The Portal

Chapter 10

     Only two hours had passed in real time as David and his brother stumbled back out of the cave. They had been partying hard the last two days after the baseball game and got completely trashed two nights in a row. They were slightly hung over, but had their wits about them as they emerged from the cave and staggered back to the shed beside the house to get changed. David was happy to take those slacks off and put his jeans back on. Wearing a nice belt with a good buckle was preferred over the suspenders that had been annoying him the entire time he had been in New York. David also fished into the pockets of his pants to remove small items he had stuffed in there before he came back. There were some old coins from the change Ricky got from his purchases, and even an unopened bag of cracker jacks from the ball park that he wanted to keep. Ricky looked back at David and laughed.

     "You actually kept one of those?" he said, looking at the small bag.

     "Dad said we could bring back whatever was on our person when we return." David reminded him, "So I wanted to test that on something small."

     "Not a bad idea." His brother agreed, "But I'll teach you how to bring bigger things back with you. I've pushed my luck, but there are some things that Gail has refused to let me bring back from the past."

     "Such as?" David asked.

     "I wanted to see what would happen if I was in a car when I came back." Ricky said, "Bring back some classic cars and put them in a fancy garage. Dad also said not to try, he didn't want them to possibly damage the cave."

     "What about a motorcycle?" David suggested.

     "Yes!" his brother said, his eyes lighting up. "Good idea!"

     David held up the clothes when he was finished changing. "What do we do with this stuff?"

     "Toss it in the hamper over there," Ricky explained, "We wash them all differently based on what was normally used back in its time so it seems more authentic. Did you bring anything else back?"

     David picked up something from the shelf that he didn't show his brother yet. It was a blue baseball cap with a white B in the middle of it, which has the hat of the team they had watched win during their trip to New York. David put the cap on because he accidentally left his own ball cap at their dad's house during the previous trip. After what he had just seen, this was his new favorite hat and he was looking forward to showing it off to everyone. He also still had the ticket stubs that Ricky had bought at Ebbet's field, which he put into his wallet with the intent to frame and put up at his house at a later time.

     As Ricky and David walked back into the house, Gail was waiting for them with a look on her face.

     "Hey," Rick said, sensing her hostility. "We only took one trip!"

     "I know, and I appreciate that." Gail said, but she looked over at David. "You have a visitor at the old house."

     "Shit," David said, well aware of who it was.

     With the help of one of the adopted kids, David took the lift back to the old house and his boss, the director, was waiting for him in the living room as he walked into the room.

     "Hey boss!" David said as he strolled in, "I was getting your texts but cell service sucks out here so I couldn't call you."

     "I believe you," the director replied, "I've got only one bar up here. I think I need a new phone to go with our stellar service."

     "That would be a good idea," David agreed, "So what's up?"