[https://i.imgur.com/yEQYowO.jpg]

Part 3 - Welcome

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I had his address and cell number saved under "Work". Getting only short rings, it was clear he had his phone off. I left a brief voice message, "Hi, John. This is Barbara. Just checking in since I heard you might be sick. Please call me back or text me if you can't make work on Monday. Don't want to have to dock your pay or anything." Then, I finished with my contact info, in case he didn't have it.

As I pinched above the bridge of my nose, Lina nodded her head and reiterated, "Not there because he's headed to my BlizzCon."

Looking at the video from yesterday saved to my phone's main screen, I bit my upper lip gently then said, "Not enough to know for sure. We should stop by."

John lived not far from the office, at a place called Beckley Glen. It was a three-story complex near an older park with dark-beige siding and white doors. So, it basically looked like every apartment complex in the area. 

I flared my nostrils slightly. By the stairs was a potent aroma, like overturned, musty soil and grass drying in the sun. The smell of a farm but I hadn't seen one nearby. 

The Walmart had one right behind it with a vocal rooster at all hours. I couldn't live in this part of town with all the poultry farms and the wrong sorts of cocks keeping me up.

John's place was around a turn on the second story. His windows needed a good washing, but I was able to look in through the blinds and confirm he wasn't passed out on the suede couch or sprawled out naked on the shag carpet. 

Looping around, I noticed a half-ajar, frosted jalousie bathroom window but it was too high to peer through. Holding up my phone revealed no one in there either. I couldn't rule out the rest of the apartment, so I gave a solid series of raps on the door, firm enough to wake even a deeply hungover man. No one came out.

I lingered a bit. None of the neighbors I chanced upon knew John. I was about to return to Lina in the car when I noticed a disheveled guy with hair roughly as curly as John's and the same tone.

As I crept to his side, the man looked up from the ground. His head wobbled and his eyes bulged and dipped like he was constantly trying to wake up. He wore a dirty blue shirt and slacks with the cuffs rolled up. The crotch of his pants was darkly-soaked. It couldn't be...

Swallowing, I asked, "Uh, sir. What's your name?"

He scratched at the scruff of his neck then jolted with my question before answering hoarsely, "Me? John. I'm John."

He didn't seem that old. Or that beefy. Very slender and twiggy. Also, unlike every other homeless man I'd ever seen when I lived in the southwest, he didn't have anything with him. No trash bags or satchels.

Unsure, I asked, "This might sound really weird, but do you remember anything that confuses you from the last day or two?" 

This was crazy but I was ready to bolt or punt his nuts inside out if I had to.

His head rocked as he clenched the railing. With a finger up, he recited, "Hazy. But...pub. Guy with curly hair....OWL! That's it. Owl!" He gazed at his finger and then over at me. "I bet. An owl."

Uncanny. Jumbled but uncanny.

If I hadn't found him wandering by John's place saying all that then...who knows? But I seized upon it and told him, "John! It's Babs. I believe you made a bet last night that left you in this state."

He looked me in the eye as best he could and said, "Right."

I shook my head and sighed, assuring him, "It's gonna be okay. You are not this. This is just the consequence of a bet. You are, underneath all this, a man we all look up to. Kind, helpful, and smart. You are a good man."

John's unsteadiness eased as he said simply, "I'm...a good man." I held his hand and reiterated that.

A really harsh bet consequence. If only Greg had known, he could've helped him. He must've gotten thrown out of the pub for looking like an incontinent hobo. We had to help him.

Lina had plenty of half-stammered questions when I brought him over to the car.

I gave him an old towel I kept in my trunk for sopping up spills. 

Though Lina stayed on-edge throughout the whole trip, leaning forward against the door and cracking the window, John kept to himself as much as usual. However, Lina was living proof that someone's personality could be completely-altered by a bet. 

I took him to a shelter associated with a local synagogue. I gave him what money I could spare and assured him, "Please don't worry about this week. I'll take care of everything and all will be back to normal before you know it."

