For Better or Worse
Tara Nichols was nervous, a feeling she had rarely experienced since adolescence.
What am I getting myself into? she wondered.
She had always been so levelheaded, so logical. Why was she now sitting in the art deco offices of Rekindle, waiting to meet with a man who could supposedly end her marital problems? She knew she should leave. Nothing good would come out of this meeting, certainly nothing that would be of any help to her and Julian. It might even make things worse between them in the long run.
The outer office door opened, and into the room walked a middle-aged man whose good looks and genial personality would no doubt have helped make him a success in any venture he chose to enter, including politics. With his smile alone, he could have sold air conditioners to Eskimos.
"Hello, Mrs. Nichols," he said, turning his charm on full power. "I'm Ambrose Collier."
The door opened again, and a secretary entered with a pot of coffee, two cups and a tray of assorted pastries.
Ambrose had dealt with many people in Tara's situation, and he had the gift of soothing anxious clients. He had just the right smile, the perfect joke and the correct amount of understanding and empathy to gain Tara's trust. Once she was at ease, Ambrose discussed the business at hand.
"I begin all my initial consultations with the same question," he announced. "How did you hear about our company?"
"A business associate of mine, Howard Schofield, told me about it."
"I remember Howard and Anita quite well," Ambrose said. "A lovely couple, and one of Rekindle's success stories."
"I've known Howard for years," Tara explained. "I knew that he and his wife were having trouble, and, quite frankly, I thought it was only a matter of time before they divorced. Then I saw the two of them at a party last month, and I was amazed. They were behaving like a couple of newlyweds. And his wife, I almost didn't recognize her! She looked a good five to ten years younger. When I asked Howard about the amazing transformation, he told me he owed it all to Rekindle."
"Now you've seen what Rekindle has done for the Schofields," Ambrose said with pride. "What would you like us to do for you?"
"My husband and I seem to be growing further apart each day. I want to put the magic back in our marriage. I want things to be the way they were when we first fell in love, back when I was so happy I felt I was going to burst. I guess what I'm saying is that I want a miracle."
"Tell me, Mrs. Nichols, are you willing to sacrifice everything to achieve this miracle? Think carefully before you answer."
"If you're referring to your fee ...."
"No," Ambrose said with a laugh. "I know you have the money. We check our clients' financial situation before agreeing to meet with them. I'm talking about your emotions, your values and your principles. Are you willing to bend or even abandon them altogether, if necessary? You see, if you and your husband are set in your ways, if you're not willing to take our advice, then there's very little we can do to help you."
"And if I am willing to change, to make any and every sacrifice?"
"Then we can help you find that happiness you lost."
* * *
It wasn't easy for Tara to convince Julian to accompany her to Rekindle for a counseling session. In fact, it wasn't easy to get her husband to do anything with her anymore. That was the reason she had gone to Rekindle in the first place. After several heated arguments, however, he agreed to one and only one meeting.
"I'll be damned if I'm going to start making the rounds of marriage counselors, psychologists and sex therapists," he grumbled.
While the couple waited in the reception room before their appointment, a young woman came out and asked Julian, "Mr. Nichols, would you come with me, please? Mr. Collier will be with you in a minute, Mrs. Nichols."
"He doesn't want to see us both together?" Tara asked.
"No. It's much better to talk to partners separately. They often feel freer to express their grievances. Also, husbands and wives don't always see things in the same light. We want to hear both sides before we form any opinions."
Half an hour later, Ambrose Collier greeted Tara and led her to one of the counseling rooms.
"Please make yourself comfortable, Mrs. Nichols."
After more coffee, more pastries and more of the patented Collier charm, Ambrose instructed, "Now, tell me about your marriage."
"What do you want to know?"
"Well, for starters: do you love your husband?"
"Of course, I do."
Tara answered too quickly and without any real conviction.
Ambrose shook his head.
"You say you do because you were raised on the old-fashioned principle that wives should love their husbands, mothers and fathers should love their children, and sons and daughters should love their parents. But you're confusing love with duty and obligation. Now, I'll repeat the question: do you love your husband?"
This time, Tara thought before she answered.
"Honestly? I don't know. I do know that I loved him when we first met and then when I married him, but lately, I'm not so sure."
"Now, we're getting somewhere!" Ambrose exclaimed. "You've answered the hard question. Now, here's an easy one for you. What do you see as the reason behind your marital problems? And don't hold anything back. The more I know about what went wrong, the easier it will be for me to help repair the damage."
