Chapter 78 The Tarnished Ring

Chapter 78 The Tarnished Ring
When Jeffrey regained consciousness, he found himself staring up at the ceiling of what once had been Shane's bedroom. He recognized the structure immediately and let out the breath he has been holding. No matter what had happened, at least he knew he was home again.

His head was absolutely pounding. Every inch of his body hurt, like he'd been through the most intense workout of his life. He gritted his teeth as he tried to stretch. He glanced around the room, and realized that almost everything had changed. The only recognizable thing was that the furniture that had once been in Kevin's bedroom although it was considerably more well-worn.

The walls had been painted a baby pink color, and someone had added white wainscoting. The floor was covered in soft pink area rugs, and almost every available surface with covered in little girl toys. The bedspread under him was even ruffled. Large teddy bears dotted the bed and a child’s tea party sat in the corner.

The changes made it obvious that more time had passed than Jeffrey had originally hoped. He wondered if he had inadvertently discovered his future daughter’s room. He understood that he was somewhere in the future, but he wasn’t sure when. Nothing he found had given him a solid clue.

Jeffrey rolled from the bed slowly. He groaned again as his feet hit the floor. “Shayne,” he called loudly hoping he hadn’t been sent that far forward. The last thing he wanted to do was scare her to death.

The house was completely silent. Jeffrey slowly got to his feet and began to creep through the house. The structure was the same, but much of the furniture had been changed. The floral wallpaper was gone but the elegance remained. What had once been Shane's grandmother’s bedroom was now clearly the master suite. The clothes in the closet let him know it was occupied by both a male and a female, most likely married. The mother liked green but the man loved blue. He wondered if Shayne had possibly remarried in this future. He was glad she wasn’t alone but he couldn’t say he wasn’t extremely jealous.

Down the hall, The room he had been converting into a nursery, obviously belonged to a elementary school age boy. They were pee wee trophies and sports paraphernalia everywhere. Several of the sports jerseys in the closer bore his last name. On one of the shelves, above the bed, was a toy train that Jeffrey had when he was a little boy. He wondered if this room belong to his son.

The spare bedroom smelled faintly of Shayne and he realize this is where she was staying now. The clothes in the closet where totally different than the ones he was used to, much more mature looking. Whoever she was now she was certainly not the recent high school graduate he had recently married. On the bedside table he found a picture of the two of them on their wedding day in a silver frame. It made his heart both ache to know she spent her life alone.

The one secret attic, now had a clearly marked door. The stairs were no longer hidden but instead were open and inviting. At the top of the stairs, someone had built the cutest little reading nook, complete with comfy lounging chairs. The family’s journals were on bookshelves along the walls and it was no longer dark or dank. Just seeing it made his heart long to see Shane again.

The kitchen has been remodeled to the exact specifications he had once drawn out for Shayne including a dishwasher. The breakfast nook was there, and the formal dining room had been turned into a small office. Despite the changes. Many of the small details that he always loved about it remained.

The kitchen was where he found the most concrete evidence of his whereabouts. On the refrigerator was a photo of Shayne and what looked like her family. She looked to be in her fifties. She has her arm around a man in his thirties that was without a doubt Jeffrey’s son. He was his spitting image. His son was holding hands with a beautiful red-haired woman with eyes that had a purplish glow.

Kevin and a Hispanic woman stood behind his future daughter-in-law smiling. From the picture he could see Kevin’s super bowl ring and that Kevin had two additional children. But the most exciting thing about the photo was the two beautiful children between Shayne’s son and daughter-in-law. Jeffrey could hardly believe it but he would someday have two beautiful grandchildren.

Jeffrey found several photos albums in the living room. He sat down on a comfortable leather couch that he had never seen before. He realized that the future wasn’t nearly as different as he thought it would be. Instead of focusing on that, he flipped through the albums and tried to piece together Shayne’s past.

After looking at photo of photo of Shayne with a terrible fake smile, he was heartbroken. Her eyes looked dead and he realized just how much sacrificing him had cost her. He hadn’t been away from her for even twenty-four hours, and he already missed her. He couldn’t even imagine how hard it had been for Shayne to miss him for years.

Jeffrey stomach began to growl so he made his way back to the kitchen. He was looking through the fridge and pantry for snacks when he finally found a day planner that belonged to Shayne. She had marked out the entire week in a rainbow of colors, with VACATION written in large letters. He found an itinerary in her office and realized the entire family was at the beach and wouldn’t be back for at least a week.

A week seemed like a small price to pay for the feeling of her in his arms again. He would do whatever it took to put his life back together and to remove that sadness from her life. Jeffrey took a deep breath and closed his eyes. He picked up the television remote and sat down to wait.