It didn't take long for Sam to reach his sister's residence and pull the car into the somewhat cluttered garage. He sedately exited the four-wheeled transport and shuffled out onto the driveway; Al followed at a discreet distance. Without a word, the semi-existent man slowly approached the younger man who was still numbed by the news of his family's tragedy. Sam stood looking at the two-story house that only he and Al knew was destined to come to an end in less than twelve hours.
Upon sliding the glass door open, Sam was greeted by loud, howling protests emulating from the kitchen. In the bright, yellow, tile-floored room, the physicist discovered that the source of the noise was the Siamese cat who stood upright in the sink. Thelma Beckett had a firm hold on the animal's front paws, and Katey was doing all she could to shampoo him without breaking the world's record for the number of cat scratches on the body.
"It's okay, Rocky," Katey tried to soothe her pet despite the exasperation the animal was causing her. "Mommy has to wash you and get rid of those old fleas."
Rocky simply ignored his master's words and continued to struggle and wail loudly.
"You'd think we were killing him," Thelma declared.
"I think I can get him to calm down long enough," Sam offered, stepping closer to the two who hadn't noticed his presence in the room. "Look at me, Rocky," Sam coaxed, picking up a slightly damaged nurf ball and tapping him on the nose with it. "ada boy," he cooed as the cat began to nuzzle his face into the soft toy.
Sam had distracted Rocky long enough for the hardly professional cat groomers to finish soaping and rinsing him. They had drained the sink and bundled the cat in a towel when Al, like a ghost, stepped through the wall and stood in the middle of the large, round table staring at the parties huddled around the stainless steel basin.
"All right, now that we're finished entertaining mouse chasers, I think we gotta talk, Sam," the hologram said solemnly before again performing Sam's favorite feat of walking through the wall that did not exist as far as he was concerned.
"I'll dry him off for you, Katey." Sam extended his arms to accept the shivering form.
"Oh, thank you, Honey," Katey's words reflected gratitude for relief of cat duty.
Perched on a lawn chair with the wet kitty in his lap Sam peered up at his friend with the widest eyes. "How did it start, Al?" he asked, afraid to hear the answer.
"A short in the wiring. According to Ziggy, the fire was reported around 10:45 p m." Al began to punch more keys on his hand-link and grimaced at the readout displayed on the gizmo's miniature screen. "It doesn't look good, Sam . . . The Fire Department has no real trouble getting it under control; but, by the time they put it out, there's nothing left to speak of. After they lose Jim and the house, your family's lives go downhill from there."
"I can't let that happen . . ." Sam muttered, rubbing the warm, wet, little creature with the towel. "My God, Mom and Katey have been through enough already . . . losing Dad, Kate's first marriage to that drunken wife beater . . . I've gotta fix this for them." He buffed some more, and Rocky began to purr loudly. "Al, what if I fixed the wiring and prevented the fire from ever happening?"
"I don't know; it's worth a shot," Al shrugged.
After he finished drying his little chocolate-point friend, Sam headed down into the basement to see if he could do something about the faulty wiring that promised to destroy the house later that night. Sam spent nearly an hour tinkering with any wire or circuit that looked suspicious. It seemed to him that he remedied the problem, and that he should be leaping out. He had just closed the panel on the fuse box when he heard the Imaging Chamber door whoosh open, indicating Al's arrival.
"How ya doin', Kiddo?" the observer asked in a gentle voice.
"Everything's fine here, Al. I fixed whatever was wrong with the wiring . . . so . . . I should be leaping . . . shouldn't I?"
"Uh, let's see . . ." Al muttered as he struck the tiny keys on his hand-link. "Uh-oh, the house still burns down. According to Ziggy, you've changed history, Sam. This time they don't know how the fire started . . . and you and the cat still die."
"They don't know how it started, I mean . . . there's no way I can stop it! What the hell am I supposed to do, Al! What does Ziggy say?"
"Uh, she says you get everyone out, but you die trying to rescue that little furball. Ziggy says not to go after the cat and you'll be all right."
"Whatter you saying, Al!" Sam cried out in horror, his voice reflecting the emotion. "Are you saying I should just leave Rocky in there to burn to death!"
"Sam," Al's words were kind, yet reeking of inflections of harsh reality. "They can always adopt another cat when they get back on their feet again, but this family only has one father."
Sam felt a soft surface rubbing against his legs and looked down to see a very affectionate Rocky peering up at him through loving eyes. "Al . . . I---"he began as he picked up the purring pet.
"Kid, it's either you or that little guy," Al whispered with fatherly tones, about to wrap an arm around the saddened scientist and withdrawing when he remembered Sam wouldn't feel the loving gesture. "I know you wanna save both Jim and Rocky, butchoo can't do both. You've gotta leave the kitty behind."
Sam closed his eyes tightly in hopes of holding back any tears or, better yet, leaping out of this far from happy homecoming. Upon opening his eyes, he felt a large drop of salty water fall from his eye and saw it land on the cat's nose. Rocky meowed sweetly, and Sam hugged him close and cried softly. How could he allow such an adorable bundle of love to come to such a tragic end?