"We got married when we were both still in college. We didn't have anything back then, not even the proverbial pot to piss in. But I didn't care; I was crazy about him! After graduation, Julian went to law school, and I went to work. I made enough money for us to live on and to help pay for Julian's law education. Once he passed the bar exam, I decided to go back to school and take some courses in computer science. I was lucky; I got a job with an emerging Internet company that really took off. That's when things first started to go wrong."
Ambrose shook his head. He had heard the story before from other wives.
"I guess you can blame it on the male ego. Julian didn't bring home much money as an assistant prosecutor, and I was making a small fortune with the promise of even more in the future. Once I started moving up the corporate ladder, Julian decided to leave the prosecutor's office and open his own law practice. It was as though he was trying to compete with me. Unfortunately, life in the private sector wasn't much better for him. He spent more time out on the streets scrounging for clients than he did in the courtroom."
"While things got better and better for you?"
Tara nodded, and continued, "Both of us were working long hours and weekends, so we didn't get to see much of each other. Soon Julian started seeing other women. At first, it was just the occasional infidelity: one-night stands with clients, witnesses, law clerks and female detectives."
"Nothing serious?"
"Not then at least. But after Julian finally established himself as a defense attorney and he started collecting all those big legal fees, he graduated to a higher class of woman: attorneys, models, actresses and business executives, all young and all beautiful."
"Did he ever bring up the subject of divorce?" Ambrose asked.
"No. I think he actually likes being married, that way he can enjoy his little affairs without worrying about the women getting too serious."
"What about you, Tara? Has there been anyone else in your life?"
"No. Never. Julian is the only man I ever loved, the only one I ever wanted."
"Even though he has repeatedly been unfaithful to you?"
"I keep hoping it's just a phase and that he'll grow out of it eventually."
"Did you ever confront him, demand that he stop playing around?"
"No. I didn't want to cause any scenes or start any arguments. On the outside, I pretend to be very modern and cosmopolitan and to take it in stride, but inside it's tearing me apart."
"And that's where it stands today, right?"
"Yes. I'm still waiting for him to get it out of his system and settle down."
"Okay, I think I have a good idea of how to solve your particular problem."
"How?"
Tara was surprised. She hadn't expected a solution quite so soon.
"I'll discuss your options at our next meeting after I've had the opportunity to discuss with my colleague her evaluation of your husband."
* * *
Tara Nichols nervously tapped her long, lacquered fingernails on the wooden arm of the chair. On the opposite side of the room, Julian was silently brooding.
What if I'm wrong? Tara thought. The price is so high. Is it really worth it?
When the urbane Ambrose Collier walked through the door, she realized it was too late to back out. Strange, but for the first time since Tara had met him, the man from Rekindle was not smiling.
"My colleague and I have completed our evaluations and compared notes," he announced. "I'm afraid it is our professional opinion that the two of you are hopelessly incompatible. Mr. Nichols, we feel you would be much better suited to a different type of woman: one who can appreciate you for what you are rather than try to fit you into her perception of a perfect husband as Mrs. Nichols has obviously tried to do."
Tara didn't respond. She preferred to let Mr. Collier run the show. After all, she was paying him a small fortune for his services. She might as well listen to what he had to say.
"Mr. Nichols, there's someone I'd like you to meet."
Ambrose opened a door in the rear of his office. A woman walked into the room, and Tara gasped. The woman looked like her, although she was a good deal younger. The woman's skin was soft and radiant, her body thin and firm, but it was Tara nonetheless.
"Who is this?" she asked.
"It's a biologically engineered being," Collier replied. "One based on your genetic codes, Mrs. Nichols. In lay terms, she is a clone. When my associate interviewed your husband, she learned that you were the only woman Julian ever actually had deep feelings for. However, there were some things about you he wasn't too happy with. It wasn't only that you outshone him as far as your career goes, but he also felt you weren't much of a wife."
"What?" Tara cried.
"Don't misunderstand me, Julian is grateful to you that you helped support him and put him through school, but he's at a stage in life where he wants to reap the rewards of his labors. Now that he's got a successful career of his own, he wants a more fun-loving, less ambitious woman, one who would spend more time seeing to his needs."
"I didn't expect perfection from him, why should he ask it of me?"
"I'll be quite blunt, Mrs. Nichols. Your husband is a handsome, wealthy man. He can have just about any woman he wants. If he can't find the perfect woman, we at Rekindle have the technology to build one for him."
"And you, Julian, are you pleased with your new wife?" Ambrose asked turning to Tara's husband.
Julian stared at the clone. It was so beautiful, with not a single flaw, and yet still so much like his own Tara. He reached out and gently touched the young face, the long silky hair. Tara had cut hers short years ago, much to Julian's disappointment.
