Chapter 41

     The next morning he said his goodbyes to his mother, and sat in the driveway for quite some time. He felt paralyzed in this moment, and a part of him wanted to simply unpack and remain at home for a few more days. He decided music may be the tool he needed to inspire action, and found an old Billy Joel CD that he found strangely appropriate for the occasion. He had first fallen in love with his wife with “The Longest Time” ringing in his head. This time it was “The Stranger” that eventually got him to turn the key.

    As he drove further and further into farm country, he felt himself get lost in time again. Now he was ten again, and school was out and he was on the way to the farm for summer vacation. He didn’t just remember the anticipation but he actually felt it, and he had driven 30 miles before he realized he was now pulling into the driveway.

     Seeing the place again was jarring, and he looked into the rearview mirror for a moment to see who was looking back. His eyes looked old and sad, and he realized he was in fact back in his own time. He looked down and saw the rooster keychain his daughter had given to him, took a deep breath, and went inside. The smell was overwhelming to him. It was a mixture of his childhood memories and the smell of his wife and daughter, and for a moment the memories came back so fast he lost his equilibrium. He was home. Physically anyway. The scent of the familiar is a wonderful time traveling device.

     He went up the stairs and looked at the old feather bed he had picked out with his wife when they had first purchased the farm. He grabbed the pillow and took a long breath, and for the first time since he had last seen her alive, he truly felt the presence of his wife again. That smell. That pear-smelling lotion, and her perfume, and her. Just her. He was overwhelmed with love.

     He hugged the pillow and laid down on the bed. Tears of gratitude began to fall and he, felt grateful for every second he ever had with her. He began to cry harder now, no longer in gratitude but in sorrow, and soon he cried until there was nothing left to give.

 It was two days later when he woke up again.