Chapter 26
It was back to 1995 for the second time.
Inside that basement room, it was quiet and dark until those millions of small balls of colored lights magically appeared out of thin air.
Those balls of lights flew all over the room like miniature flying saucers. The shots of lights converged in one location, and the Studebaker time machine magically appeared spinning at hypersonic speeds in a blur.
Inside the machine, all Darin saw was a blur from the windows of the machine. He felt like he wanted to vomit again and fought off that urge.
He started to feel better once the spinning began to slow down.
The time machine stopped spinning.
He opened up his eyes and was dazed and confused for a few seconds. He didn't have a clue where he was or what happened. His head started to throb. It was a severe headache, and he wanted to scream. He was also dizzy and listened to the hum of the engine while it whined down.
It took a few seconds for him to collect his thoughts on where he was, and he soon remembered. He was inside that time machine.
His hands shook while he flipped all the toggle switches down. The lights on the console turned off. The machine was quiet inside.
Darin's hands shook while he unbuckled his harness with his left hand and opened up the door.
He stepped out of the time machine. He cringed as his left broken wrist was killing him. All he wanted to do was rush over to the hospital.
He looked around the room, and it was precisely the same as it was in 1995 before he time traveled.
He opened the door and rushed out of the room.
He stepped into the laboratory room, and it still existed just like it did in 1995. He knew he was back to his present-day and started to miss Sheryl.
Dr. Bowman walked out of the janitor's office. "Hello there, Darin. Did you have a nice trip?" he said while he walked to Darin.
"Ah, I, ah," said Darin forgetting that Dr. Bowman knew he used his time machine.
"It's okay, Darin, it's okay," said Dr. Bowman then he looked at Darin. "You're hurt," said Dr. Bowman after seeing the cut on Darin's forehead and his left swollen wrist.
"I'll be fine," said Darin, then he felt faint, and a strange chill hit him from his feet to his head. He took a step forward, and the room got extremely bright. Darin's vision got black.
Darin dropped to the floor passed out.
Dr. Bowman stood there and looked at Darin's body on the floor. He wasn't concerned. "Good," he said while he watched Darin's body slowly dissolve and was gone.
Dr. Bowman walked away and headed to the freight elevator.
It was a beautiful June morning in Burkeville. It was Thursday, June 15th, 1995.
Darin was sound asleep in bed. But the bed was different. It was now a King size bed, and the bedroom was also changed. It was larger and not the small size of a single-wide trailer. It appeared to be one of a middle-class family and not of a lower income mobile home.
Darin's eyes opened. He yawned, and something looked strange. I've never seen that window before. He thought while he saw a window with lovely curtains.
A female in the bathroom connected to the bedroom sang out, "Changing my life with the wave of her hand."
Darin's eyes widened hearing that female sing that voice. That's not Tiffany. She sucks at singing. He thought while he sat up in bed. "There are not enough beers to make her sound that sweet," he quietly said while he listened to this mysterious woman continue to sing that Beatles song.
After he sat up in bed, he noticed this was not his bedroom from his mobile home. This was a charming bedroom. This bedroom had a lovely homely feel – nothing like his mobile home.
He also noticed that he didn't have to cough up nasty stuff from his lungs. He took a deep breath, and his lungs felt great. "That's odd," he said then he turned his attention to that female in the bathroom while she sang out the "Both of us thinking how good it could be," lyrics from that song.
"What the fuck is going on here?" Darin quietly said while he looked at the door leading into the bathroom. "Did I follow a woman home last night?" he said while he got up off the bed.
That woman hummed out to Here, There, and Everywhere while Darin gingerly walked to the bathroom door nervous with what he might find.
Darin stopped at the bathroom door and peeked inside. He saw a woman in a light blue nightgown putting on makeup in front of the mirror above the sink. There was something strange about that woman that he couldn't place a finger on. There was something weird yet something so familiar about her. She had short blonde hair and a shapely body. Darin thought she was hot and liked what he saw.
The woman looked to her right and saw Darin standing at the door, looking confused. "What's wrong, darling?" she asked them placed some lipstick on her lips.
"Ah, I, ah, don't know?" he said.
The voice of a young girl sang out behind Darin. "Good morning, daddy!"
He turned around and saw a girl around seven years old running up to him in pajamas. She gave Darin's right leg a loving hug.
Darin felt awkward and felt like he should run away afraid he might be arrested for being a child molester.
"Ah, good morning," he said while he glanced down at the top of the girl's head while she hugged his leg. He was clueless about this girl.
"Go get dressed for breakfast, Cindy," said the woman in the bathroom while she put her lipstick away in her makeup case.
"Okay, mommy," said Cindy, then she released her grip from Darin's leg.
"Hurry up, daddy. I want to eat breakfast with you," said Cindy, then she rushed out of the bedroom.
Darin watched while Cindy rushed out of the bedroom. Daddy? He thought. What the fuck is going on here? He asked himself in his mind.
He glanced back at the woman in the mirror. Then something familiar came over him after he looked at her for a few seconds.
She looked at him. "You better hurry up and get ready for work," she said then walked toward him.
Darin stood there looking dazed and confused while she got closer to him. Why does she look so familiar? He thought while she walked up to him.
The woman gave him a quick kiss on the lips.
The touch of her lips against Darin's felt so familiar.
