Chapter 14
Back at the Engineering and Science building at the university, Willy Gustafson was the night janitor for that building in 1971.
Willy went down to the basement to start his shift. Tonight he started late, as his car battery in his 1959 Bel-Air was bad. So he had Eddie drive over to his house with a new battery.
Willy walked toward his cleaning cart then he spotted something odd. "That wasn't here last night," he said the second he placed the tarp over a pile of junk.
He walked over to the pile of junk and stopped when he saw a puddle something that dried on the floor. He rubbed it with the toe of his black work boot. He knelt down and looked it over. "Is that vomit?" he said when he smelled it. He looked at the pile of junk and then at the dried vomit. "Someone was down here," he said, standing up.
Willy started to move the junk away and then the tarp.
After a few minutes, he removed the tarp and saw the Studebaker time machine. "What the hell is that?" he said while he walked around checking it out.
It took a few seconds of checking it out before it dawned on him. He recalled seeing a sketch in Dr. Bowman's notebook on his office a few weeks ago. Willy was a bit of a snoop and would check out stuff on the professor's desks when he cleaned their offices. He has often checked out Dr. Bowman's notebook and now what he saw in it appeared to be for real.
Willy rushed away and headed over to the freight elevator.
He took the freight elevator up to the first floor and rushed down the main hallway.
He rushed over to two payphones that hung on the wall near the main entrance. He removed a small black notebook from his shirt pocket. He flipped through the pages and stopped when he found the number he needed. He deposited a dime into the phone and dialed the number.
"Doctor Bowman, Willy the janitor here at the physics department," he said into the phone.
"Why are you calling me?" said Dr. Bowman from the phone, and he was irritated to be bugged by the janitor at this hour of the evening.
"I found something extraordinary in the basement. Very, very, strange."
"What can be very strange in the basement of the physics department?"
Willy hesitated for a few seconds. He didn't want Dr. Bowman to know that he checked out his notebook on his new project. "Don't get mad, but I was cleaning one night and saw your notebook on your desk."
"Notebook. What notebook?"
"The one that had a sketch of a nineteen fifty-seven Studebaker on a circular device. The one with all those fancy equations and" said Willy.
"What's this strange device in the basement?" Dr. Bowman interrupted, as now his curiosity was peaked.
"You need to come here now and see it."
"Don't let anybody near it. You hear me? Nobody!" said Dr. Bowman in a stern voice.
"Yes, sir," said Willy.
"I'm on my way," said Dr. Bowman, and he disconnected his end of the call.
Willy rushed back down the hallway and headed back to the freight elevator.
Back at Jake's diner, Darin ate his pot roast dinner and drank more coffee.
While Sheryl waited on other tables, she would take an occasional peek at old Darin.
In the kitchen, while he washed dishes, young Darin would also catch occasional glimpses of old Darin while he nibbled on his pot roast dinner between washing the dishes.
Back at the basement of the Engineering and Science building, Dr. Bowman just arrived and saw the time machine.
He was speechless while he walked around the machine.
"What is it?" asked Willy.
Dr. Bowman looked at Willy. He knew he couldn't tell the truth, so he had to come up with some viable reason. He pondered for a few seconds. "Well, it's a centrifuge device that will split an atom within minutes. So a human can't sit inside or you'll will be instantly vaporized," he said and looked dead serious.
Willy's mouth dropped opened. "Vaporized," he said while he looked at the time machine. "In an instant?" he added while he stepped back fearful of the machine. "I thought it was a time machine, according to your notebook."
Dr. Bowman looked at Willy. "Oh, no. That was my cover story. So you better never get inside it. Do you understand me?" said Dr. Bowman looking dead serious.
Willy looked at Dr. Bowman and saw he was dead serious. "Yes sir," he said, stepping even farther back from the machine, as he was extremely gullible and believed everything Dr. Bowman told him.
"Don't you have some cleaning to do?" said Dr. Bowman while he looked at Willy with eyes telling him that he should leave.
"Yes, sir."
Dr. Bowman's lit up with an idea.
He removed his wallet from his back pocket.
He opened it and removed a twenty-dollar bill. "So don't you tell a soul," he said and handed Willy the bill.
Willy took the twenty-dollar bill, and to him, that was a lot of cash. "Yes sir, I promise I won't tell a soul," he said then shoved the bill into his pants pocket. "I better be going," he said then rushed over to his cleaning cart.
