The Portal

Ricky and his mother had just finished setting the table when Dad and David strolled into the room. It hadn’t been as long since David had seen his mom but this was also the first time he had seen her since her passing as well. She was so much younger too as she stood there, surprised to see him. She looked back at Ricky, when a playfully stern look on her face.

“Ricky,” she said to him, “Why didn’t you tell me you had brought a guest with you?”

“I wanted it to be a surprise,” Ricky answered honestly.

“You see dear,” she told her husband, “I told you he was gay.”

David and his father both roared with laughter, while Ricky was stunned at her mother’s confession about her suspicions.

“Mom!” Ricky called out, “I’m married to a wonderful woman named Gail!”

“Who is this then?” she asked.

“Honey,” his father said, smiling. “This is David.”

David watched as his mother’s eyes lit up like a spotlight upon hearing his name. She quickly ran up and hugged her son, and it felt really good to be in her arms for the first time in a very long time. David didn’t want to let go, but reluctantly did and proceeded to take a seat at the table. She went off to the kitchen and then returned with a ham that had pineapples stuck to it by toothpicks. It looked the same as she had always served when he was a kid. It was over thirty years older so chances are his palate has to have matured a bit since then, so David was determined to just sit there and bear it.

“Do you remember my Hawaiian ham, dear?” she asked as she served the massive ham.

“How could I forget?” David said, putting on his best smile.

“It’s so good to have you both here!” she squealed as she left the dining room to get the other side dishes.

David looked up at Ricky, who was trying hard not to laugh.

“You’re a real asshole, Ricky.” David said low enough to make sure his mother didn’t hear him from the kitchen.

“What?” Ricky said, still trying to keep a straight face but was failing.

“You know how much I hate this fucking ham,” David continued, “but of all days you happen to pick the one when she makes it! Would it kill you to pick a day she made her amazing chicken and dumplings? Is this your way of thanking me? I just saved your damn life!”

“Hold on,” their father interrupted, “You saved his life?”

“Someone attacked him at the hospital,” David informed his old man, “Thankfully for Ricky a US Marshal was there to put two caps into his ass!”

“When did this happen?” Dad asked.

“Less than a day ago,” Ricky answered, “That was how David found out about the portal. He was asking too many questions about the attack and I had to tell him the truth to get him off my back.”

“I’m an officer of the peace,” David countered, “Old habits die hard. When I see someone lying their ass off, I can smell it like a fart in a car. And man, your story had more holes than Swiss cheese. You’re lucky I got you out of that hospital before the local cops got their hands on you.”

“You were in a hospital?” Dad asked, “For how long?”

“I was taken to hospital before Gail found out.” Ricky explained, “Someone did take a shot at me and tried to get me to talk at the hospital. He was asking me about the key.”

At that moment their mother returned with mashed potatoes and mini-carrots cooked in brown sugar. David immediately leaps onto them and used them to fill his plate so he wouldn’t have to eat as much ham, a strategy that usually worked when he was young.

“Shit,” his father swore as he looked pretty angry. “You’re grounded.”

“Dad?” Ricky said, as his face shocked.

“Dear?” his wife replied, surprised. “What’s going on?”

“It’s a precaution dear,” the father said, looking back at Ricky. “You’re allowed to use the Portal, but you’re confined to the grounds.” The old man told him, “You need to stay on the property at least a month or until we find out how much these people know and how close they are getting to the Portal.”

“All they seem to know about is the key,” David added, “But they are unaware of what the key actually is... just that a key is needed.”

“Did they follow you to the house?” their father asked

“No, that’s not possible.” Ricky told him, “We stopped three times and took three different routes to shake any tails. Unless they were tracking us with a satellite, there’s no way they could have followed us.”

“Even if they did, all they’d see is the decoy, and not the real house.” David said as he picked the pineapple of his piece and tossed it over to his father’s plate.

“You built a new house?” their mother asked.

