Chapter 17
It was now five in the morning on Saturday, June 12th, 1971.
Darin was sound asleep in his motor court room. He tossed and turned, having a bad dream.
In his bad dream, Darin stood at night on the dirt road that led to Lake Willow. There was a full moon, and the woods had an eerie feel, yet it was quiet.
When all of a sudden, something broke the quiet. “HELP!” screamed out a female voice that echoed out from the woods. It was the scream of a female, obviously in danger.
Darin bolted off into the woods in the directions of the scream.
“HELP,” scream out that female again echoing from the woods.
Darin picked up his back and he his lungs didn’t fight back with sucking in air.
The screams for help suddenly stopped when Darin ran to a small clearing in the woods.
He heard the footsteps of someone running off in the woods. But he couldn’t see anybody. All he saw was a blonde-haired girl in the dirt. She was on her back and motionless.
Darin inched his way up to the girl.
He noticed her shirt was ripped opened and her jeans were down to her ankles. She had blonde hair.
His eyes widened in shock when he got a closer look at her face. It was Sheryl. Her eyes were wide opened with a lifeless stare at the sky.
Darin now stood alone in a funeral homeroom.
He stared at a casket where Sheryl’s dead body lay to rest. “NOOOO!” he cried out while he stared at Sheryl’s lifeless body in the casket.
Darin woke up from his bad dream. He shot up in a panic. “Sheryl,” he cried out thinking she was dead again.
He glanced around the darkroom in a panic, and it took a few seconds for him to realize he had a bad dream. He knew he was back in 1971.
Darin flung the covers off his body and bolted out of bed.
He ran over to his clothes on the floor and fumbled while he raced to get dressed.
He grabbed the car key off the dresser and headed to the door. He raced outside his room.
Darin raced to the Bel-Air, got inside, and started up the engine.
He backed out of the parking lot and turned onto Marshall without looking for any traffic. He was lucky there wasn’t anybody on the road this early in the Saturday morning.
The radio was on and the song Love or Let Me Be Lonely by the Friends of Distinction played while he raced the Bel-Air off down Marshall Avenue.
The sun started to peek over the horizon when Darin stopped his car in front of Sheryl’s house.
He parked his car along the curb and glanced at her bedroom window. The light to her bedroom came on. He smiled, knowing she was safe and sound.
He drove away.
Sheryl peeked out her curtains, as she had this strange feeling Darin was outside waiting for her. But she didn’t see Darin’s 57 Bel-Air, so she shrugged off that feeling and got ready for work at the diner.
Darin drove his 52 Bel-Air off down the street while the song Tired of Being Alone by Al Green played on the radio.
Darin drove back to his room at the motor court. He wanted to chill until it was time for breakfast. So he sat on his bed and smoked a Marlboro and stared at the blank TV.
Darin left an hour later and drove over to the diner with the song I Want You Back by the Jackson 5 played on the radio.
A little while later, Darin entered the diner for and saw Sheryl working as a waitress taking an order from an older couple.
He also saw himself washing some of the breakfast dishes back in the kitchen.
“Good morning and welcome back,” said Gracie while she walked up to Darin with a menu in hand. “Follow me,” she said.
Gracie walked Darin over to a booth by the windows.
“Coffee?” she asked while handing him a menu.
“Yes, please.”
Gracie gave Darin a little smile then walked away.
While Gracie went off to get his coffee, he eyed Sheryl while she placed an order in the kitchen.
He smiled when he saw her walking away from the kitchen and heading over to his booth.
“Good morning,” she said the second she arrived at his table.
“Good morning, Sheryl.”
“Good morning. What would you like this morning?”
“Oh,” he said and glanced at the menu. “French toast.”
Sheryl smiled and walked away.
Darin’s eyes were on her while she walked off to the kitchen.
Gracie walked over and gave Darin his coffee then left.
Sheryl placed Darin’s order in the kitchen and glanced back at him.
“Who are you looking at?” said young Darin while he walked away from the dishwasher.
“That old hippy. The one that reminds me of you,” she said, still keeping her eyes on old Darin while he drank his coffee.
“Should I be jealous?”
“I told you before, he’s old enough to be my father,” she said. “Nobody will ever replace you,” she said and gave him a quick kiss on his lips.
Darin watched Sheryl while she walked away to take care of some new customers that just got seated by Gracie.
