“Which means?” Richard asked.
“It means that I can send you all back to where you came from. Remember I told you that Richard, my husband, was only able to peer into the other timelines? That through long-term bleeding he was only able to exchange consciousnesses with his counterparts? He was never able to trip through...that’s the man in black’s technology. As I’d hoped, he built and programmed it into my husband’s machine. Brilliant, absolutely brilliant.”
“Good thing he did that,” Leonard said. “Otherwise we’d be stuck here.”
“Enough with the kudos already, ” Earl said. “Where am I going?”
“You’re gonna end up in the woods in
Bledson
State Park.” She punched the keyboard feverishly. Data streamed on the monitor like a fireworks display. “The location is already preset, and it’s isolated enough so that no one will see you going through. Leonard, you’ll go through after Earl. I suggest you find a hospital as soon as you get back.”
Leonard grimaced, then nodded an agreement.
Richard asked, “Are we going to remember anything of this experience?”
“As I mentioned before, without a ‘twin’, so to speak, in this timeline, there can be no bleeding, so eventually all memories will fade since the universe will not exist for you any longer. This is not unlike the fact that when a twin dies, so do the memories. We can only assume that Earl has no twin here, since he hasn’t had any odd memories or thoughts entering his mind. Isn’t that right, Earl?”
Earl looked confused. “Uh, I guess. Yeah.”
“So, it’s safe to say that Earl won’t remember anything about this experience by tomorrow. No bleeding, no memories. Same goes, thankfully, for Debra and Julia. They don’t exist in this world. Their memories will immediately fade by tomorrow.”
Julia, frail and frightened, remained silent, trembling. She held Debra close, staring about as if testing the reality of the scene. Clearly she didn’t believe everything was finally coming to an end.
“I can’t say the same for you though, Leonard. You’ll always have some memories from your counterpart here, as long as he remains alive. Your knowledge of the lab and this experiment may fade, since the Leonard
Moldofsky
from this world had no experience here, but there will always be some residue in your mind from the bleeding that occurred.”
“I understand...just get me home.”
“And Richard, well, all the other Richards are dead. Again, there’ll be a bit of mental residue, but most of your memories will fade.”
He stepped forward, grasped her hands, looked deeply into her crystal eyes. “I don’t want to forget about you.”
She smiled. “Then don’t. But remember, you have a wife and family now that needs you. And, you need them. This is the life you’ve always wanted to lead, right?”
“But what’s going to happen to you?”
“Don’t worry about me.” She turned her sights to the computer screen even though she pressed no buttons.
He squeezed her hands harder. “Tell me, please. What are you going to do?”
“Richard, my life here isn’t all that bad. I have money, security. I’ll do okay.”
“What about the timeline machine? The experiment.”
She stared at the cylinder, at the dancing colors within its translucent body. “It’ll have to be destroyed. The timelines have intersected too much already. They must be permanently separated. Once you all go through, I will disengage it, then destroy all its parts.”
Richard pulled Pam to him, hugged her. She buried her face in his shoulder. “Pam, I love you. I’ll always love you. Thank you for all you’ve done for me. I’ll never forget. Thank you.”
He backed away from her. She then guided Earl to a spot on the far side of the unit. They all stood back as Pam worked her magic on the computer keys.
First the burning smell, hot wires. Then the high whistling noise. Finally, the blue light. It came, grew, swallowed Earl, and then he was gone.
“Leonard, you’re up.” Silently, bravely, Leonard
Moldofsky
walked to the spot on the far side of the room. A repeat performance ensued, and in thirty seconds, Leonard was gone.
Richard walked over to Pam again. Kissed her long and deeply, held her with all the affection he could muster, then stepped away. “Time to go home,” he said.
He crouched down next to Debra. Her face was dirty. She looked shaken, but unharmed. Jesus, she looked like just Samantha. Yet he could tell, just
tell
that she was
his
daughter. Perhaps it was the shine in her eyes, the happiness found amidst all the turmoil. “Honey, we’re gonna go for a little trip, and then we’ll be back home, okay?”
She nodded. “I miss Mommy.”
A tear ran down Richard’s face. “She misses you too, baby.”
And then she hugged him, her face squeezed against his neck. “I love you, Daddy.”
“I love you too,” he said, rubbing a hand through her golden locks. He stood, looked over at Pam. “Let’s do it.”
With Julia holding one arm and Debra in the other, he walked to the other side of the room. Pam looked at him one last time, mouthed
good-bye
before putting the machine into final action.
The blue light came, grew until it engulfed them, and then they were gone.
Leonard awoke, sat up in the hospital bed, grimaced at the pain coursing through his shoulders, arms, and legs. His chest had been fully bandaged, among other parts of his body that had apparently caught some bits of shrapnel. It took a bit of time for his eyes to adjust to the light, and when they did, he saw himself surrounded by his family.
The people that love me the most, my wife, my son.
“Hi, Janice,” he said, attempting a smile through the pain.
Janice
Moldofsky
returned the warm gesture. She ran a tender hand through his mussed hair. “How’re you feeling?”
“Like shit.”
“Doctor says you’ll be able to go home in a few days.”
Leonard smiled.
Home. My books. My clean house...
“Janice, is...is the house clean?” He still couldn’t get the image of the
other
Moldofsky
household out of his mind. The mess, the craziness within. And then
Janice
. Her attitude. The sores on her arms. He looked at his wife long and hard. Clean, proper, soft-spoken.
Yes, this is the real world
.
