It was a stereotypical beautiful morning. The sun was shining, the birds were chirping, and there was just enough chill in the South East Texas air that Colton Deshotel had an excuse to show off his brand-new LSU Tigers robe and slippers to all of his Aggie loving neighbors as he set off down the driveway to grab the news. Antagonizing one another based on college football team preference was on of their favorite pass times, and as anticipated, Dave Walker booed. Colton could only laugh as his retort of "Jealous?" echoed down the mostly empty street. Dave was making some comment about the Tigers as Colton flashed his purple and yellow clad ass in an exaggerated stoop to grab the paper. Just as he got his comeback ready, Colton stopped, staring at the Daily Star. A familiar face looked back up at him under the headline "Do You Know This Face?" and surrounded by an article which repeated one word several times: clones.
Miles away, in a high-rise apartment in the middle of San Antonio, Trini Sandoval stared unbelieving at the television screen, toothbrush hanging from her lips as the anchor, her coworker, repeated the day's headline: human cloning had been successful in the 80s, and hundreds of clones walked the country unaware of their status. It was some sort of sick prank, she decided, removing her toothbrush and turning her back to the television. Her own image was plastered on screen alongside several other, obviously photo shopped images of her face.
Trini's phone screen had been lit up for the last 5 minutes, ringing silently as relatives, friends, and colleagues saw the fake story. Instead of looking at it, she opted to get ready for work, reviewing her notes for her two scheduled interviews that day. One with that lady from the cat shelter, and the other with the owner of a new barbecue place on the river walk. Total tourist joint, but it also meant free lunch. And that she couldn't wear white.
She was slipping into a pair of black and green Jordan's when there was a knock at the door. "Just a minute!" she responded, checking her hair and jewelry in the mirror once more.
The knocker persisted until she yanked it open. "Oh! Jocelyn, why didn't you say anything?" She stepped out of the way, allowing her girlfriend into the room.
"Why is your face on every newspaper and TV station?"
"Someone at Channel 25 is pulling a prank on me, that's all. They must have reached out to other stations," she reasoned, not sounding totally convinced herself.
Joss shifted her weight from one foot to the other, staring at the window as if contemplating saying something, but before she could speak, Trini cut her off. "I'm going to be late, amor, I need to go. We'll laugh about this later." She kissed her cheek, her still-ringing cell phone forgotten on the coffee table.
Colton closed the door behind himself, still staring at the newspaper. Their yellow lab, Rosco, barked at him as he entered, which woke the baby, which made his wife stir from her sleep. She must have dozed off rocking the infant's cradle.
The man apologized quietly, rushing to take up his new tiny daughter is his arms to pacify her. "Good morning, baby girl," he cooed, having forgotten the newspaper. He glanced up at his wife, who was watching them with the most adoring gleam in her eye. Ten years of marriage, ten years of trying for a child, finally lead them to Kimberly. The young, scared mother-to-be had miraculously chosen them as her child'a parents, and they promised unlimited visitations and a place in their little family.
"You wanna go see your mommy?" Colton whispered into his daughter's ear, loving how that title now belonged to Rhiannon. "You wanna see your mommy?" he repeated, dancing across the floor to hand the baby to his wife.
Rhiannon took the child gleefully, as Colton lowered himself to his knees in front of them. She tangled her fingers in his short-cropped curls as their newborn gurgled. "Our first full day as parents," Rhiannon sighed, wanting to memorize every expression on her daughter's face. "Good morning, sweet Clara."
Clara, for her part, gurgled again. Keeping her eyes open seemed like so much effort, yet she forced herself to do so. The new parents knew that she couldn't actually see more than shapes and light at this point, but they liked to think she was taking them in.
Colton kissed his girls before rising to make the baby a bottle and the mommy a cup of coffee. Rhiannon reached for the TV remote and put on the weather, wondering aloud how long their cold snap was going to last.
"That reminds me, Dave Walker loved my new robe," he laughed, carefully bringing his wife her coffee. Rhiannon chuckled, secretly giddy that he was so happy with his gift. He traded her the coffee for the baby, allowing Rhiannon to relax.
When she returned her attention to the TV, instead of the weather, a serious voice was talking about human clones. "What on Earth?" She laughed, assuming it was some sort of weird sci-fi show. She watched for a few more minutes before a pit began to form in her stomach, a peculiar anxiety creepy down her spine. It was like looking into a fucked up mirror.
Trini's drive to work was uneventful, as always. However, the second she stepped out of her car, she heard someone shout, "She's here!" followed by the hurried scramble of a camera crew. A reporter slipped to her side, "Here she is, Channel 12 San Antonio's very own resident clone: Trini Sandoval. Trini, how do you feel about the recent revelation?"
Trini could do little more than gape, but quickly composed herself. She'd spent her entire adult life in front of a camera. "I think it's a very funny prank, Ashley," she responded, allowing a fake but convincing laugh.
"So you don't believe the reports out of Canada, the proof of human cloning, and the fact that you. Yourself, are a clone?"
Trini ignored the urge to kiss her teeth and roll her eyes. Instead she asked, "You do?"
"It's quite convincing, and several women have come forward revealing themselves as clones. Women like Isla Davis from New Orleans, Louisiana," Ashley paused, her painted on smile broad as a speaker played a voice-mail from a confused sounding caller. The caller asked, "Am I a…clone?" in a voice eerily similar to Trini's own. Chills went up her arms.
Quickly, she turned to Ashley, dropping all pretenses. "Ashley, what's happening?"