Dr. Bowman watched Willy while he walked over to his cart then pushed it away to the freight elevator.
Dr. Bowman glanced back at the time machine.
While Willy was in the elevator headed to the fourth floor, Dr. Bowman opened up the driver's door of the machine.
He sat inside and looked it over. "It's exactly like my drawings. Exactly like them," he said while he touched the console. "I don't believe it," he said while he touched the displays. His eyes widened when he saw the Travel From Time panel and saw the June 16, 1995, and 1730 date and time.
He looked at the Travel to Time panel and saw June 10, 1971, and 0430 in panel.
He thought about it for a few seconds. He smiled and it was a huge smile. "It works!" he cried out. "It really works," he cried out again. He looked curious. "But who used it?" he said while he continued to check out the console. "Did I come back to seventy-one?" he said and the more he thought about it more he believed it. "But what if it was someone else?" he said and started to have his doubts he time traveled from 1995.
Dr. Bowman got out of the time machine. He reached inside his right pants pocket and removed his car keys. He stuck one of the keys into the door lock. He turned it, and the door locked. He smiled and walked away
A little while later, Dr. Bowman was in the hallway of the first floor. He deposited a dime into one of the payphones and dialed a number.
"Jimmy, me, Ervin," he said into the phone and glanced over his shoulder for anybody lurking in the hallway.
"Ervin, why the late call?"
"Jimmy, I need you and your contractor brother to come over to the physics department immediately," he said into the phone.
"What's so urgent?"
"It's my special project. You won't believe it until you get here."
There were a few seconds of silence from the phone. "Okay, I'll call Bruce," said Jimmy from the phone.
"Tell him to bring some building supplies with him."
"What is going on?" asked Jimmy from the phone.
"You'll have to wait until you get here," said Dr. Bowman.
"Okay, I'm on my way," said Jimmy and was really curious while he disconnected his end of the call.
Dr. Bowman hung up the phone and walked down the hallway to the freight elevator with a spring in his step.
Back at the diner, Sheryl and young Darin discreetly watched while old Darin finished his meal and paid for his dinner.
Sheryl was determined to find out why that old hippy appeared so familiar and why she really liked him.
"Table six needs more coffee," said Gracie while she walked into the kitchen and saw young Darin and Sheryl peeking through the pass-through.
Sheryl walked over to the coffee pot while young Darin headed to the dishwasher.
Sheryl grabbed the coffee pot and walked out of the kitchen.
She walked up to table six. While she poured coffee into the couple's cups, she eyed the windows. She saw old Darin get into that 52 Bel-Air, start it up, back out and drive away.
She headed back to the kitchen with the pot of coffee.
"That old hippy is a bit strange. He's nice but a bit strange. I wonder what's he doing in Burkeville?" said Gracie to Sheryl while she put the coffee pot back.
"He said he's looking for a history teaching job at the university," said Sheryl then she walked out of the kitchen to go check up on her tables.
"History professor. Maybe that explains it," said Gracie and she walked out of the kitchen seeing a familiar couple that entered the diner.
Darin left the diner and drove over to Lake Willow. He wanted to watch the sunset like the old days in 1971
After the sun was gone below the horizon, Darin didn't notice two peering eyes from the woods.
Since the lake was now getting dark, Darin decided to leave.
He got up off the bench and headed to his Bel-Air.
Those peeing eyes looked disappointed and disappeared into the darkness of the woods.
Darin started up his Bel-Air and drove out down the dirt road. The song Get Ready by Rare Earth played on the radio while he pulled out of the dirt road and headed north on Primrose Avenue.
Darin drove straight to the drive-in theater.
He parked and waited for the Dirty Harry movie to start. While he waited for the previews to start, he glanced at all the cars parked or was in the process of parking. He missed this drive-in when they tore it down in 1984 for an apartment building.
It was later and thirty minutes of the movie had passed, and Darin got out of his car.
He headed off to the concession stand to use the bathroom and then buy some popcorn.
After he was done, he headed back to his car
While he was walking, he saw Tiffany with another guy named George giving him a blowjob in his 1961 Corvair. Darin remembered George and always thought he was a prick.
Tiffany sensed someone was watching. She moved away from George's crotch and saw Darin.
She rolled down her window. "Get lost you fucking old creep. I'll never suck your old cock," she said.
"Yeah, old man, get the fuck away you peeping fucking tom," yelled out George.
Darin walked away from the car. "Sure you will, Tiffany, sure you will," he said and smiled, as she did have that talent that was the only part of their marriage he liked.