Janice eyed her husband quizzically. “You’ve been here three days and you keep asking me that, and I keep telling you yes, the house is clean. Since when are you so concerned about the house?”
Leonard shrugged his shoulders, smiling at her.
“And why are you looking at me like that? You’re making me blush.” She smiled. Been a long time since Leonard saw her smile so much. She was happy. Her face said,
I love you, Leonard. I’m glad to have you back
.
“Although I can’t remember much of anything,” he lied, “I know I’m lucky to be alive, and that I’m even luckier to have you and my son as my family.”
Pam had said I’d forget much of what happened. So how come I remember everything?
“Leonard, we’re just as lucky to have you back with us. There was no trace of you after you’d gone missing, and I was frightened that you’d...you’d...”
“Picked up and left?”
“Yes.”
“Died, maybe?”
“Well, the thought entered my mind.”
“Listen to me. I will never leave you Janice. I love you, will always love you, and any frustrations that occurred between us in the past, well, consider it ancient history. From here on in, it’s just me and you and Greg.”
“What do you mean?”
“I’m retiring.”
She placed a hand over her mouth. “Len? Why?”
“Why? Because I want to spend as much of the rest of my life with you, make up for lost time. I want you to know that I appreciate you. I really appreciate you. And that there’s nothing else in the world I want other than you.”
She hugged him. They cried tears of happiness.
The phone next to the bed rang.
Janice pulled away. “That must be Kevin. He wants to come down and see you today. He also wants to know what happened, Len.”
He smiled.
Everyone thinks I’m hiding the truth. Well, I am.
He missed Kevin, wanted to see him too. Whether he told him the truth of the matter was something altogether different. He only hoped that the amnesia Pam spoke about would set in sooner than later.
The phone rang a second time.
He picked it up. “Hello?”
“Officer
Moldofsky
?”
“Yes?” The voice was familiar.
“This is Earl Porter, from
Bledson
Hills. Remember me?
Sheesh
, it’s taken me a long time to track you down!”
Shit!
Leonard was silent. Scared.
“Anyway, the woman promised that you’d tell me everything that happened. And I need to know because nobody here believes me. I need some back-up.”
What was it that Pam had said? It’s safe to say that Earl won’t remember anything about this experience by tomorrow. So why does he remember everything?
For this, amnesia would have to kick in, no matter what.
“Sorry, I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“But--”
He hung up.
“Who was that?” Janice asked.
At that moment Kevin Hughes walked in. Behind him, Leonard’s son, Greg.
No spiked hair, no earrings, no Iron Maiden tee-shirt.
Kevin smiled. “How’re you
doin
’, boss?”
“Not bad.”
“When you get yourself all situated, I’ve got all the blood tests back from George. I’m sure you’ll be interested in the results.”
Leonard grinned. He was way past that right now. “No thanks.”
“Huh?”
“I’m officially retired.”
“Really?”
Leonard nodded, looked at Janice. Smiled.
She asked, “So who was that on the phone?”
Leonard closed his eyes. Smiled again. He’d never been happier his entire life. “Wrong number.”
“There’s a pot of sauce on the stove. Let it simmer for a couple of hours, then take it off the heat. Put the cover on in case it splatters.”
Richard dunked a piece of Italian bread into the pot then put it in his mouth.
Delicious
. Who’d have thought that Samantha was such a good cook in this world? She came into the kitchen, dressed in a long brown maternity blouse and a pair of black leggings. Her hair was its natural dirty blonde, done up beautifully. She had her black leather pocketbook draped over her shoulder. “Hey, no picking,” she said.
Richard sunk another piece of bread into the pot. “Too good. Can’t help myself.”
“Listen to your wife,” Julia said from the living room. “You’ll spoil your appetite.”
“Just like a mother to say something like that.”
Richard sidled up next to his wife, grabbed her by the hips. “What do you say that tonight we make another baby?”
“We did that already.” She giggled, pushing him away.
“So, let’s practice for the next one.”
“Mom!” Debra’s booming voice shot down from her bedroom. Her running footsteps on the wood floor echoed throughout the house, and ended in the kitchen. The five year-old leaped into Richard’s arms. He picked her up and hugged her. “Mom, are we going yet?”
“Now you behave and listen to your mother,” Richard said.
“Okay,” she said, nodding, laughing.
Richard contemplated Debra’s face, the innocence sparkling in her eyes.
Thank God, she remembers nothing.
He looked over at Julia, who was busy stuffing her purse with the senior necessities: tissues, antacids, reading glasses.
Mother might be a different story. But she won’t talk. What had Dr. Delaney called it? Denial?
“How long are you going to be?”
“We’ll be shopping in
Ashborough
for about an hour, then the movie. So figure we’ll be back in time for dinner. About five.”
“Okay. I’ll make sure the table is set.”
“And keep an eye on the sauce.”
Richard smiled. “Yes,
hon
...now get the hell out of here before I start calling you Mother by mistake.”
“I resent that,” Julia chimed.
“Now all of you,
git
!”
They smiled, laughed, exchanged kisses. Samantha, Julia, and Debra left.
And then, Richard
Sparke
, once a single guy with a lot of mental problems and a nighttime habit of sleepwalking, now a family man who lived the American Dream with a wife, daughter, and mother, was all alone.
Being alone from time to time was something Richard cherished. He loved his family more than anything in the world, but after living an entire life (all three years of it) as a single--or divorced, rather--man in a condo, he found that alone time was something to help clear his mind.