Jeremiah said nothing and shifted his weight in the chair and looked away from her. This was getting him nowhere. He was through talking. In typical fashion, though, she decided differently and pushed on.

“Jeremiah,” she said quietly, “I’d like to try an exercise with you. I’d like you to tell me one thing—one decision, one choice you made, anything—that you’ve done here that you might not have done before. It can be anything. It doesn’t matter how small.”

“What do you mean?”

“Well, for example, did you set an alarm clock this morning to get up?”

“No, I didn’t need to be up early today. The viewing didn’t start until after eleven.”

“Really?” she asked in mock surprise. “No alarm clock on a weekday morning? Do you think your clone set his alarm this morning?”

“Okay, yeah, I see what you mean,” he said. “But those things don’t matter. Of course I’m doing things differently here. This is a different place, a totally separate situation. I’m not going to get up early every day and dress in a suit and tie just to hang out with Brent and basically watch TV.”

“Hang out with Brent?” she asked, again with a look of exaggerated awe. “But he’s your coworker, isn’t he? And half your age. He doesn’t seem like someone you’d even want to hang out with.”

“Well, I don’t have much choice there, do I? Look, I see what you’re trying to do, but none of this really matters, Natalie. These are things I have no control over. It’s not really up to me.”

“I think you have more control than you realize, Jeremiah,” she said. “You make your own decisions on a daily basis. And I’d wager a lot of those are very different from the decisions you’d make at home. Different from the decisions your clone is making.”

“What, like I can take a shower whenever I want to?”

“Or not, if you decide. What else is up to you?”

“I suppose the coffee’s better here. I don’t have to drink that light roast stuff Diana likes.”

“And do you suppose the clone is drinking light roast coffee?”

“Oh, I’m absolutely certain of it. Diana is very picky about her coffee.”

“So, you see, you do have some control over your own life. You make your own choices, your own decisions here,” she told him. “I’d like you to make a list, keep track of these sort of things for the next few days. I think it might help.”

Jeremiah nodded and Natalie stood up, her usual indication that it was time to escort him back down the hall to his apartment.

Once he was alone, he brewed a half pot of French roast and took a long shower. Afterward he stood in front of the bathroom mirror, razor in hand, but he didn’t shave. He stared at his own reflection for a moment and then he dropped the razor into the trash with a satisfying thud.