The Secret Manuscript (Complete)

Chapter Forty-Two

"Why not?" 

"Because there's already a Ben Owen in this time period and he doesn't win the lottery. Whoever wins this jackpot is going to be all over the news and that's going to weird a lot of people out if suddenly there are two of you." 

Ben contemplated a moment and determined Vanessa was right. We need someone to cash this ticket for us - someone we can trust." 

"How about that Patrice guy?" 

Ben thought about it and figured out what to do.  

"Oh my gosh," Ben said in disbelief. 

"What is it?" 

"I know how to cash this ticket. We have to go back to Calgary." 

"Why, what's in Calgary?" 

"Not 'what', but 'who' - Charles Gringer is going to cash this ticket." 

"But you don't even know him," Vanessa said. 

"It doesn't matter. Charles Gringer won the lottery... or should I say wins this lottery... and then leaves me his house. Don't you see? This has all happened before. It never made sense why a guy would sign over his entire estate to some kid he's never met. Now I know why he would do that!" Ben said, holding up the ticket. 

"What?" 

"My neighbour Gladys said it was unusual for Charles Gringer to win the lottery because he had never played before. This explains how a man goes eighty years of his life and wins the lottery on his first try." 

"This is really weird." 

"Tell me about it. Come on, follow me. I want to check something out." 

Ben grabbed Vanessa by the hand and dashed across the street. A few blocks away was Ray's Superstore - the small grocery store where Ben used to work. From the exterior, the place looked as it always had. There were a few cars in the parking lot, but at this time of day, the place was likely to be empty. They cut across the lot as Ben had done a thousand times in the past and stopped just out front. 

"Ben, wait," Vanessa said, holding him back. "This is where you used to work, right?" 

"Yeah." 

"You really think this is a good idea? Seeing yourself may cause some ripple in the space-time continuum and the universe might implode." 

"It's funny you say that, I thought being with you would do the same thing and yet here we are. Don't worry, I won't allow myself to see me... that sounded really strange." 

"What about your co-workers, someone is bound to recognize you and then what are we going to tell them, that we're from the future?" 

"It'll be fine, I promise," Ben assured. "Do you know why nobody at the Daily Planet suspected Clark Kent was Superman?" 

"Why?" 

"It's because people only saw him in one context. They only saw him as this bumbling nerdy guy with glasses, and they couldn't perceive him any other way. Look at me, I've put on about twenty pounds of muscle since last year, I haven't shaved in a few days, and I'm wearing my street clothes. To top it all off, I'm with a beautiful woman, which is extremely out of character for me. Unless I go in there with bad posture and wearing an apron, these people I used to work with won't recognize me." 

"If you say so." 

The automatic doors parted and together they entered the grocery store. For good measure, Vanessa walked in first to draw people's attention away from Ben, who kept his head down. There was no reason to be there other than out of pure interest. Ben had a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to objectively observe himself in person, and was curious to see how he behaved.