Chapter 1: Final Days at Home

Thomas Ford woke a few minutes before his alarm was scheduled to ring. He rolled onto his side and flicked the switch on the clock to turn off the alarm. He rolled back onto the bed and put his hands behind his head, staring at the ceiling. He was scheduled to move into his dorm room the next day, so this was the penultimate morning he would awake in this bedroom for some time.

He thought about his first time through the 80s. At this point of his life, he was so mad at his mom and sister that he chose to go to a state school about three hours away. His decision was driven solely by two factors. The first was that it got him out of the house and away from his family. The second was that it was the only school that accepted him other than the local community college.

After his life was reset to Thanksgiving Day of his senior year of high school, Thomas had taken a decidedly different path than he did in his first go-round. He had a great relationship with his mom and sister, and with improved grades his senior year, not only was he accepted, but he chose to stay and go to an exclusive in-town private school, Graskin University.

As usual, he slept with no clothes. He rose and made a trip to the bathroom before returning to don a t-shirt, running shorts, and tennis shoes. The house was dark and quiet as he descended the stairs into the kitchen. There were no notes, but he assumed his mother, Sandy, had stayed the night with her fiance, Edward, “Eddie,” Earnest. Tammy, his sister, was probably at her best friend Billie’s house.

Thomas slipped into the brisk morning air and stretched a few times before starting a slow jog around the house. He made his first turn and saw the widow Mrs. Willow wheeling a new bicycle out of her garage. She was followed closely by a tall lanky man pushing a similar bicycle.

“Thomas,” she called as he neared.

“Mrs. Willow,” he replied as he came to stop.

“This is my friend, Alistair, we met at the bike club a few weeks ago.”

“Nice to meet you,” said Thomas as he shook Alistair’s hand.

Neither Mrs. Willow nor Thomas gave any indication that they were more than friendly neighbors saying hello before starting a morning of exercise. In reality, Thomas saw Mrs. Willow wheel her first bike, a land yacht on two wheels, out of the garage for her maiden ride. That morning, she was nervous about getting out in her tight-fitting clothes the first time, but her outfit left him without words and she teased him about the cat getting his tongue. He turned the tables by cupping her breast for a quick feel, then giving her a peck on the cheek. She blushed a crimson red in return.

Their relationship deepened when Thomas professed his love to two women within twenty-four hours of one another, then the next day both women found out about the other. The relationship with each woman imploded spectacularly and he spent the afternoon drinking and smoking pot with his sister and her friend. That night he tried to outrun his problems, the booze, and the pot, but he ended up blowing an explosive trail of vomit all over Mrs. Willow’s yard. She took him inside, gave him a snack and a drink as he showered, then fed him dinner, listened to his tale of woe, then fucked him senseless. They regularly saw each other a few times a week until Mrs. Willow, Ellie as he now called her in private, started a bike club and met Alistair.

“You are starting college soon, right?” asked Ellie.

“Yes, ma’am, today is my last day at home.”

“Oh, where are you going?” asked Alistair.

“I’m staying in town. Going to Graskin.”

“A very fine school. Two colleagues of mine graduated from Graskin. They claim they got a much better education than what they would have gotten at either of the state schools.”

“We don’t want to keep you from your morning run, and we are going to shoot for a twelve-mile ride this morning, so I think we both need to hit the pavement,” said Ellie in order to prevent Alistair from ruminating on colleges for the next twenty minutes.

“Yes, yes, of course, Ellie,” said Alistair. “Thomas, best of luck. I’m sure you will do fine.”

“Yes, be good and enjoy yourself at college.” Mrs. Willow had a twinkle in her eye and gave Thomas a knowing wink before mounting her bike. “I’m sure I’ll see you when you’re around. Don’t be a stranger.”

She started to pedal and Alistair fell in behind her as they headed toward the direction of Thomas’s house. He grinned and started a slow jog in the opposite direction to warm up again as he continued his run.