“It’s deeper into the woods,” Ricky said, “And no one knows it’s there. The walk to the portal is shorter but it doesn’t give it away. I don’t even think they know about the cave... they think we’re using a machine of some sort like out of a science fiction novel.”

“Gail also didn’t want to change anything in the house,” David said, trying to smooth things over with his mother. “She thought it would be too disrespectful, so they build a second house and left yours just the way it was, because why mess with perfection. Am I right?”

“Well dear,” his mother said back to him, “Your ass kissing has definitely improved with age.”

“Yes it has,” David replied, not ashamed to admit it.

“Wait,” their dad said, “Who’s Gail?”

“My wife!” Ricky asked, his mouth almost gaped in shock.

Both the parents at the table were laughing, as the clearly remembered and were just pulling his chain.

“Ha ha,” Ricky said, “And for the record, I love this ham.”

“Hold on,” his mother said, “Who doesn’t like my ham?”

“Everyone loves your ham, Mom.” David said, as he reached out and took another piece to prove it. “Ricky wasn’t implying that someone hated it, he was just stating how much he loved it too.”

“Oh, that’s nice.” His mother said, feeling better.

When supper was finished, David watched as Dad took Ricky into the den. He was probably eager to get every detail from Ricky about what had happened the day before and he was going to grill Ricky until he was satisfied. Rather than be around for that chewing out, David instead chose to volunteer to do the dishes. He poured a sink of hot water and immediately started to scrub the plates and clean everything to what he remembered was his mother’s high standards. His mother watched as she dried the dishes and put them away for him to make the job move by that much quicker.

“You don’t have to do that,” David offered, “I remember where they go.”

“It’s alright dear,” his mother said, “Just looking for an excuse to...”

David noticed that his mother had stopped talking and her face was gaped open in genuine shock. “What?”

“I’m sorry David,” she started, pointing behind him. “But is that a gun holstered to your backside?”

David stopped doing the dishes, as he had forgotten how much his mother was against guns of any kind.

“I taught you better than to use guns David,” She told him, “What kind of man carries gun around all the time?”

David pulled out his wallet and handed it to her. “The kind man that uses his gun to uphold the law, mother.”

She opened the wallet and the star that was inside it shocked her almost as much as finding out that the man standing before her was her younger son.

“You’re a cop?” she asked, something dumbfounded.

“Worse,” David replied, “I’m a U.S. Marshal. We literally do carry our guns everywhere, because in our line of work the shit can hit the fan at any moment.”

“Language,” his mother said, scolding as if he were still twelve.

“I’m sorry,” David said as he took his wallet back and resumed doing the dishes. There was a long silence but eventually his mother’s curiosity got the best of her.

“Are you married, David?” She asked him.

“No,” David answered, “I had a few near misses, but no wife as of yet.”

“Too dedicated to your work?” his mother continued.

“Guilty as charged,” David said, laughing. “I’ve been a very dedicated lawman and a lot of people are happy that I am.”

“Have you killed anyone?” she then asked.

David stopped doing the dishes again. “Yes, I have.”

“How many?”

“More than I’d like to admit.”

“Five?”

“Higher.”

“Ten?”

“Higher.”

His mother felt deflated just a bit. “David, how do you sleep at night?”

“I sleep just fine,” David informed her, “Like a baby.”

“Really?” His mother said, having a hard time believing him.

“Mom,” David said, as put the cloth down on the counter. “The people I shot and killed were bad people, doing very bad things. Some of them were trying to kill witnesses of the state, or even innocent bystanders caught in the crossfire. I even shot someone during a bank robbery, and I was just there to deposit a paycheck. What I’m trying to say is that they were all bad people doing very bad things.”

“You had to kill them?” she grilled him, “Couldn’t take out a knee?”