He glanced at old Darin, and for some strange reason he couldn’t explain, he felt extremely comfortable with the old hippy. He wasn’t jealous in the least. He returned to his dishwasher for cleaning another tray of dirty dishes.
Five minutes had passed, and Sheryl brought old Darin his French toast breakfast.
Even though she really wanted to sit down and talk with this intriguing stranger, she refrained, figuring it would be right. But she, for some reason, felt it wasn’t cheating on Darin. So she walked away and headed back to the kitchen.
Darin ate his breakfast and drank coffee while Sheryl and young Darin took occasional glances of him eating.
Thirty minutes had passed, and Darin left the diner.
He drove back to his motor court room with the How Can You Mend a Broken Heart song by the Bee Gees playing on the radio.
“How can you mend a broken heart?” said Darin while he listened to the lyrics. “You time travel,” he said, answering the question in the song.
It was now early Saturday evening.
Darin was in his motor court room, smoking another Marlboro. He glanced at his watch and knew that the sun would be doing its usual duty of bringing on nighttime.
He put out the Marlboro in the ashtray by the bed, got up, and headed over to the dresser.
He grabbed his car key and headed out of the room.
Darin hopped back in the Bel-Air and started up the engine.
He drove out of the parking lot with the You’ve Got a Friend song by James Taylor playing on the radio.
He drove the Bel-Air west on Marshall Avenue.
He got to the end of Marshall and headed south on Primrose Avenue.
He parked his Bel-Air in the A&P parking lot and got out.
Darin rushed through the lot and ran across Primrose. He headed into the woods and disappeared between the trees just before young Darin drove north on Primrose and turned left onto the dirt road.
Old Darin rushed through the woods and headed toward the parking area of the lake.
He found the perfect tree and stood behind it and waited.
After a few seconds, he heard the sound of car tires driving through the dirt. He peeked around the tree and saw his old 57 Bel-Air parking in the dirt lot near the wooden benches.
He saw Sheryl and younger self get out of the Bel-Air and walk over to the bench holding hands. He stayed peeked behind that tree while he relived this memory. He smiled when he heard the Samba Pa Ti song by Santana that played on the car radio. He craned his neck to listen to the conservation.
“I wish you could go with us to Ocean City,” he said.
“I know, but Aunt Gertie came all the way from Beaver Falls for my graduation. She’s staying the week and will leave next Saturday. Mom wants me to stay since I haven’t seen her in three years. And besides, I’ll be working also to save up some extra cash for college.”
“I should stay here and be with you.”
“No, Darin. Go and have some fun with Charles and Kenny. You’ll be working at Jake’s for the rest of the summer. You’ll need to party a little. Besides, Charles and Kenny will start their new lives and will leave Burkeville soon.”
He placed his arm around Sheryl’s shoulder. “I can’t wait until we’re married.”
“Me too.”
“I know we’re going to have a great life together.”
“We will,” said Sheryl, then she placed her head on Darin’s shoulder.
While they watched the sun disappear below the horizon, they didn’t notice peering eyes spying on them from the woods.
Old Darin heard some footsteps in the woods. He glanced over to his left and saw Robbie down in the woods peeking behind a tree. “I fucking knew it,” he quietly said while he kept a watchful eye on Robbie while he spied on young Darin and Sheryl still on the bench. “I’m going to burn you on Monday,” he said quietly.
Robbie spied on young Darin and Sheryl and didn’t notice old Darin spying on him. Robbie looked a little bothered for some reason while he spied on them sitting on the bench.
Old Darin returned to watching young Darin and Sheryl eyeing the sun as it sunk below the horizon.
Robbie also watched from his tree.
After it was dark, young Darin and Sheryl got off the bench and walked to his Bel-Air holding hands.
Old Darin stayed and watched while they got in the Bel-Air and drove out of the parking area.
He walked off through the woods to head to back to the A&P parking lot.
While Darin walked through the woods, Robbie saw him and looked a little disappointed Darin was leaving the woods.
Darin rushed across Primrose Avenue and back to the A&P parking lot.
He got back in his Bel-Air and drive back to the motor court.
The song It’s Too Late by Carol King started to play on the radio.
“Bullshit,” Darin said after Carol sang out the lyrics It’s Too Late Baby and turned off the radio.