.

“Come with us, Doug,” James said.

“Where are you going?” Doug asked.

“That…I’m not really quite sure,” James said.

“Why would I come with you? I don’t even know who you are,” Doug said.

“Who do you think I am, Doug?” Kevin said.

“You look like someone who might be…who should be…my brother,” he said, his face translating the thought process from understanding to confusion and back.

“And I
am
your brother,” James said.

“And, I…am your father…dude, I’m joking. Jesus…this guy’s touchy,” Kevin said.

“How is this possible?” Doug asked.

“That’s a bit of a convoluted story. But, so far, everything that’s happened has led us here…to you,” James said.

“But, James,” Doug said, a pained expression on his face, “My parents never had another child.”

“But, Doug, isn’t it obvious? You were adopted, just like Kevin and I…” James said.

The words seemed to gain weight as they left James’ mouth, and they seemed to hit Doug square in the chest. He coughed out a plume of breath, but surprised James by breaking out into laughter.

“Adopted! Ha! That’s a good one,” he said, removing his bagel hat and slapping it across his knee. “That’s a riot.”

James and Kevin stared fixedly back at him.

“You mean to tell me your parents are still alive?” James said, “That woman I spoke with is your…our…”

“Now hold the phone,” Doug said, “I didn’t say that.”

“Oh, so we just happen to look just like you, almost to the last mole, give or take fifty pounds and an inch or two, but it’s just a freak of nature. I don’t think so, Doug. I was told my parents died right after I was born. And, now here you are, and you’re telling me that your birth parents are still alive?”

It was all just too much for James. Had he really come all this way to discover, not only that he had
another
brother, but that his birth parents were still alive? He had a sudden appreciation for the fear Kevin had expressed just the day before. It wasn’t a good feeling.

“I’m sorry,” Doug said, quietly.

“It’s ok…it’s just been a trying couple of days,” James said, feeling guilty for getting loud.

“James,” Nicole said, coming around the corner from the alley. “We need to get going before someone sees the three of you.”

“Sees us?” Doug said.

“Yeah, I’ll explain in the car,” Nicole said.

“Listen, I gotta get back to work.”

“No,” James said, startling all of them, and grabbing Doug’s wrist, “you don’t understand.”

“Whoa,” Doug said, breaking his grip without a show of effort, “Listen, I don’t know what you three are about, but…”

“Doug, please. It’s you who has to listen to us,” Nicole said. “We’ve traveled a long way to find you before anyone else does. For all we know, they’re waiting around the corner for us.”

“Who’s they? Us? Me? I don’t understand,” Doug said, still looking as if he were two steps to high-tailing it back into the bagel shop and locking the door behind him.