Hello again! This is the fifth installment of '...then the Roof Comes Down," a story of science fiction and fantasy. First, however, here are the legal statements:
If you are not over the legal age to view such material where you live, please leave now. Also, if it is illegal where you live to read adult material, Please leave.
If, by chance, you are offended by depiction's of homosexual acts, Please leave now.
The Author of "Then the Roof Comes Down," is Andrew van Ryan. Copyright 2001. The author reserves all rights.
This story is dedicated to my good friend, brian d. maj.
This story is fictional and only the two characters, Andy and Terry are based on real people. Everyone else in this story are figments of my nightmares. You may contact me at ZLATAZOBO@aol.com with your comments.
...Then the Roof Comes Down
by Andrew Simon van Ryan
Copyright 2001. All Rights Reserved
Part Five
Terry retrieved the robes and helped Andrew into his before donning his own. He noticed Andrew stared at him as he did so. Taking a nervous Andy by the hand, he led him into the living room. As they entered it Andrew nearly stopped.
"What happened to the furniture?"
"Huh?"
"The furniture. It's all rearranged." Andy stated.
"Just sit down and let me start the coffee." Terry replied. Andrew sat down on the sofa and Terry walked to the kitchen doorway.
"Start Coffee." Terry said and headed back to the sofa.
"Who were you talking to?" Andy asked.
"Huh? Nobody, I was just starting the coffee maker."
"What are you saying?" Andrew asked, his face twisting up.
"I was just starting the coffee maker, that's all."
"By saying 'start coffee'?" Andy questioned.
"Yeah. Andy what's going on with you?"
"I don't know. I remember getting into bed last night and this morning, everything's different."
"OK, do you remember having a nightmare when you took a nap yesterday afternoon?" Terry asked. Andrew looked at him for a moment before he replied.
"Yeah, I had a nightmare. I dreamt I saw myself collapse in the closet, like I was sick or dying or something."
"Do you remember me finding you lying on the floor in the closet?"
"No. I woke up to the phone ringing. It was. Oh my god!"
"What Andy? What is it?"
"It was Linda and she was asking me who Terry was!"
"What?"
"It was Linda and she said she'd just called me and I told her off and then asked if Terry was with her and that he should get his ass home!" Andy said in rapid fire. "Terry She said I asked for Terry. What is going on here?"
"Coffee is ready." The makers' alert said from the kitchen.
"Who said that?!" Andy cried out.
"Andy calm down! It's just the coffee maker!"
"Are you trying to tell me the coffee maker is talking?!"
"Is that a surprise? You tell it to make coffee every morning and it tells you when it's ready. Andy, don't you remember anything?"
"I don't remember the coffee maker talking, damn it!"
"OK, OK. Calm down. C'mon, I'll show you. Terry got up and pulled Andrew up from the sofa. He led him into the kitchen, where Andrew seemed completely lost. None of the appliances were familiar to him. The coffee maker looked strange and when Terry approached it, it proved to be something completely out of Andrews imagination.
"Two cups, please. One black, one with milk." It whirred and the rotary platter spun around. It poured one cup of coffee black, spun one space and poured another, adding milk.
"Coffee is ready." The speaker blared out at them.
"I don't remember that, for sure!" Andrew remarked as he stared disbelieving.
"Andy something is really wrong. You're telling me that you don't remember any of the last two and a half years we've been together?"
"No."
"OK, let's go sit down. Only this time I think it's me that needs to be sitting."
They sat on the sofa and faced one another. Terry searched Andrews face intently and as he did, Andrew studied Terry. He found himself thinking of the fact that Terry had just given him the most intense sexual release of his life. That and the fact that he liked it. He liked it a lot, in fact. He'd dreamed of having a boyfriend, and here was Terry, saying they'd been boyfriends for over two years!
"Tell me something. Do you remember going to the attorneys office? Or the letter and the book?"
"No." Andrew stated. "What attorney?"
"Your fathers trust attorney. He gave you a letter and a book. They're right here on the coffee table." Terry said and turned to look. He searched it up and down before he spoke.
"Well, here's the letter, but I don't see the book."
"Let me see the letter."
Terry picked it up and handed it to him. Andrew began to scan it and then his face twisted up in a confused expression.
"Wait a minute. This is my handwriting. I thought you said it was from my father."
"It is." Terry replied. "Or at least that's what you told me when you came home from the attorneys office, yesterday."
Shaking his head Andrew continued.
"I don't remember going to see any attorney yester..."
He stopped mid sentence, staring at the letter.
"What the hell is this?!" He cried, pointing at the page.
Terry looked to where Andrew was pointing. His finger was poised to the handwritten date in the upper corner.
"That's the date when your dad wrote the letter, just a few months before you were born."
Andrew stared intently at Terry. His eyes showed terror or confusion or both.
