Flight to Freedom (Flight Trilogy, Book 3) (29 page)

“No, I can’t let you do it.” She wiped her wet eyes. “We can write. We won’t let anything come between us. I promise. We can make it work, but you must go to the Academy.”

Tell
her
the
Academy
is
off
the
table
.
Tell
her
you
have
seen
the
future
!

“Listen,” he said, “sitting here right now, holding your hands, looking into your eyes, I know there is no place I’d rather be. Tonight has opened my eyes to my greatest fear—losing you. I have seen our future and what will happen if I let you go tonight. I don’t want to live with any regrets. Please trust me. I know this is the right thing to do.”

Fresh tears spilled from her eyes. She hugged him. “Ryan, I love you.”

Sweet
.

CHAPTER 43

Buckhead
,
Georgia

Father’s
Day
,
Sunday
morning
—
June
16, 2013

Ryan looked around the room. He was not in his California bedroom where he had hoped to be. That could only mean one thing…

I’m
still
in
John’s
house
in
Georgia
?

Nothing had changed since he went to sleep. Everything had been riding on the seventh dream, but sadly, Keri, David, and Martha were still dead, and he was still in Georgia.

I
don’t
understand
.
I
did
everything
right
in
the
dream
.
I
didn’t
go
to
the
Academy
.
Keri
and
I
decided
we
couldn’t
live
without
each
other
.
We
were
together
.
It
doesn’t
make
sense
.

His heart began to race, and for a moment he couldn’t breathe. Then suddenly he was breathing shallowly, rapidly, and expelling the same word with each exhalation: “No, no, no, no! God, please, take my life, but let my family live.”

Where
is
Your
mercy
?
Where
is
Your
grace
?
Where
is
the
hope
?

His eyes burned. Unspilled tears clouded his vision. “Why, God, have you done this to me?”

Tears rolled down his cheeks. He drew in deep, sharp breaths. All the pain, grief, and anger—struggling for weeks to break loose of confinement and burst full-born into the world—had finally found freedom.

His heart fought to reject the permanent sense of loss only death can bring. It was clear he would never see Keri and the children again. As he struggled to understand why Angel did not return his family to him, he remembered the words she had spoken to him while he dreamed.

I’m
not
the
one
who
is
going
to
change
things
,
and
contrary
to
what
you
think
,
it’s
not
in
your
dreams
where
things
are
changed
.
Dreams
are
worthless
unless
you
wake
up
and
actually
act
on
them
.
You’re
not
going
to
change
your
life
until
you
choose
to
change
.
It’s
not
about
the
past
,
it’s
about
the
present
,
and
you
are
stuck
because
you
haven’t
learned
how
to
let
go
of
the
past
.
You
can
only
learn
from
the
past
,
holding
on
to
it
will
only
rob
you
of
your
hope
in
the
future
.

Tears poured from his eyes. His throat tightened. His chest heaved with grief.

“Why, Lord!”

After several minutes, he wiped his eyes and face, turned and sat on the edge of the bed. After gaining his composure, he stood and headed for the bathroom—then stopped abruptly, realizing the door was not where he expected it to be. He surveyed the room. He was not in Keri’s old bedroom, but instead in the master bedroom where John and Angel slept.

John
and
Angel
had
insisted
I
take
a
nap
in
the
master
bedroom
.

The master bath was familiar, but in some way different. The clutter of female paraphernalia around Angel’s vanity had been removed—even the star-shaped bottle of
Angel
perfume he had noticed before was gone.

Angel
must
have
come
into
the
bedroom
while
I
was
sleeping
.

The area was clean and neat. He peeked into Angel’s dressing room. It looked much the same as when he had snooped around searching for the
Angel
perfume.

Seeing John and Angel would not be easy. Seeing them would only confirm his present reality and the mistaken belief things would be different when he woke.

He went to John’s vanity, turned the faucet to HOT, took a wash cloth, and began soaking it with warm water. After washing his face, he dried it with a hand towel.

Making his way down the hallway, he heard the buzz of familiar voices in the kitchen. Approaching the kitchen door, the voices grew louder—each voice taking on its own distinct clarity. Michael, Susan, and Ronald had apparently joined John and Angel in the kitchen.

Something
doesn’t
sound
right
.

Strangely, his heart thumped hard inside his chest. What were the chances he had been zapped into a strange and unfamiliar place—perhaps even a stranger’s house. How would he explain to the strangers he, like Goldilocks, had been sleeping in their bed?

He turned the corner and stepped into the kitchen.

“Hi, honey.”

“Keri! It’s you!”

“Who did you expect?”

He looked around the kitchen. “And David…and Martha! And…Ronald?”

Ronald
?

David and Martha were not fifteen-years old, but thirty. His mind raced in thought.

Martha
married
Darby’s
son
.
Of
course
she
did
.
What
was
I
thinking
?

“Is anyone else in the house?”

Keri walked over to him, placed one hand on each cheek, holding his head still and said, “What are you talking about? What did you want me to do, invite the entire neighborhood over for Father’s Day?”