He turned around and saw Tiffany's head back to business on George's crotch.
Darin returned to his Bel-Air and stopped by the driver's door. He removed another Marlboro, lit it up, and got back inside the car.
Darin smoked his Marlboro while she watched the Dirty Harry movie.
Down in the basement of the Engineering and Science building, Dr. Bowman, Jimmy and Bruce started to construct some walls around the time machine. They were building a room to hide the machine.
Back at the drive-in, Darin ate his popcorn and watched the movie. Then something happened. He had this feeling in his pants, and it wasn't long before he had an erection. He wondered why.
Back at the diner, it was closed, and the only car in the parking lot was young Darin's 57 Bel-Air. He and Sheryl were in the front seat making out.
Back at the drive-in, Darin smiled recalling what he did this night after work with Sheryl. He just ate his popcorn with an erection and a smile on his face.
Back in the basement of the Engineering and Science building, Dr. Bowman, Jimmy, and Bruce finished framing a wall for a room around the time machine.
The Dirty Harry movie ended.
Darin drove back to his old home and saw his 57 Bel-Air parked along the curb. He loved and missed that car.
He drove away and drove over to Sheryl's home. He parked along the curb and saw that her bedroom light was on. He removed a Marlboro from his shirt pocket and lit it up. He took a drag while he eyed Sheryl's bedroom window. He exhaled, and his eyes welled up.
He turned on the radio and tuned to the WFIL station. "And the Phillies beat the Los Angeles Dodgers today four to two. But that still leaves them with twenty-two wins and thirty-three losses so far with the season.
And that's it for the news, now back to some more great rock and roll," the DJ said on the radio. The song Ain't No Sunshine by Bill Withers started playing.
"Ain't no sunshine when she's gone," sang out Bill Withers from the radio.
Darin smoked his Marlboro while he stared at Sheryl's bedroom window.
Sheryl's head suddenly peeked out her bedroom curtains, as she sensed someone was parked outside her home.
"Shit," cried out Darin the second he saw Sheryl's head looking in his direction. He quickly put the Bel-Air in drive and drove off while the song still played on the radio.
In her bedroom, Sheryl watched that 52 Bel-Air drive away down the street. She recognized that old hippy from being in the diner earlier tonight.
She walked away from her window, and for some strange reason, she wasn't afraid of him. There was something about him that made her feel safe.
"Who is this old guy?" she said while she lowered the covers of her bed.
Back in the Bel-Air, all Darin could think about was Sheryl while he drove away.
"And this house just ain't no home," sang out Darin but in a different key from what Bill Withers sang in.
He continued with his awful singing while he drove down Chestnut Avenue.
He turned off Chestnut and onto Montvale and thought about Sheryl and the song.
He soon turned left on Thorndale and headed north.
"Only darkness every day," sang out Bill Withers while Darin turned right on Marshall and headed back to the Burkeville Motor Court.
Darin parked the Bel-Air in front of his room, turned off the radio and engine.
He got out of the Bel-Air and went inside his room.
Once he stepped foot inside his room, he lit up another Marlboro and lay on the bed.
He smoked while he thought about being back in 1971 and seeing Sheryl again. His eyes welled up, as he was so happy seeing her alive again.
Back at the basement of the Engineering and Science building, Dr. Bowman, Jimmy, and Bruce finished building the new room to hide the time machine.
Dr. Bowman locked the door. "Don't tell a soul about this," he told Jimmy and Bruce.
"No problem," said Bruce. "I wouldn't know what to call that thing anyway."
"I won't tell anybody," said Jimmy.
Bruce picked up his toolbox.
"I'll meet you upstairs," Jimmy told Bruce.
"Okay," said Bruce, and he walked away with his toolbox in hand and headed to the elevator.
Jimmy waited until Bruce was in the freight elevator. He turned to Dr. Bowman. "Why don't we try it?" he said with a curious look in his eyes.
Dr. Bowman looked at the door to the new room then back at Jimmy. "Maybe, but first I need to find out who used it."
"It wasn't you?"
"No, I have this feeling it was someone else."
"Let me know if you want to try it out. I've always wanted to go back and meet George Washington," said Jimmy.
"Maybe," said Dr. Bowman. "Maybe," he added then he walked away and headed to the freight elevator.
Jimmy followed and really wanted to try time travel.
While Dr. Bowman and Jimmy went home, Darin was sound asleep in his motel room.