“We’re taught to shoot to kill,” David explained to her, “Because most of the people we encounter are there with intent to kill, not spur of the moment stuff. It was either them or me and the people I was protecting. I’m not always on witness duty, but when I am we don’t take chances. If someone pulls any kind of weapon on us, we put them down. I don’t take any pleasure out of it, but it’s the way things are done and how we’re trained.”

“Alright,” his mother said, “Let’s finish up here.”

David was happy to get back to the dishes as he didn’t like to talk about the ugly parts of his job, especially with his mother. He didn’t want to look at the younger version of himself and be reminded that the little boy learns to and executes people in his future. She would have to understand that it came with the occupation he chose to get involved with. Part of him hoped that she wouldn’t use that to push him away from law enforcement, but he doubted that it would work anyway. He was a stubborn teen so he would have done whatever how wanted to do anyway, regardless of what his parents preferred.

“So,” his mother started as they sat in the living room, “How many times have you used the portal so far?”

“This is actually my first time,” David admitted, “Forty-eight hours ago I had no idea this portal even existed.”

“Wow,” His mother said, “This must be very exciting for you.”

“It’s been a shock,” David replied, “But I’m glad Ricky chose to bring me here first. It’s been great seeing you two again.”

“It’s been a while?” she asked, though it was not wise to pry.

“Not that long,” David lied, trying not to give too much away. “But it was too long for my liking.”

“Well, I’ve got bingo tonight.” His mother said as she stood up, “As much as I’d like to skip it, I shouldn’t make any drastic changes. I’ll see you when I get back and no, you cannot come with me.”

“I have a feeling I’ll be rather busy,” David confessed, “I’m not sure I haven’t heard half the rules I need to know about his portal.”

“Barely scraped the surface,” his mother concurred, “But you’ve still got over forty hours to work on it.”

“Hold on, where the hell am I?” David asked, “The younger version of myself I mean.”

“It’s July, David.” She replied.

“Oh, I get it now.” David said, thinking about it. “Ricky picked this day because we’re both at summer camp.”

“That’s correct,” his mother said, “Ricky has used these summer days to visit us and whenever he needed his father’s help with something. That’s why he needs to be more careful, there are only so many camp days he can use.”

“Fair enough,” David said, “Have a good bingo night.”

“I’ll see you later, son.” His mother said as she picked up her purse and walked out of the living room.

David felt an urge to explore the old house, but considering everything that had happened he was more interested in lying down and taking a nap. He must have been lying down for a few hours because it was dark when his father woke him up, with a friendly jolt.

“Hey there, copper.” He said with a warm smile, “Come into the den. You can sleep later after we’ve talked a bit more.”

“Alright,” David said, rubbing his eyes as he got up off the couch.

He followed his father into the den and Ricky was there, and sitting in one of the chairs in front of his father’s desk. David naturally took the other chair, and took a deep breath before speaking up.

“So what have you guys been talking about?” he asked them.

“He’s been filling me on the situation,” his father replied, “As well as some of the upgrades he made to the property.”

“I happen to agree with some of them,” David said, “There are satellites that can track a person walking from thousands of miles up. So all they technically see is him walk in and out of the old house. So if they suspect something, they’ll be under the assumption it’s all going on at the house, and will keep them away from the cave and the portal.”

“That’s a good point,” his father agreed, “But I was more concerned about your brother using tech from the distant future.”

“What future tech?” David asked, playing dumb. He knew exactly what his Dad was talking about but by asking, his father gave away what tech he knew about and what stuff Ricky hadn’t told him about yet.

“The underground train like thing,” his father answered, “As well as the house closer to the Portal. I happen to think it’s risky to do bring something anything even slightly more advanced back into the past. But based on how it’s being used, I am confident that he’s protecting the future enough.”

“I have to stay ahead of modern technology,” Ricky explained, “And the best way to do that is to use stuff more advanced to protect ourselves and the portal.”

“Protect it from whom exactly?” David then asked. This was a part of the story that he hadn’t been let in on just yet.

