Suspended in Time

Chapter 5 - Who Was That Family? Time For Some Old-School Sleuthing

I couldn't get my mind off of that abandoned house. It was the last thing I thought about before I fell asleep, and it was the first thing I thought about after I woke up. Well, okay. Maybe I first thought about that little kiss, too. It was leaving me a bit rattled, and I wasn't sure if it was a good or a bad thing.

Darina was falling for me, if not, she already had. That wasn't good since she would meet her future husband at some point, and they would marry next year. She shouldn't get hooked on another guy... another guy who guiltily was feelings something for her, too. Something strong.

I had to get my mind off of this. I was looking forward to seeing that footage from yesterday. Darina said she knew how to work the projector. She wanted watch that footage first thing before she had to go to work the next day, and that meant getting up early. Well, six, which wasn't that bad.

After getting ready, including showering and changing into tan slacks and a black polo again, I headed on downstairs and found the house quiet. Everyone was probably still asleep. Aside from one person...

"Good morning," she chimed as she was sitting on the sofa in the living room. She stood up, showing a rather plain white blouse and navy-blue skirt, but it nipped her waist. I really tried not to focus on her chest or very attractive rosy lips. Her golden hair was also up in a ponytail.

"Good morning."

"I figured we would have a quick breakfast and then start the projector."

That was what we did, and we soon sat in the den that had the piano and record player, and there was a blank wall on the other side of the room. We both moved a little table and sofa. The projector was already there, or more like an old film camera like what they had in a theater.

"Wow, this is something," I awed as Darina was setting it up. "I don't think I've ever seen something like this before in person, and I've seen a lot of old stuff in my explorations."

I watched as she got the film out of the smaller camera and transferred it to the big contraption. Darina laughed. "You should see your face. It's so comical."

"I just think this is so fascinating."

She snickered and finished with what she was doing, and she turned the projector on. She went and sat in the very Victorian pink sofa that we moved and was facing the wall, and she patted the space next to her. I sat down, and I noticed the perfume she wore. Man, she smells so nice.

I had to not think about it. It was so hard not to. This girl really did something to me.

She wound a little lever, and the projector started, and we saw our film in black and white. There I was. I started talking, and... there was no sound. I heard a hmph from Darina. "Well, darn. He said that there would be sound."

"This is only a projector. We need speakers or something if there really is audio."

Darina pressed her lips together and looked at me. "You have those, right? Speakers?"

"Yeah, but they wouldn't be able to connect to this thing." I touched the projector.

"It's worth a try. Or... we have a phonograph. Wait here."

She left the couch. Was she really planning on somehow connecting a phonograph to this projector that only meant to show images? I followed her to the other side of the room where the record player was, and it had a horn to it.

"I really don't think it's going to work, Darina," I said. "I'll go get my speakers and see if we can figure something out."

I left her and went upstairs and got my little speakers that I could plug into my computer via the little jack you plug in that looked like one for headphones. This was a long shot, but it was worth a try.