"You're wasting time, darling," she said while she walked over to the charming wooden dresser by the bed. The dresser he had in his mobile home was a cheap Wal-Mart pressed board dresser.
Darin's heart jumped a beat when he saw that woman remove her gown and stood at the closet naked. She looked at him. "What's wrong with you this morning? You looked dazed and confused? Are you feeling alright?" she said and started to get concerned.
It hit Darin like a ton of bricks. "Sheryl?" he said and looked baffled.
"Yes, baby," said Sheryl while she slipped on a pair of white cotton panties.
She looked at him, waiting for what he had to say.
Darin suddenly remembered his time trip back to 1971. That beautiful and sexy woman was his soul mate Sheryl Hanson. He saved her life.
Darin rushed over and hugged Sheryl tight and planted a kiss on her lips. Their lips separated. "I love you so very much," he said and kissed her lips again.
She looked a little stunned. "This is a nice," she said after their lips separated. "But you better get ready for work," she said and walked out of the bathroom with a smile.
Darin was all smiling while he walked to the sink and stared at the mirror. His eyes widened when he saw that his long hair and beard was gone. He now sported a short hairstyle. He looked so professional and healthier. He actually had a few muscles that made him look healthy. His knees got wobbly.
He quickly felt his forehead. There wasn't a cut.
He grabbed his wrist of his left hand. It wasn't swollen or broken.
He sat down on the toilet and tried to get a handle on things. He felt faint. He placed his hand on the sink countertop in case he passed out.
He didn't pass out. Instead, he had a Tsunami of flashbacks of his life from the summer of 1971 to this moment.
Darin's flashbacks of his new life…
Darin sat in the courtroom while the jury gave the Guilty verdict for Kenny attempting to murder Sheryl on the Monday night of June 14th, 1971.
He saw Sheryl in the courtroom with the prosecutor from the State of Pennsylvania.
He saw Kenny sitting with his attorney, and Kenny just stared down at the top of the table, knowing he would be in prison for many years to come.
Darin now sat in history class at the University of Burkeville. He was jotting down notes on the Civil War.
Darin and Sheryl were now in their cap and gowns for graduation from the University of Burkeville. Both parents were proud of their kids.
Darin and Sheryl stepped out of a church. Darin was in a black tuxedo and Sheryl was in a white wedding dress. They were married and thrilled.
Darin was at the hospital maternity ward.
He saw his daughter Cindy just born.
He was a proud father. He remembered her name is Cindy.
Darin had flashbacks of numerous happy birthdays and Christmas' with little Cindy and Sheryl. It was beautiful and something he never had in his previous life.
Darin then recalled a newspaper clipping on how Kenny Woods was murdered in prison in 1986. He didn't feel any remorse.
Darin felt better after those flashbacks vanished. He smiled. His life did change for the better. This time travel trip back to 1971 worked. He felt like jumping up for joy but refrained.
He shaved and took a shower.
Darin went into his bedroom after he got cleaned up.
He opened up his closet and looked for his janitor's uniform. There wasn't one hanging in the closet. But instead, Darin felt compelled to grab a white shirt, khaki slacks and a brown tween jacket with leather patches on the elbow. He thought that he had to get dressed in those clothes.
He saw a briefcase near the closet and knew it belonged to him. So he grabbed the briefcase, left the bedroom, and went into the kitchen.
He saw Sheryl in a nurses uniform, and more flashbacks of her working at the hospital flooded his mind like a hurricane.
He set his briefcase down by the doorway of the kitchen, walked over, sat down for breakfast with his new loving family.
After breakfast, he gave Cindy and Sheryl a kiss, and then he left the house through the front door with his briefcase in hand.
Once he got outside, his eyes widened in shock when he saw what was parked in his driveway. It was his old 1957 Chevrolet Bel-Air. Darin looked confused at first while he slowly walked up to his car.
He reached inside his Khaki slacks pocket and removed his car keys. He unlocked the door and smiled with the key worked. He was glad to hear that the driver's door opened up smooth and didn't creak like it did in 1971. He opened it and closed it a few times, as that smooth feel felt sweet.
He set his briefcase down on the front seat then glanced around the pristine interior that looked brand spanking new. Additional new memories started to flood Darin's head.
His memory took him back to the summer of 1985.
Darin, now thirty-two years old, stood one of the three garages of Rusty Moore's Restoration Shop, located in the nearby town of Pikeville.
In that garage was Darin's old 1957 Bel-Air from the seventies. It was taken apart, and pieces were scattered all over the garage floor.
Darin's memory now jumped to March 1986, and he was now standing outside Rusty's Restoration Shop.
He walked around and checked out his restored 1957 Bel-Air. Rusty did a magnificent job, and his old car was showroom quality. Darin was happy and paid Rusty.
Back to 1995 and Darin recalled this new memory. He smiled while he shoved the key into the ignition. He turned it, and the engine started. It purred like a kitten.
Darin put it in reverse and backed down the driveway.
After he backed into Hill Avenue, he glanced back at the house and saw it had the 5981 street address. This was the house he visited during his first time living in 1995.
He smiled while he placed the Bel-Air in drive and drove down the street.
Darin drove down his new residential street of Hill Avenue in the new neighborhood of Pleasant Acres.
It was extraordinary that Darin the farther he drove down Hill Avenue, the more he knew where he had to go for work.