Amorous Goods: The Victrola

"Good to meet you, Al," I said. "What did you find?"

"Good to meet you, too, Jack," he said. "Well, I performed a voice print analysis of the woman on the record and it matches up perfectly to the voicemail from your wife. I also took a look at the record and I can tell you it appears to be the genuine article."

"What are you saying?" I asked him.

"Well, if I had to testify in court, I'd have to say it appears that recording was cut over 100 years ago," he said. "And it was cut by the same person who left that voicemail."

"How is that possible?" I asked.

"My tests can't make that determination," he said. "I suppose it's remotely possible that someone made that record with technology from the early 20^th century, but I don't know anyone with access to that kind of equipment, and the grooves on the record are consistent with what was used to cut records back in those days. I honestly don't have an answer for that."

We spent the next hour eating and talking about the tests he performed. Both Mike and I were shocked at what he had found. Truth be told, I was nowhere near as shocked as Mike -- not after what I had experienced myself. I kept quiet about that, though.

After we ate, I got a call from Terri's doctor asking if I had time to swing by his office. I told him I would be right there, so I said my goodbyes, thanked Al for his efforts and headed over. Dr. Jacobs' office was in a building adjacent to the hospital, so I went there and introduced myself to the receptionist, who ushered me into his office.

"Mr. Thornton," he said, "this is Dr. Williams, from Johns Hopkins. He's probably the best in the business and I asked him to take a look at your wife's test results." I shook the older man's hand and Dr. Jacobs showed me a short video. I didn't know what it was I was looking at, so he explained it to me.

"This is the typical brain activity in a normal, healthy, functioning human being," he said. I took in the splotches of color and was amazed at what I saw. All that goes on in the human brain, I asked myself. He stopped that video and showed me another. This one had about a tenth of the activity of the previous video.

"This is your wife's brain activity," he said. "You can see the significant difference."

"Yes," I said. "What's going on?"

"That's what we'd like to find out, Mr. Thornton," Dr. Williams said. "It's almost as if the part of the brain associated with memory and personality has been short circuited somehow. The good news, however, is that there's no tumor or growth that seems to be causing this."

"So, what are you recommending?" I asked.

"We'd like to do exploratory surgery on her brain," Dr. Jacobs said. "Maybe there's something that isn't showing up on the scan. We've contacted another specialist who has done some research in this area, a Dr. Stein. He has a clinic on the other side of the state, and he's expressed an interest in the case. What we would need is consent from you to do this."

"What's the risk to my wife?" I asked.

"There's always a risk where surgery is involved," Dr. Williams said. "I don't believe there's much risk to your wife, but we are concerned that this condition could get worse. The other patient -- the man brought in with her -- is showing some degradation. It could happen to your wife as well."

"I really need to think about this for a day or so," I said.

"Please don't take too long," Dr. Jacobs said. "If you do, there's a possibility that her brain could simply forget how to keep her heart beating."

"Is it that bad?" I asked.

"Not yet," Dr. Williams said. "But it could get to that point."

"Two days, tops," I said. "Can you give me that much time?"

"I think so," Dr. Jacobs said. "But not much more than that. Her life is on the line here."

"I understand," I said. "More than you know." After I bid my farewell, I headed straight home. When I got there, I pulled out the record with Terri's message and looked at the opposite side -- the side with no label. I wound up the Victrola, placed the record on the turntable with the blank label up and put the needle on the record.

"Terri?" I asked. "Can you hear me, Terri? Are you there?" For a second or two, I heard nothing but a scratchy noise come out of the horn. I was about ready to turn it off, when I heard her voice come through.

"Jack?" she asked. "Is that really you, Jack?"

"It's me, dear," I said, excited. "I'm here. Where are you? Are you alright?"

"I don't know where I am, Jack," she said. "It's foggy and dark here. I'm scared. And I'm so lonely."

"I'm here with you, dear," I said. "And we've been lonely for you, too."

"Jack, please help me get out of here," she said.

"I got your message," I said. She began crying.

