When Parallels Collide
1964
Her driving gloves deflated as she pulled each tired finger from the constraints. She laid them on the side table as she took a deep breath. It was four o’clock, an hour before her usual quitting time.
She opened the front door and gazed between the sitting room and the kitchen. She had a choice to make. Would she start dinner before her husband Ralph got home; or sit for a moment and enjoy a cigarette? The cigarette beckoned. She decided she’d start dinner once she calmed herself from her busy day. A Lucky Strike would do the trick.
The silence was just what she needed. She sat in her favorite green chair and inhaled the delicious smoke. She puffed out a constant stream, along with all the stress she accrued all week.
Her peace was broken by a loud noise upstairs. Maybe Ralph was home after all. She took another drag then placed the cigarette in the ashtray and began the journey upstairs.
The stairs creaked as the groans got louder. She heard a crash and her adrenaline surged. She rushed down the hall to the bedroom, the boards protesting her high heels pounding as she ran. Was Ralph having the heart attack the doctors had warned him about?
2020
Erin inched up the hallway clutching her hammer. The house had been creaking and loudly groaning every night since she’d moved in two weeks ago.
She found charm in the sounds of her lovely home settling, but they would likely scare seven-year-old James. She couldn’t have that. Not after four years of trying to get visitation. No, this weekend had to be special.
She checked the boards on the stairs and in the hallway, hammering down any nails that poked up, hoping this would quiet the sounds.
She checked the clock; ten minutes until Glenn dropped James off. She straightened up the spare room the toys were perfectly displayed. She desperately wanted him here more often. Everything had to be perfect.
Ding Dong.
Erin looked in the mirror tucking a stay wisp of hair behind her ear. She nervously grabbed the doorknob.
“MOOOOM!” James said running into the house, dropping his blue jacket on the floor as he ran up the stairs. “My new toys are up here?”
Erin laughed. She knew this would pique his interest when she mentioned it on the phone last night.
“You have to do this again Erin? Really?” Glenn asked with a smirk.
Erin stood silently glaring.
“If it becomes too much, or you feel the sudden urge to just, say, leave, call me and I’ll be right over.” Glenn said sarcastically. She frowned. “You’re the one who left two years ago remember? Why do you need him now?”
“I love him Glenn. People make mistakes.” She said starting to shut the door. Glenn put his foot out, stopping it abruptly.
“Are you sure you really want him this time? I can’t have the heartbreak he suffered the last two times.” Glenn pleaded.
“Goodbye I said.” Erin said starting to shut the door.
“Please, take good care of him, Erin. I’ll know if anything bad happens”
***
The mac and cheese left a sweet scent as they finished up their dinner.
“May I be excused.” James asked excitedly.
“Yes, you ma...” Before she knew it, he was running up the stairs to his room. Erin laughed. It having him with her felt glorious. She carried the dirty dishes to the kitchen and began to wash them.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
She heard James scream.
Erin dropped the dish in the sink hearing it shatter behind her as she took the stairs two at a time. Inside his room, James was hiding under his comforter, peeking out at the closet door.
“It slammed. Th… th.. three times” he whispered.
“It’s probably the wind, honey. Sometimes that happens.” She said confidently. “So, where is this plane headed?” She pointed to a red plane laying at the top of his play runway. James reluctantly appeared from under the sheets and began explaining the routes for all the planes he had lines up on the floor.
After a few minutes, he was calm again. Erin left the room realizing she never left windows open in the dead of winter.
1964
Janice slowly opened the bedroom door. The lush green satin and wool comforter rumbled on the king size bed as Janice stood stunned in the frozen doorway watching the sheets rumble.
Suddenly, two heads popped out from under the blankets. The woman screamed and ducked her head under the covers.
“Ralph?” Janice cried out.
2020
Erin sat down snuggled in with James as she tucked the comforter around his chin. She pulled a new book from behind her back.
“PLANES!!!” James squealed looking at the cover.
Erin was barely halfway through the short book when James fell deeply asleep. She quietly stood and crept out of the room. She heard the sheets rustle and turned to see James sleeping peacefully. She noticed the closet door was open again. She thought about shutting it but feared it would wake him.
1964
Janice couldn’t help the scream that escaped her mouth. She turned and ran. Ralph jumped up grabbing his robe from the closet, slamming the door behind him.
“Janice, it means nothing. I was just so lonely.” He said racing to her.
Janice’s shoe fell off, stopping her at the top of the stairs. “Ralph, why.” she cried. “Why?”
“I’m so sorry, she means nothing to me.” Ralph approached Janice, tears in his eyes.
Ralph’s foot caught her lost shoe. He teetered at the top of the stairs. Janice reached for him and missed. Ralph tumbled down the stairs,
2020
Erin walked down the hallway grinning. Having James was amazing. She got to the top of the stairs she heard a door slam. Seconds later, James came flying out his bedroom door.
“Mommy, Mommy, Mommy…” he screamed.
She knelt and extended her arms. He was just about there when he tripped on the plane that lay at the top of the stairs. She tried to grasp him before he fell. She missed, and he fell down the long staircase, his head bouncing off the final stair leaving blood behind.
MANY DECADES LATER
Janice and Erin stood staring up the stairs that had changed their lives forever. This is now the place where they will spend eternity. They didn’t even flinch when the front door opened.
“Mark, I think it’s lovely!” the woman declared. “I’ll be this neighborhood will eat up your stock scheme, no questions asked!” Mark smiled and pulled her in. “They don’t have a ghost of a chance against me!”
