CHAPTER FIFTY-SIX Mike
“We’ve got a problem,” I hissed, lowering my voice because Mom was downstairs and might overhear my phone call.
“We?” Druzella asked. “I have nothing to do with your dilemma.”
“The hell you don’t.”
“Does your mother know you talk to adults like this?” she asked.
“I am a freakin’ adult, remember?” I reminded her. “Mom gets the eighteen year old I am in this dimension, but you get the ten years older version. The version you created.”
I shouldn’t speak to her this way but I was getting more alarmed by the day. My problem was that the anniversary of Coop’s death was a mere ten days away and I had no clue what I should do. Her and Mom had supplied the way here but we’d never actually spoken about what happened after.
“Listen to me carefully, Michael. I cannot possibly know how you got here. I only have your limited details of how the event took place and the evidence there is scant at best.”
Figuring she was my best hope for advice, I toned down the forceful edge to my voice. “I really need your help. I don’t know what to do next.”
Druzella was silent for a moment before responding. “We need to involve your mother,” she declared, surprising me.
My calm approach lasted three seconds. “Not a chance,” I argued. “How do we explain that? Gee, Mom, I’m your future son and I’m back to blow up the course of history.”
“You have to admit, it’s usually the direct approach that works best,” she replied.
Her idea made sense, but how to begin that conversation? “To use your exact words against you, don’t fuck around and get out. Remember that advice?”
“And I stick by those words,” she stated. “You need to involve as few people as possible, Michael. The more people who know, the crazier the impact could be on their future lives, not to mention everyone around them.”
“Two of these people die,” I reminded her. “One is here and the other from where I came from.”
“Actually, they’re both here,” she corrected. “And neither one of them knows.”
“I only came here to try to stop Cooper from going swimming. Now the subject of swimming has come up. I’m terrified that I won’t be able to control the outcome,” I said. “Mom, you, somebody, hell, probably me for agreeing to do this, didn’t think this through. I need to prevent his death.”
“Okay. And what about your mother’s?” she inquired.
Her question hurt my heart. Mom and I had discussed this before she died.
We’d argued for days after I asked her why not have me warn her of her illness far in advance.
Mom had said that she wanted to be with Dad, and that she wasn’t concerned about her fate because she believed we had many lives that we experienced in infinite universes.
Of course, I’d argued she was crazy to reject help, but now look where I was.
She’d actually been able to get me here.
“She didn’t want me to tell her,” I choked out. “I’m struggling with that, Druzella.”
“Then don’t,” she stated rather bluntly.
“Just like that?” I asked. “Do you agree with her?”
“I don’t know anything about parallel universes, Michael. I’ve told you that several times now, but if Kathleen asked you not to tell her about her death, then she’s made your decision for you. Do you understand?”
“I guess,” I mumbled. “I want to tell her so bad.”
“I know your mother quite well, son. She is a kind and caring woman, but she is strong-willed as well,” she began.
“But more importantly, your mother fervently believes that outside forces impact our lives. Convincing her to believe you regarding this spectacular event you’ve experienced, will not take much effort on your part. ”
“Can you be there with me?” I asked. “Mom trusts your insight.”
“Yes,” she agreed. “I’m seeing her the day after tomorrow. How about we do it then?”
“Thank you,” I said. “I have something that might provide the proof she’ll need.”
“Terrific. Do me a favor though,” she began. “Don’t tell me yet. Provide it to me at the same time as your mother. If we concocted this plan in the future, I want to keep myself as unprepared as possible so as not to affect my own future.”
“Okay,” I replied. “The proof is stunning, Druzella.”
“Of course it is.”
We hung up and I replayed our conversation in my head.
Druzella was right. I had to involve as few people as possible.
Even without outright dropping the news on anyone, I’d already changed the course of my future with Jennifer and her course with whomever.
The question now was do I get a couple of months to love Coop or a lifetime?
One of the biggest worries was staying here in this realm and having to relive ten years of my life. Would it be possible to make changes or choices that didn’t affect those around me? I’ve already changed too much.
A more serious concern was could I keep my sanity while pretending I didn’t know more than I should? How could I repeat college and not be bored out of my mind? I hadn’t been happy in tech and wished I’d done what I truly wanted to do, teach. Perhaps that was the answer.
Remaining in this universe meant having opportunities to make changes in my life, but I was scared shitless wondering what would happen in my original universe.
What changes here had dramatic effects on Mike Hill there?
My options were unlimited knowing what I knew about the future.
I could change majors. I could create new challenges, correct mistakes so I could learn more and worry less.
Shit! I could predict the stock market. There were a shit-load of advantages, but what were the perils?
I’d been miserable for more than a decade while I mourned Cooper.
Now that I had the advantage of being back, I realized that I’d been in a decade-long funk.
I loved Coop in a way that I hadn’t understood until I had ten years to suffer, wondering why my life felt empty even though I had plenty.
Every bad choice and every mistake happened because I didn’t know I was allowing his loss to affect my life and my choices.
I had simply gone along, gave up my power, and trudged through ten years of my life.
Perhaps that was the lesson here, the gift actually. Now I had the opportunity to be present in my life. I had agreed to Mom’s hair-brained scheme because I desperately wanted to be with Coop again. I still did, so why not make the best of a second chance?
Going back might be impossible now but wasn’t the tradeoff of repeating the next ten years far better than living a single minute more without the love of my life. Mom had given me the greatest gift a parent could give. Love.
I owed the people I’d hurt the same fair chance. Even Jennifer deserved to marry her soulmate, so perhaps by me coming back to save Coop I could help others.