"That's impossible! It's 1971. April 6th, 1971, the day after my eighteenth birthday! This says August 31, 2011."
Terry stared wide eyed at his boyfriend. He couldn't believe what he was hearing.
"It's April 6th, yes. April 6th, 2029." He said coldly. Andrew searched Terry's face with terror overtaking him. He suddenly sprang from the sofa and ran down the hall to the bathroom. Terry jumped up to follow and as he approached the bathroom door he could hear Andrew vomiting.
"Andy?"
"Go Away!"
"Andy, let me in."
"NO! You're lying to me!" Andrew cried out. Terry could hear Andy begin to cry.
"Andrew, I swear I'm not lying to you!"
"Yes you are!"
"No, I promise, I'm not. Look, I don't know what's going on here any more than you do, but we've got to work together to figure it out. Now, come on. Open the door."
He heard nothing but shuffling on the tile floor inside.
"Please, Andy! I love you." Terry sniffled. He stood there for a long time. Thinking Andrew wasn't going to open the door, Terry began to consider the options. Just as he was about to turn away, the door knob began to rattle. It slowly twisted and turned. The door slowly opened and Andrew stood there, alternately gazing at the floor and Terry's face.
"If you're not lying, prove it." He muttered.
"OK." Terry answered softly. He turned and headed back to the living room. As he entered it, he began to search for something, anything that had a date on it. He found a print magazine that he'd ordered several weeks earlier. It was sitting on the end table between the sofa and the closed desk that housed their computer. The idea struck him to just show Andy the computer, but then he wondered if Andrew would accept something he was unfamiliar with as proof. He was just about to head for the kitchen when he heard the laser printer click on. Startled slightly at the sound, Terry turned to see a standard letter sized page drop through, along with the usual print advertisements and requested hard copies of bills. He almost turned away, but as the page landed on the floor face up, he could read the words 'Urgent! Please Read Immediately!' in large red letters across the top. This piqued his curiosity and he stepped over to where it lay. Picking it up, he read the message.
URGENT! PLEASE READ IMMEDIATELY!
TO: Terrence and Andrew (the third)
FROM: Linda Hamilton
Dear Terrence,
I shall address you first. My name is Linda Hamilton and I live at the Palm Desert Retirement Resort in Palm Springs, California. I am seventy six years old and I have a desperate message to give you. To address our problem quickly, I'll not mince words. Your boyfriend, Andrew van Ryan the Fourth and my boyfriend, Andrew van Ryan the Third , somehow switched places in time on their eighteenth birthday. For my Andrew, that was on April 6th, 1971. According to your Andrew, it was on April 6th, 2029. How do I know this? Because I am the only one your Andrew has convinced that he is sane. His story of being a genetic clone of my Andrew seemed so strange and, to tell the truth, so crazy at the time that 'his family' had him declared mentally insane. Yet, somehow, I could tell he was stating the truth. I visited him twice every week after his confinement to Fairview State Psychiatric Hospital until recently. He's still there, but I am too old and ill to make the trip anymore and he has become mostly silent and unresponsive. Early on, he continually astonished the staff there by successfully predicting major advances in technology, all major military actions, presidential elections, the death of Princess Diana, the stock market crash of 2007 and untold hundreds of other events. He recently stated he doesn't know what will occur from now on, because he traveled back to 1971 on the night of his birthday in 2029. Yet, none of the staff has ever considered him sane.
Terrence, I know this may seem impossible, but if I'm right, you're dealing with my Andrew right now. I'm sure he doesn't know who you are and how he got there, but I do know this. If he chooses to stay in the future with you, your Andrew will be stuck in the past and face a lifetime of confinement somewhere he doesn't belong. One last thing, Terrence. Your Andrew said I should give you this message in case you have any doubts. He said, and I quote: "When Terry and I shared our first kiss on the rear deck overlooking the city lights below, I told him 'I love you, TJ and I will stay with you forever. I promise 'til I die.' "
I believe only you and your Andrew know that. Now I wish to address My Andrew.
My Dearest Andy,
I know this seems like a bad prank, or perhaps a bad dream, but you MUST believe me! It IS real. If you don't come home, your son, the genetic twin of your own self, will suffer tremendously though out his entire adult life. I realize, too that you are tempted to stay, because I now realize what you've been hiding from me all this time. Andy, I know that you are gay and although I'm disappointed, I'm much more concerned with your happiness in life. If you come home, I'll help you to face your sexuality and to find the right boy to fill your emptiness. I promise you, I will. Most importantly, please do it for your son, Andrew. I've never stopped hurting from watching your sons' constant sorrow. Please, Andrew, please come home.
Love, Linda
Should you wish to call me, I'm in apartment #242.
"Oh, my god! Andrew!" Terry whispered as he finished reading. Looking across the living room towards the hallway and placing his left hand over his mouth, he repeated himself. "Oh, my God!"