Tears filled Tara's eyes and she looked away, knowing she could never compete with the perfection created by modern science.
The clone leaned against Julian, raised her arms and embraced him. Tara winced at the sight of the beautiful yet soulless creature in the arms of the man she loved.
"I'll make you happier than you ever dreamed," it said. "I've been programmed to know all of your likes and dislikes, your tastes and preferences. My only purpose is to make you happy. I have no will of my own, so I can never oppose you. I will be the perfect wife, lover and companion."
It kissed him.
Ambrose Collier cleared his throat.
"Mr. Nichols, there is still some unfinished business that needs to be taken care of."
The man from Rekindle opened his desk drawer, took out a gun and handed it to Julian.
The confused husband turned toward Tara who was staring at him, her eyes wide with fright.
"Why?" she sobbed.
"Because you are obsolete, Mrs. Nichols," Collier explained. "Your clone is ready to assume your identity and take your place in the world. For her to do so, you must be eliminated."
"You'll never pull it off. That thing can't take over my job, my life."
"She and Julian are going to take a nice, long second honeymoon. When they return, she'll resign from your job and devote her life to being a full-time wife and homemaker. No one will ever guess that it's not really you."
"All anyone has to do is look at her. She's years younger than I am."
"You told me yourself that Anita Schofield looked years younger. Did you know that she was a clone? No. You assumed that she looked so much younger because she and Howard had resolved their marital difficulties and were gloriously happy."
Grim, Ambrose now seemed eager to have this business done with.
"Well? What are you waiting for, Julian? Get on with it."
Julian's hand shook as he held the gun. This was it. Tara closed her eyes and prayed. Julian took a deep breath and fired. Tara's eyes opened widely.
"Julian," she cried in wonder.
The clone was lying on the floor, shot through the heart.
"Why did you do that, Mr. Nichols?" Ambrose asked. "You just destroyed the woman of your dreams. The perfect wife."
"No. It was a thing, not a wife."
Then Julian turned to Tara and laid his heart and soul bare before her.
"I always wanted a woman who could look up to me, one who would really need me. But you were so successful and self-reliant that I felt completely worthless most of the time. I didn't know how to handle that. Those other women meant nothing more to me than a balm for an injured ego. I love you, Tara, and only you."
"But the clone would have given you all that and more. She was young, thin and pretty. I can never be that woman again," Tara said. "Why did you destroy it?"
"Because love isn't about wrinkles under your eyes, a few extra pounds around the middle or gray streaks in your hair. I don't expect you to stay young forever. God knows I won't. I love you because of your intelligence, your sense of humor, your integrity and your loyalty. How can you put such qualities in a clone, even one as sophisticated as those made by Rekindle?"
Tara saw Ambrose Collier smile at Julian's last statement.
"Sure, we don't always see eye to eye on everything, but that only keeps the relationship more interesting. If I had a clone that agreed with everything I said or did, it wouldn't be long before boredom set it."
Julian took his wife's hand in his, as though proposing.
"Tara, I've been a complete ass. I wouldn't blame you if you never forgave me. I can't undo the past, but I can promise that if you give me another chance, there will never be another woman—ever. For better or worse, richer or poorer, in sickness and in health, for as long as we both shall live, I'll be your devoted husband."
When Tara put her arms around Julian, his newly developed muscles and flattened stomach were noticeable through his richly tailored suit. She reached up and touched the fuller, thicker head of hair, no longer receding or thinning.
He is so handsome! she thought. He looks so much like he did when we were first married.
Ambrose Collier waited patiently, the smile back on his face.
"Are you pleased, Mrs. Nichols?"
"Very pleased, Mr. Collier."
Tara took a cashier's check out of her purse to pay for the balance due on her contract. She glanced briefly at the six figures. It was quite a large sum of money, but well worth every penny.
"Tell me, Mr. Collier, what will become of ... of the other one?" she asked hesitantly.
"Now, now, Mrs. Nichols! You did agree to make any sacrifice to have the kind of marriage you wanted."
"I know I did. I was just curious, that's all."
She looked at the new and improved Julian: younger, stronger, more passionate and, most importantly, faithful—the perfect husband.
"I'm very happy with the copy, Mr. Collier. You can do whatever you wish with the original."
Then the two lovebirds walked arm in arm out of the art deco office on their way to an extended second honeymoon and a new and happier life.
As Ambrose bit into his cheese pastry, he thought with a smile of satisfaction, There goes yet another customer, once headed for divorce, now deliriously happy thanks to Rekindle.
I wonder if Rekindle can make a new and improved version of Salem.