His father took a deep breath. “We’re not exactly sure. From what we have, we suspect the government.”

“How do they know about the portal?” David inquired, eager to know more about it.

“I don’t think they don’t know about the portal,” Ricky corrected him, “All they know is that there are few guys jumping around in time. Because of the invention of media and social media, it’s been hard to travel without getting caught in a moment. Someone working for the government may have noticed a pattern and started looking for us.”

“From the sounds of it, they got damn close yesterday!” David said as he thought more about it. “Are you telling me that I might have shot a federal agent at the hospital?”

“We don’t know if they’re government or a private entity,” his father answered for Ricky, “If he was government, chances are he wasn’t working for them in any official capacity. He’ll be moved from that hospital to a black site. You’ll likely never have to fill out paper work because his existence will vanish. Your boss will be told to close the matter without any explanation.”

“How long have these guys been on your tail?” David asked.

“On and off for about ten years.” Ricky answered, “But yesterday when they came at me in town, that was the closest they ever got. I don’t even know how they learned about the key. They were asking me questions like someone who had small pieces of a very large puzzle. They know we’re traveling through time but had no idea how we were doing it.”

“If they’re tracking you, it’s only a matter of time before the find the house.” David surmised, “But chances are they’ll find nothing. I assume the turbo lift is secure and untraceable?”

“The machine is voice activated,” Ricky replied, “And the machine can also detect if the voice is under duress. So it will set an alarm if it feels the person trying to use it is being forced to. The turbo lift is too far underground to be detected, and the house is shielded from detection as well.”

“Wow,” David said, “That’s impressive.”

“Indeed,” his father said, pouring himself some scotch. “My decision still stands. Do not leave the house for two months. Pretend that you’re still recovering from that gunshot wound they gave you.”

“Two months?” Ricky repeated, “Are you sure?”

“This will give the two of you time to catch up,” his father continued, “and for Ricky to train David on all the rules for using the portal.”

“Wait, I’m grounded to the house too?” David said, surprised. “Why do I have to stay at the house too?”

“The people who tried to grab Ricky now know you’re his brother,” his father explained, “You need to lie low too. Use your brother’s shooting as an excuse. You said your boss already gave you time off.”

“Alright,” David said, “I can give him a few days, a week at the most.”

“You guys can do a few more dry runs,” his Dad suggested, “Do a few easy trips to build a little comradery.”

“What do you suggest?” Ricky asked.

“Take him to a ball game,” his father said smiling, “I’d recommend a Dodgers game, somewhere around the game we saw.”

“Sounds good,” Ricky concurred, “We can do that.”

“In the meantime,” their father continued, “You can crash in your own rooms tonight. After brunch tomorrow I’ll work with David on more rules and then you guys can head back when your time is up.”

“When is our time up?” David asked, curious about it.

Ricky checked his phone. “We’ve been here around six hours now, so we’ve still got a day and a half to go.

“Get some sleep,” their Dad suggested, “We have a lot of stuff to cover tomorrow, and I’ll make sure Mom makes chicken and dumplings.”

“Thanks Dad,” David said,as he couldn’t help but grin. It was not only considerate of him to offer, but it also told David how much his Dad was paying attention to everything that was being said at the table.

David left the living room and walked up the stairs to his old room. He couldn’t believe how amazing it looked, to see the old posters and even his old Atari system. It also felt smaller, mainly because he was a few feet taller this time around. He didn’t have the heart to sleep on the bed,as he was too big and was afraid that he might break it if he tried to sleep there. After looking around, David grabbed some pillows and walked back downstairs and crashed on one of the couches in the tv room. He knew those couches were a lot more comfortable than the couches in the living room and had no trouble falling asleep. It was the best sleep he had in almost a decade,which wasn’t surprising as he was under the roof with both of his parents and he hadn’t felt that safe in a very long time. It was so warm as well that he didn’t need a blanket as he laid his head on the soft and familiar pillows and just zonked out for the night.