"I'm so sorry, Jack," she said. "I know it was my body, but I never cheated on you. That Donald guy fooled me into taking that ring. I never should've accepted it or put it on, but I just felt... compelled. After that, Annabelle started taking over. You know I would never have cheated on you. Ever. Please forgive me."

"I've already forgiven you," I said. "I know what Jonas, Donald and Annabelle did to you. They're being punished for it even as we speak." Her crying intensified.

"I love you, Jack," she said. "I miss you and the kids so much. Please help me."

"We miss you too, dear," I said. "Listen to me, please. I have an idea. It's weird, but it's the only thing I could think of."

"What?" she asked.

"Your body is in the hospital," I said. "It's okay, you're body is doing just fine, and they say you're healthy, except for your mind. They want to do exploratory surgery on your brain, so we don't have a lot of time."

"What do you want me to do?" she asked.

"I'm going to take this Victrola and this record to your hospital room," I said. "You stay right where you are and don't move until you hear from me, got it?"

"I got it, Jack," she said. I heard nothing for a moment, then: "Jack? Could you do me a favor, please? Pretty please?"

"What's that?" I asked.

"Sing to me, baby. Please?" she begged. I sometimes sang along with some of the old songs I would play. I didn't think I had a very good voice, but she liked to hear me sing anyway. Sometimes, she would even join in. I pulled out a CD and found the song I was looking for, an old World War 2 song sung by Vera Lynn. I put the CD in the player and started the song, singing along with it.

"We'll meet again, Don't know where, Don't know when;

But I know we'll meet again some sunny day;

Keep smiling through, Just like you always do;

Till the blue skies drive the dark clouds far away"

I couldn't finish the tune as I was crying like a baby by this time. I could hear her crying as well. I stopped the song and sobbed for a few moments, then blew my nose.

"I'm sorry, I can't," I began.

"That's okay, sweetheart," she said softly. "That was all I wanted to hear. I'll stay right here. You go to the hospital, and I'll wait for you."

"Okay," I said. "I love you."

"I love you too, Jack," she said. "And only you. Hurry, now."

"I will," I said. "I'm turning the player off now. I'll talk to you in just a bit."

"Okay, dear," she said. I collected myself before lifting the needle. I didn't want to risk scratching the record. I shut the Victrola down, then packed it into the car, along with the record. I also grabbed a portable CD player and the CD with the Vera Lynn song on it. I left a note for the kids telling them where I was. They had a key to the house and I knew they would be alright.

I headed to the hospital and got some strange looks when I walked in carrying the Victrola. The record and the CD player were in a backpack, carefully packed to protect the record. I got into her room and set the Victrola on the counter. The way it sat, the horn faced Terri as she lay in the bed. Terri looked at me, her eyes wide with wonder as she took in the player.

I set up the small CD player, inserted the CD and started playing it. I then put the record on the turntable. I started playing the record, then sat down next to Terri.

"Terri, can you hear me?" I asked.

"I can hear you now," I heard her voice say from the external horn. Terri turned to look at the horn as her voice came out.

"I'm in your hospital room," I said. "Can you hear the music?"

"Yes, I can hear it," she said.

"Okay, I want you to focus on my voice and the music. Can you do that?" I asked.

"I can," she said.

"Follow the sound of my voice and the music. Concentrate on that and nothing else. Do you understand?" I asked.

"I do," she said. "I'm looking around, but... WAIT!" she exclaimed.

"What?" I asked.

"I see something... a light," she said. "Off in the distance."

"Try walking to the light," I said.

"I am," she said.

"Do you hear the music louder?" I asked her.

"Yes, I do," she said. "And I can hear you better, also. The light's getting bigger and bigger." I could hear her breathing heavy, as she might do while running.

"What about now?" I asked.

"Yes," she said, laughing. "I can hear you and the music getting louder. And I can feel it."

"Feel what, Terri?" I asked.

"Your love," she said. "It's all around me. It's surrounding me. It's wonderful," she added, laughing. "I'm nearly there. Oh, wait, I'm starting to..." Suddenly, her voice was gone and all I heard was a scratchy noise as the needle neared the last groove on the record. I started to tear up. Had I lost her for good? God, no, I said to myself.