His eyes filled with water, tears spilled on his cheeks, he wrapped his arms around her. “I love you, and I’m never letting you out of my sight! Never! Never! Never! You understand?” David, Martha, and Ronald watched and murmured among themselves with occasional chuckles.

With her face smashed tight against his chest, Keri spoke in a muffled voice, “Are you okay? First, you act like you don’t know me, then you get all emotional, and now you have me in a death grip as your prisoner. Ryan, I’m not going anywhere. You can let me go now before you suffocate me.”

He released her, and then kissed her. “I’m sorry. I got carried away.”

She kissed him back. “That’s why I love you—always a surprise around every corner. I’ve just never seen you so excited about Father’s Day.”

“Oh…that’s right! It’s Father’s Day!”

“Dad, are you okay?” Martha said.

“I’ve never been better. I’m just happy we are all together.”

I
don’t
believe
this
!

Slowly, he synched with reality, bringing all the big pieces into focus. He was in Georgia where he and Keri had lived their entire lives. They lived in Keri’s parent’s old home in Buckhead on Habersham Road. The house had been remodeled—actually gutted and rebuilt—before they moved in.

Long ago, after the night in the driveway on June 23, 1974, he had decided not to attend the Naval Academy, but instead to attend college with Keri. Thanks to Ronald Hart offering to finance his education, Ryan had attended Auburn University where he studied Aviation Management. Keri also graduated from Auburn with a degree in nursing.

They had married in June, after graduating from Auburn in May of 1979. Unlike in his
other
life, Barbara Ann had turned out to be a wonderful mother-in-law and grandmother.

Ryan went to work for Ronald Hart as a copilot flying his Gulfstream and became the chief pilot when Ronald formed Mercy Flight, Incorporated.

“Here dad,” Martha said. “David and I found the perfect card we wanted to give you. We both liked it so much, we couldn’t decide who was going to give it to you, and we didn’t think you would want two of the same cards.”

The front of the card read simply:
HAPPY
FATHER’S
DAY
. He opened the card.

Father’s
Day
-
2013

A
Dad
is
patient
,
helpful
and
strong

He
is
there
by
your
side
when
things
go
wrong
.

He’s
someone
who
guides
you
to
do
the
right
thing

And
helps
you
solve
problems
that
life
sometimes
brings
.

We
love
you
,

Martha
and
David

When he finished reading the card he looked up. Martha said, “I believe the author of this poem intended for the three words—patient, helpful, and strong—to point us to the past, present, and future.

“A father is patient, even to the point of allowing his child to make mistakes. ‘
Things
that
go
wrong’
would refer to the past.

“The father is helpful to his child every day, working with him to solve problems that might seem unsolvable to the child. ‘
Do
the
right
thing’
would refer to the present.

“The father is strong, always standing by his child’s side, guiding him toward truth. ‘
That
life
sometimes
brings’
would be referring to the future. I see it as a message of how you have been there for David and me throughout our entire lives, in the past and the present. We know you will also be there for us in the future. We love you.”

Wow
!
Déjà
vu
.
I
feel
like
I’ve
lived
this
moment
before
.

“I love you both so very much. Thank you, Martha.” He hugged Martha and kissed her forehead. “Thank you, David.” He gave David a manly hug.

The twins, David and Martha, were born August 31, 1983, not 1988. David had followed in Ryan’s footsteps and obtained an aviation degree from Auburn and then returned to fly for Mercy Flight, Inc.

Martha Mitchell and Ronald Darby were introduced at an early age. They soon became childhood sweethearts, attended Pace Academy in Buckhead, and both graduated from the University of Alabama where Ronald also attended law school—as did his father, Philip Darby. Martha graduated in accounting, and after gaining the required experience, obtained her license as a Certified Public Accountant. Martha oversees the financial side of Mercy Flight, Inc.

Martha and Ronald married after Ronald finished law school. They decided to remain in Alabama and picked Dothan to live because of its friendly community and relatively small size. In addition, it had two large hospitals and scads of physicians and clinics. This was a great asset for Ronald as he specialized in medical malpractice defense representing doctors, physician groups, and clinics throughout Alabama and Georgia. He was also the Chief Legal Counsel for Mercy Flight, Inc.

The Dross family did not exist—except in his
other
life. They were dream characters cast in his thoughts, playing the role of his own life, while he lived out the lessons of his
other
life.

“Here, honey,” Keri said. “Read my card.”

The front of the card said, THANKS FOR GIVING ME WINGS. A pair of wings was centered on the front. He opened the card.

Father’s
Day

June
16
,
2013

Dear
Ryan
,

I
believe
if
we
are
meant
to
be
,
nothing
can
keep
us
apart
.
As
long
as
I
live
,
I
will
patiently
wait
on
each
sunrise
and
follow
each
sunset
into
tomorrow
,
for
I
believe
it
is
the
path
of
the
sun
that
will
lead
us
to
our
hopes
and
dreams
.
Promise
me
that
you
will
never
lose
hope
in
tomorrow
.