He gave me a sudden hug at the door. An all-senses enveloping one. He softly told me, "Thank you, Babs. Thank you so much."

While the people who ran the shelter said it was first come for space, they assured me they would do all they could to help John. Likely, in a week's time, he would be back and hopefully with no memory of ever being a smelly hobo from a lost bet.

Back at the car, the odor passed with both windows down. Lina's anxiety from before had settled to calm. "That was a nice thing. Not sure why... but hope he'll be okay."

I raised an eyebrow and asked, "When was the last time you saw a single hobo just walking around this area?" 

She pulled from Lina's memory but had to shake her head. A single, wandering homeless guy stuck out in a small town. I presented my theory. This was John's loss penalty. Scrambled thoughts like perpetual drunkenness, soaked clothes with fear of incontinence made public (Lina grimaced sympathetically), and remnants of his old life with knowing home and words from before. 

Out of the two of them, John got the short end of the stick there. And poor Greg had no stick, much to my frustration.

Lina didn't protest my idea, but it was clear from her frowns that she wasn't ready to dump her own theory.

She did, however, announce, "I think I'll be alright staying at my place tonight. In my bed." It was a soft announcement though, barely beyond the emphasis of a musing. Still, she punctuated this by sitting up in her seat. 

Turning onto the main road, I answered, "Alright. Let me take care of dinner though."

Nothing fancy, just a simple, regular pasta dish I usually made for myself. Lina responded by offering to pay the cost. She couldn't though. It was the end of the spare cash. And, despite having the same cards as her doppelganger, they were swiftly rejected by the system. Transactions thousands of miles apart within a short span. Other Lina would likely get an alert and freeze the card.

The Lina who helped me make dinner curled up on the end of the couch with a warm, meaty bowl pressed to her stomach. She even skipped most of her salad.

Her silverware scraping against the bottom, she gave a faint belch and tidied up on her own. By the time I finished, she was loitering by the front door. 

On a whim, I asked, "Game of cards before you go?" I hadn't played cards in a long time, but an entire side of my family had a deft ability for shuffling. I'd picked up enough. I had two decks, a standard set and one which was sure to make Lina blush. We used the standard one after I peeled off the plastic.

I set up for Crazy 8s with a few added rules. Lina sorted her cards lightly and asked, "Do you think I should call in to make sure any...other me alerted my work about time off?" She stopped short of suggesting she fill in for the vacationing Lina.

I fanned my cards out and shrugged. "If you like but...you should be more concerned about the job you're doing tomorrow at the OWL. If the boys aren't there, then I'll be your boss." 

Lina discarded two. "I'm actually looking forward to that. This has been a strange and frustrating but fun weekend." I was right with her on frustrating. I drew and then discarded.

She continued, "I've never worn scrubs all day before but the ones we got feel comfy. And the office always seemed like a nice place. I have considered working there but I like doing IT at the library. Plus, there's a little area at the top of the spire where you still get a Wi-Fi signal and it's warm even in winter."

Putting down my first 8, I called, "Hearts. As I remember, Greg had your resume on his desk for a while. Why'd you pass?"

She played a six. "Many reasons. Concerns of nepotism. Mom still bitter with Uncle Archie. And then the whole thing with John."

I puffed. "And now he's a diaper-needing bum. For a little while. Fair payment for bailing on you, no matter his reasons."

Lina sighed. "I wouldn't wish the punishment of forgetting yourself and your bladder control on anyone. And I still think he's the copy of me in Anaheim. But, a me back on the night it happened...till several weeks after...wouldn't feel toooo bad about it."

I nodded and stretched after drawing a few cards. "You don't have to feel too bad about it now either. He's being taken care of and I assure you he will be a wiser, better guy when all this is over." 

She shuffled her hand before putting down a seven. "And what will I be when this is all over? It's like I've been evicted from my own life. I was always told that bets were fair, especially to those accidentally caught up in them. The dealer throws a little luck your way. But no games and so little money? There better be an awesome, real-life loot drop."

