The Empty Stage: The Double

“Folks, I hope that you have enjoyed your dinner. Our special guest will be on stage, as soon as we clear the tables. You all know who he is!” announced the master of ceremonies, over the conference center intercom.

A round of applause went up from the excited crowd. Several thousand people had attended the conference. For many of them, this would be their first opportunity to see the man in black. 

“Prepare to welcome Johnny Cash, the man in black!”  

The crowd’s level of excitement rose, accompanied by a thunderous round of applause. Half an hour later, the huge stage was still empty. Soft music played in the background.

“Where’s the man in black?” wondered Patsy, one of several young women who had attended the conference. “Maybe his plane is late?”

“He will be here, just like we were promised,” said Briana, an optimistic, elegant-looking, single woman. Don’t be impatient, ladies. He is coming.”

“Maybe he is not coming at all,” speculated Brittany, a frumpy-looking, pessimistic woman. “He should have been here by now.”

“With the price of my tickets, he’d better come,” suggested Myrtle. “Or I am going to get my money back.” For Myrtle, everything was always about money.

“Ladies and gentlemen,” boomed the voice of the master of ceremonies over the intercom, again. “I apologize for the inconvenience. Please bear with us. Our guest entertainer will be on stage shortly.” 

The round of applause he received this time, was not quite as enthusiastic. People were getting tired of waiting. For some reason, it seemed like there was a lot of tension in his voice.

“Something is not right,” sensed Patsy. “What is going on?” The soft music continued to play. The lights in the conference center went on, but the stage remained empty.

“We are still waiting,” thought Patsy.

All of the women were tired and becoming restless.

“We certainly came a long way, didn’t we? Attending this conference has been so much fun. The dinner was wonderful! Probably the best meal I have ever eaten.”

“Considering the price of it,” replied Myrtle. “That was two thousand dollars, two days travel and two thousand miles at our own expense.”

“It is worth every penny,” said Briana. “I am having fun, aren’t you?”  

“We need some excitement around here,” said Brittany. “I am getting so bored.”

Patsy knew Brittany became bored easily, as she had a relatively short attention span. Myrtle was not much better. Patsy and Briana had hoped that by including them in the conference, they might have been able to see a different side to their personalities, but that was not happening.

A while later, the young women heard what sounded like a scuffle behind them and turned around to see what was going on. The noise appeared to be coming from back of the conference center. Several loud, men’s voices were audible along with the sound of tables and chairs scraped along the ceramic floor.

“Stop him,” someone yelled. “Don’t let him get away!”

“Grab that man!”

“Don’t move,” ordered a man from the back of the conference center.

“Stay where you are!” 

His deep, booming voice of authority took everyone by surprise.

“What is happening?” wondered Patsy, standing up with the other girls, in order to get a better look. 

Stunned, they watched as security officers in uniform escorted a dark-skinned, middle age man out of the conference center.   

“There’s the problem!” said Patsy. “The man in black cannot appear on the stage until it is safe for him to do so.”

“You mean his life might have been in danger?” asked Myrtle. “I bet that’ll cost him.”  

“Exactly,” replied Brittany.

Patsy was relieved to see the matter was under control.

“This kind of criminal activity happens a lot in our world. It costs everyone.”

"If we tell anyone back at the office what happened here tonight, they will probably never believe us,” said Brittany. 

People slowly sat back down at their tables and a gradual calm settled over the conference room.

A short while later, a man dressed in black appeared on the otherwise empty stage. The huge crowd roared with excitement, as he took a position at the center of the stage in front of the back wall. He did not move forward, or say anything. He waited, carefully surveying the crowd.

“He’s not the man in black!” said Patsy. “It almost looks like him though.” 

”Maybe there was an attempt to kill, or to kidnap the real man in black. He is rich, you know,” suggested Myrtle. “Someone could demand a lot of money for his ransom.”

“This man is probably a double for the real man in black,” said Patsy.

“I am so glad I came!” said Briana. “This is so exciting!”

Seconds later, the man in black disappeared through a doorway and a second man in black appeared on the stage.

A thunderous roar went up from the crowd.

“Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome our special guest, Johnny Cash, the man in black!”

“Well, you wonder why I always dress in black,” sang Johnny Cash, the words from his song entitled, “Man in Black”.

“That is the real man in black,” said Patsy immediately. “Only he can sing like that.”