Concern, sadness, and a terrible cloak of helplessness enveloped the hologram as he watched his best friend being swallowed by that dreaded monster known as grief.
Smothered with cloaks of defeat and a feeling of helplessness, Sam dragged his feet up the basement stairs still in tears. There was nothing worse than knowing a serious tragedy was on its way and there was nothing he could do to put everything right. If only he knew how the fire started in this alternate time-line.
In all my years of leaping around in time, I have found myself stuck between a rock and a hard place . . . wrestling with the choice of carrying out my mission or helping someone I love very much. My realistic side was telling me that I leaped in here to save Jim and change my family's future; but my emotional side kept telling me that Rocky was part of the family, and I shouldn't have to sacrifice one family member over another
The day seemed to be passing in super slow motion for Sam. Seeming to be lost in his troubles, he spent the next hour sitting in the wicker chair reading the paper and playing fetch with the animal that had captured his heart. Every time Rocky dropped that milk jug ring at his feet, the leaper became more determined to figure out a way to have his cake and eat it too. All the while, a rope of helplessness threatened to choke the life out of him.
"Jim, are you feeling all right?" Thelma asked, concern coloring her eyes and features. "You've been kinda off your feet all afternoon."
"Mom, he just gave blood," Katey explained as she and her mother perched themselves on the couch. "Maybe he's still a little weak."
"Yeah, that's it," Sam accepted the excuse, indicating the cotton ball securely taped to his arm. "I'll be fine later."
Tired of playing fetch, Rocky flopped down on top of Sam's feet and began to purr. Poor little booger, he thought, staring down at the resting pet.
Sam was about to speak when he heard the front door open, and two arguing voices faded in before the door slammed shut.
"Mom and Dad are gonna have a cow when you tell 'em, Mike," the female voice argued.
"So what's the big deal? It's not like I'm the only one who wants to do this, ya know," the male voice fired back.
The squabble grew louder as the two teenagers entered the room.
"Anyway, it's none of your business what I do, Lisa!" Mike Bonneck said defensively as he dropped his back pack onto the floor next to the coffee table.
"Okay, fine," Lisa Bonneck snapped, slamming her books and pom-poms into the vacant beanbag chair in the middle of the room. "Just don't expect me to stand by you and back you up. I think it's a stupid idea!" With that she stalked out of the family room, leaving her brother to confront his parents alone.
"All right, what's going on here?" Katey's question was tinged with certain parental tones. "What was that all about?"
"Aw, she's getting all bent out o' shape over nothin'."
"It didn't sound like 'nothin'' to me," Sam said, assuming his temporary role as the seventeen-year-old's father. "It sounds to me like you two were fighting over something."
"Okay," the high schooler sighed, deciding he may as well get it over with, "I'll tell ya. The guys are planning to bum around Europe for a year or so right after graduation and . . . I wanna go too."
"What about college?" Katey inquired.
"Don't need it," the teen replied nonchalantly.
"What do you mean you don't need it!" the irate mother sprang from her seat and stood with her hands firmly planted on her hips. "You can't get anywhere without a college education these days. Do you wanna come back from your trip and spend the rest of your life pumping gas or selling things over the phone . . . or do you wanna try to better yourself so you can get a job that promises you a good future?"
"Lots o' famous people made it without college . . . Anyway; I can always go back to school after I get back and get a part-time job. How often will I ever get a chance to go to Europe with my best friends again?"
Before Sam could put in his two cents, Katey continued to argue, "You have your whole life to travel, Mike, butchoo really should go to school now while you can. I always thought I could go back to school, but I never did. I got married right out of high school," she started to explain. "Needless to say, it didn't work out . . . Then I remarried . . . and I found myself becoming too busy to even think of college."
"Before you kids were born, your parents and I moved around a lot," Thelma added in. "Then after you and Lisa came along, your mom stayed home so she could take care of you kids and the house. Now she is working to help support this family."
"I don't want to see my son spend the rest of his life wondering 'What if . . . ' because he decided he didn't need college," Katey said calmly, yet firmly. "This trip will be over in a year, but a college education will last a lifetime."
Passing an 'I don't want to talk about it anymore' glance his mother and grandmother's way, Mike sighed and disappeared into the kitchen.
"Honestly, he can be so stubborn sometimes!" Katey exclaimed, slumping down on the couch.
"Ah, you know how kids are," Sam finally had a chance to speak. "They always go through a phase where they think they don't need college or they think they know more than Mom and Dad. I'm sure he'll come around." Slumbering Rocky's squeaky, little yawn reminded the time traveler that Mike and his future plans were not the reason for his being here. He looked at Thelma and Katey and asked, "Let's say we all go out for a movie and some pizza afterwards. We can leave Rocky with the neighbors and have a night out of the house."
"Aw, Jim, I really don't feel like going out tonight," Katey answered shaking her head. "All I feel like doing tonight is going to bed early. Anyway, the kids might have plans of their own."
"And I've been putting off writing to Sam and Tom. If I don't finish their letters soon, I never will," Thelma added.
"I just thought . . ." Sam began.
"Maybe some other time, okay?" Katey softly countered.
There might not be some other time, Sam thought as he bent down to scratch the sleeping cat's belly.