I had a good discard combo with just a few cards left in my hand. I really wanted something in return for all this too. A little different than what she wanted. A weekend just like my Friday night would've been a good start. I still kinda spent it out with the same person. They just had no clue who they were supposed to be. 

With a deep breath, I assured her, "Everything will be back to normal soon."

Rubbing at her bra through her PAC-MAN shirt, Lina held out an 8 of her own and announced, "Spades...I mean, I am so grateful for everything you've done for me through this crazy weekend. From me waking up in Greg's bed to having sudden twins and...all the rest. Thanks."

Before I could respond, she jumped and lost her cards. I avoided looking at them as she gathered them up, so as not to spoil the game. When I asked her what was wrong, she let out a chuckle and announced, "The spade. I had a card on the side and the spade looked like a water beetle I always see when I'm enthralled by a gaming session. I hate them..." I remembered but let her talk because it sounded like she needed to talk

She scooted up on the couch. "Like, I'll have my headphones on and boom, black shadow. Suddenly, one is wandering all over my case and scaring me they might get in and wreck everything. Also bad is when I take my time in the restroom and feel one across my toes. The worst is when they violate the sanctuary of my bed right after I've cleaned up. Feeling clean turns into dirty all over! I'd face the hardest bet if I could win nuking them all from orbit and sending a message of cosmic, unbreakable horror to all their generations to come that anywhere near me is the land of desolation!" She looked a little sweaty by the end of that.

I smirked. "Oh? How about spiders?"

She shrugged. "Spiders are cool so long as they are unseen ninja assassins of scary bugs." We'd pretty much neglected the game by this point. 

"Well, the good news is I've never ever seen bugs of any kind at OWL. I even once saw a row of ants deliberately turn away to avoid the front door of the office." The origin of Deb's unfounded theory that Archie stowed toxic chemicals somewhere.

After I remembered to discard a spade, Lina added her own and took an easy breath. "Glad to hear. How's the pay for a temp worker who'll be learning on the job?"

Getting rid of my five, I rubbed at my neck and told her, "Can't match library money and you'll be paid in cash out of the emergency fund. I can drive you to work and back every day, but you get to help me close up."

Lina pulled back her lower lip, hiding the faint, pink accent. At the same time, she dipped her hand to place her next card but drew it back. "Sorry. Still thinking. I hope using the emergency fund because of me doesn't cause any trouble." After another flinch, she finally placed a jack.

If only I had a slide-under table for the couch so we could just lay back and play. Flexing my feet, I assured her, "A week is no biggie. Now a month, we'd have problems. Of course, by that point, you should be back at the library or hired properly." But, actually, back to being my boss.

"I dunno. I really like the library. But I intend to work hard as your secretary."

I had a sudden giggle and a smirk. "I've got the whole secretary thing down. But I can take on a protege. Just gotta get you in a prim skirt and a cute blouse next. Then we work up to a different sort of blouse and a glossy, black skirt. Glasses to complete the ensemble." The sort of thing I wouldn't mind showing off to Greg.

She gave a quick smile. "Be like cosplaying. Sounds fun." 

I imagined to myself that bringing up those clothes might trigger some spark of Greg submerged deep within her. But it wasn't there. Same as everything else. She was Lina. A straight copy-and-paste. 

And, no matter how I squinted or focused my imagination, she was doing nothing for me. All I could feel from her was gentle sympathy. She'd been through a lot, both of her. But this one was cut off from the things that gave her pleasure. I could relate. 

There was something else though, a shadow deeper than her eyeliner whenever she dipped her head. I leaned closer and asked, "You okay?"

She pushed a drape of flaxen hair off her face and answered, "I dunno. I just... I don't wanna bother you..."

I scoffed with a chuckle. "Come on. Don't worry about that. What is it? Nerves? Tiredness? Stress?"

With a sigh, she said simply, "Yeah."