You Better Bring an Umbrella, Vol. 2

Chapter 19: Way Back When

Yes, I'm putting a flashback chapter in here. It might seem kind of out of place right now, but it'll make sense why I put it here when you read Chapter 20. For now, enjoy a little peek into what Mina got up to in the time before she went off with her family again! :)

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Dallas, Texas

January 20, 1961

Pain danced angrily against my spine as I slammed helplessly onto the dark pavement below me. I let myself lay there for a moment, my mind drifting away, until I reached over to my left and felt nothing but asphalt. Relaxation snapped into panic as I realized I must have dropped my brother's arm at some point in travel; I had lost him to time yet again.

Frantic, I shot up, electing to ignore a flash I spotted in my peripheral vision, and rushed out of the alleyway, slipping slightly thanks to those damn shoes.

"Five?" I shouted, desperately hoping I'd spot him out in the crowd. "Klaus! Vanya!"

Couples, mothers with children, and individuals strolled by, casting their glances to the girl screaming seemingly random names and wearing clothes very different from theirs.

This couldn't have been right. Five made it sound like we were just going back to our childhood so we could fix things with Vanya. I thought that's why, right before we jumped, we all looked 13 again. But now, all of a sudden, I was back in my 29-year-old body, and this definitely was long before our childhoods.

"Is somethin' wrong, doll? You look dazed."

I shook my head, coming back out of my own thoughts. A woman with a bright, alluring smile and soft features cocked her head at me, eyeing me with caution. I didn't blame her, honestly. I was standing in an alleyway, eyes bouncing around all confused, and I certainly didn't look like any of the women strolling by on the street. Not to mention, what I was about to ask would only make me seem more insane...

"Um..." My voice cracked a little as the words garbled in my throat, all the moisture suddenly sucked out of it. "This is going to make me sound cracked out, but—"

"'Cracked out'? Honey, I'm sorry, but I can't understand what you're sayin'." I took a deep breath, attempting to compose myself. I just had to get to the point and hope this woman wouldn't call for help and get me locked up... one way or the other.

"Could you tell me the date?" The woman let out a breathy laugh, her eyes squinting closed as she did.

"You're certainly a strange one." Still, she removed the newspaper from under her arm and held it out to me, allowing me to read the date and the headline.

'January 20, 1961: Kennedy Inaugural to be Broadcast.'

19...61...

I slammed the newspaper down to my side.

"Godammit."

One Year Later

The enticing scents of sweet, fluffy pancakes opened my eyelids with loving fingertips, motivating me out of bed. In the space next to me, the covers had already been tossed back, a sign the person that inhabited that side had thrown herself out suddenly. I chuckled as I shook my head, admiring how she had the motivation to get up before the sun to make sure she accomplished everything for the day before she headed off to work. Even on a pleasant but chilly Saturday like today, she kept up the same schedule, not wanting to throw herself off. I, on the other hand, was enjoying the freedom from the restraints my life before had placed on me. No one expected me at class by seven a.m., my siblings weren't jumping on my bed to wake me up the second the clock struck six (although, admittedly, that was only Ben), and no overbearing father was screaming at us to get out of our beds before the sun came up; I never thought I'd love working at night so much, but goddamn, I never wanted to go back.