Suddenly, a ball of light shot from the horn of the Victrola and entered Terri's body. I heard a gasp from the door and saw two nurses standing there, their eyes wide with shock. Then I heard the most wonderful sound coming from the bed.

"Jack?" Terri asked. I turned and saw her. Her face had changed just slightly and she looked up at me.

"Terri?" I asked. "Is it really you? Are you back?" She smiled and nodded her head slightly.

"It's me, sweetheart," she said. "We did it." We wrapped our arms around each other and smothered each other's faces with wet kisses. My Terri was back from the purgatory Jonas had tried to exile her to. The nurses were shocked at what they saw and one of them ran to the station to call the doctor. We were both crying and holding each other just as the song ended.

"We'll meet again, Don't know where, Don't know when;

But I know we'll meet again some sunny day."

Epilogue:

The next few days were hectic for all of us. Dr. Jacobs and Dr. Williams both insisted that Terri get a complete check to make sure she had fully recovered. They kept her in the hospital for an extra couple days just to make sure the recovery was complete.

The kids were ecstatic to learn their mother had recovered. The reunion between mother and children was a tearful but happy one.

The brain scan revealed that Terri had indeed recovered and was her normal self. The doctors wanted to know what happened and I showed them the Victrola. They both shook their heads and walked away. They were happy for her recovery, but I sensed a bit of disappointment in them. Oh well, I thought to myself.

We brought her home and celebrated with a steak dinner at her favorite restaurant. While we were eating, she turned to me.

"So, hotshot," she said with a laugh. "When are you and Robert going to take us out for a ride in your Chevy?" We all had a good laugh over that. Later that night, she turned to me in bed.

"I'm not Annabelle, but I did manage to learn a thing or two from her, you know," she said.

"Oh?" I asked. "Like what?" She smiled and took my cock in her hand.

"This," she said, taking my entire manhood in her mouth.

"Oh my God," I moaned as she proceeded to give me a world-class blowjob. She even swallowed when I ejaculated in her mouth. She looked at me while licking her lips.

"That doesn't taste anywhere as bad as I thought it would," she said with a wicked smile. "I could definitely get used to that."

"What about keeping yourself shaved?" I asked.

"You like that, don't you?" she asked.

"Most definitely," I said.

"Well, since you did save my life and brought my soul back from purgatory, I think I can go along with that," she said with a smile. Yep, I thought. My Terri is back.

Life went on in the Thornton house. Terri went back to work and the kids continued their schooling. Robert and I worked on the old Chevy and finally had it ready to roll. After doing the legal stuff with the DMV, we took it out for a ride and had a great time.

Donald, however, didn't fare as well as Terri. A couple weeks after Terri recovered, his organs began shutting down. Shortly thereafter, he died. The doctors said it was renal failure. Terri wasn't too broken up about it, although she felt bad for Vikki.

"I hope he gets what's coming to him," Terri told me privately.

"I have it on good authority that he's getting exactly what he deserves," I told her. I also felt bad for Vikki. She had helped save Terri from Jonas. After Donald died, she shut the house down and refused to let anyone go inside for any reason whatsoever. To this day, she still works at her uncle's shop, selling off the rest of his large inventory.

A couple months after all that, I looked at the record that held Terri's message. I had thought about getting rid of the thing, but I noticed something about it. The label had changed and there was a label on the flip side as well. I put it back in its protective sleeve and marked, "do not play" on the label.

To this day, I get teary-eyed when I hear that Vera Lynn tune.

"We'll meet again, Don't know where, Don't know when;

But I know we'll meet again some sunny day."

...

Just something a tad different from some of my previous offerings.

Many thanks to those who offered comments and constructive criticism on my previous stories. For those who want to say this or that would never happen, remember this is my universe, a place where nearly anything can, and often does, happen. At least on paper...

Please refer to my profile for more on my personal policy regarding comments, feedback, follows, etc. (Yes, I moderate comments) And please remember, this is a work of fiction, not a docu-drama...

Oh, by the way, Happy Halloween...