When we get to the house, all is quiet. Earlier in the day it was pretty quiet too, which hasn’t been the case since we moved in during the time I was from. There was always people around causing havoc, and it feels odd to not hear arguing.
“Does everyone still live here at the house?” I ask.
“Vinnie does, but with most of the gang getting married, they’ve moved into nearby houses. It got a little crowded with all the kids constantly popping out. We get together usually at the house once a week for dinner, though. Dinner was always one of our favorite times with you, so it makes us feel closer to you in some way” Rick says.
“For the same reason, Daddy doesn’t usually join us,” Aidan says. “He gets too sad seeing everyone except you around the table. There’s always an open chair, just in case you drop by.”
“That’s right, son,” Nate tells him. “Today will be different, though. Your mother will join us and everyone will be happy, just like you guys have been trying to tell us. I’m sure Grandma will be so happy she’ll start crying, which will probably make your mom laugh hysterically.”
“Aisling, when did you tell everyone to be at the house?” Scott asks. No one needed to question whether I’d laugh about Mom crying. I’d probably have to, just to get her to stop.
“I said an hour. It will give Mama a chance to get ready. Traveling through time left her clothes all wrinkly, and she smells like she could use a bath. I think she had to travel through garbage to get here,” she replies.
I look down, and sure enough, my shirt looks like it’s seen better days. I didn’t see any garbage, or smell anything, so I was hoping that was just her nose being over-sensitive.
“Do you even have clothes available for me? It’s been five years since I needed any, and I know some people don’t like to hold on to that kind of stuff.”
“All of your stuff is still in your closet. I’m pretty sure no moths got into anything, but I’m not promising that,” Nate tells me.
“Great, is it okay if I take a quick shower and get ready then? I don’t want to offend anyone’s senses with my stink.”
“You know the way. I’m pretty sure everything should be as you remember it, soap, shampoo, everything.” Nate says.
I ran upstairs and hurry through a shower. Nate was right about all my stuff being where it should be, which was a little weird, knowing how many years had gone by since I’d needed any of the items.
I go to the closet and find a pair of jeans that will do and a shirt that says I’d tell you to go to Hell but I work there and don’t want to see you every day. Hey, they haven’t seen me in five years, I can’t let them think I’ve gone soft.
Aisling said everyone was going to be here, but I don’t know who she counts in that statement? If I wanted to prove to them I was the real me, I had to look the part.
I start to head back downstairs, but instead, make a beeline for Vinnie’s lab. I’m guessing it hasn’t moved over the years, and am proven right when I knock on the door and hear him respond. His voice isn’t exactly like I remember it, but it’s close.
“Please go away, I really think I’m on to something here and I don’t want any interruptions,” he yells from behind the door.
I take that as an invitation to enter and step inside. The lab is basically a mess, which isn’t a state I’ve ever seen it in, with stuff thrown around everywhere. It takes me a while to even find Vinnie back in a corner.
“How in the world can you work like this? You used to hate it when anything wasn’t in its proper place. Half the stuff I’ve seen is crap I think belongs in the garbage. You should get a maid,” I say, looking over his shoulder at some computer code he’s working on.
“That voice is perfect. I need to record it so I can analyze it and use it with my new system. With something that realistic, I should be able to complete a full vocal system,” he replies, and then spins around.
“Sorry, buddy, the voice isn’t for sale,” I tell him as he stares at me. I find that happening a lot more than I like, but I couldn’t fault anyone for it. Coming back from the dead had a tendency to startle people.
“If I could actually dream, I’d ask if that’s what’s happening here, but I know it isn’t possible. I’ve never had to sleep and that hasn’t changed in the past few years.”
“Really? You’ve had five years and you haven’t figured out a way to make that improvement? I thought sleeping was on your list.”
“I’ve been working on some other things a little more important,” he replies. “You know I’m capable of advanced prioritizing, and being able to take a nap hasn’t been high on my list.”
“I suppose trying to bring me back to life is?”
“That would be my current number one priority, and has been for awhile now. While I have you here, would you mind if I run some scans and grab some DNA samples?” he asks.
“So, no questions on what I’m doing here in the first place, alive and in the flesh? Everyone else has at least checked to make sure I wasn’t someone in a really good costume.”
“No, of course not. I’ve been expecting you and have spent the time preparing for it. You told us one time you traveled to the future, but you didn’t give an exact date. I’ve been working hard to make sure everything was ready for this day. If you’d just follow me, this will only take a couple minutes,” he says, standing and leading me over to a chair.
I’m not sure what’s going on, but I decide it’s best to go with the flow. I imagine Vinnie had invented something over the years to make me comply with his command, so throwing a fit doesn’t seem logical.
He sits me in the chair, and then starts putting electrode thingys on my head. He flips on another computer and starts running a program that I’m guessing is getting data from the things on my head. He gets out a needle that looks like it’s straight out of a sci-fi movie and starts walking towards me.
“Wait a second, buddy, just where do you think you’re going with that. Do you have a horse around somewhere that needs tranquilized, or maybe a grizzly bear?”
“It will only hurt for a second and you have a high tolerance for pain anyway, so don’t act like you’re scared of a little needle. I just need some blood and tissue to get some DNA to work with.”
Before I know it, he’s at my arm with the needle sticking out of it. That was like Nate speed fast and nothing I’ve ever witnessed from Vinnie. I blink my eyes a few times just to make sure I’m not dreaming.
“Holy crap, how did you move that fast?” I ask, looking away from the needle. Whether they hurt or not, I’m not a fan.
“I’ve been practicing,” he says. “I didn’t totally stop giving myself upgrades, just decided some weren’t as important as I once thought.” He finishes drawing blood and then goes back to the computer to check his data. “This looks good. I think I can work with this.”
“That’s great. How much longer do I have to sit here?” I ask.
“I guess we can be done. It didn’t take as long as I thought it would to get you downloaded into the computer.”
“What do you mean by that?” I was joking earlier about him taking my consciousness and growing me a body. I wasn’t so sure he thought it was a joke. “I know I don’t have every memory, but my brain isn’t full of empty space.”
“It’s nothing, don’t worry about it. Now that I’m done with that, I think I’ll head downstairs and see what I’ve missed in the last five years myself. I’ve heard bits of what life has been like for everyone, but not enough I could answer any questions if anyone asked.”
He removes the electrodes from my head and lifts me back up into a standing position. Studying his face, it doesn’t look any different than I remember. All the little lines were right where they should be.
“There’s supposed to be a party today. I think its original purpose was changed, do you happen to know what they’d be celebrating today normally?” I ask.
If Vinnie is excluded from the world around him, then he wouldn’t know Aisling h
ad forbidden me from learning anything. If I could’ve found my buddy Brad, it would’ve been even easier for me, but no one had mentioned him.
“Hmm. No one’s told you the reason for the party? I may be out of the loop, but I’m guessing there’s a reason for that. Knowing what day it is, I guess that makes sense. There are a lot of decisions for you to make not long after you get back, and I imagine knowing possible outcomes can change things.”
“Mini me told everyone I shouldn’t know, but that isn’t really fair, you know. I think I have a right to know what’s going on today. I think people forget I can see the future from time-to-time on my own and don’t need extra help interpreting what I learn.”
“Aisling is wise beyond her years,” he replies, having no problem figuring out who I called mini me. “If she doesn’t think you should know, I’m not going to be the one who tells you, whether I think you’re capable of dealing with the knowledge or not.”
“She said she’s only seen you once and that was years ago. How do you know how smart she is? I know she’s my daughter and it should be self-explanatory, but apples don’t always fall right next to the tree.”
“She’s a dang oracle. She better be brilliant if she’s going to pull off that job. I imagine she doesn’t know all the technical information you do, but she’s smart in a different sense. I’m sure eventually she’ll even be able to match wits with me,” he replies.
“But doesn’t everyone think all the kids are oracles?” I ask. I thought that was what she’d told me earlier. If they were, Vinnie shouldn’t have figured out exactly who I’d referred to.
“Oh, they are, but I can tell she’s the hub. She just has a different light in her eyes than the others. I’ve seen her more than the one time, but I didn’t want her to know I was studying her. She reminds me a lot of you, but once you get around the looks and smart mouth, there’s something amazing going on in that mind of hers,” he says, dragging me out of the lab. “Enough talk, let’s get you to the rest of the family.”
“Avery, are you coming? There are people already here waiting for you,” Nate says telepathically, knowing my conversation with Vinnie was over.
“I’m sure I don’t have to tell you, but we’re on our way. Where should I meet you?” I ask.
“Dining room, where else?” he replies.
“Be right there,” I tell him, and then switch to talking out loud to Vinnie. “We’re being requested in the dining room. I don’t know why I even bothered to ask where he wanted us.”
“Good, that’s the perfect place for your homecoming. I don’t think I’ve been there myself for a few years. It’ll be nice to see if anyone managed to do some redecorating,” he says, heading that way when we get to the bottom of the stairs.
After seeing my room and bathroom, I doubted anyone had touched a thing. I couldn’t wait for the bomb to be dropped on everyone waiting. I really hope my mom doesn’t cry too much. It was already mentioned she would be here. I wonder if that means my new sibling will be as well. He or she should be five or six, like my children.
There were so many possibilities standing behind the dining room door when we arrive in front of it. My stomach feels the butterflies I was used to in high anxiety situations. I have nothing to really be anxious about, other than seeing how everyone’s lives turned out without me. It’s not exactly a situation most people find themselves in.
CHAPTER 16
Let's party like it's 2017