Exactly The Same Just Different

Harold Williams

Description

Robert had given up on his dreams and was just going through his life day by day, one day his life took a change and when he awoke from a dream state, his dreams mixed with his reality.

Sujets

• Fiction

Informations

• Publié par: Outskirts Press
• Date de parution: 20 décembre 2022
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781977260543
• Langue: English

Extrait

Exactly The Same Just Different All Rights Reserved. Copyright © 2023 Harold Williams v1.0
This is a work of fiction. The events and characters described herein are imaginary and are not intended to refer to specific places or living persons. The opinions expressed in this manuscript are solely the opinions of the author and do not represent the opinions or thoughts of the publisher. The author has represented and warranted full ownership and/or legal right to publish all the materials in this book.
This book may not be reproduced, transmitted, or stored in whole or in part by any means, including graphic, electronic, or mechanical without the express written consent of the publisher except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.
Outskirts Press, Inc. http://www.outskirtspress.com
ISBN: 978-1-9772-6054-3
Library of Congress Control Number: 2022920946
Cover Photo © 2023 www.gettyimages.com . All rights reserved - used with permission. Cover Concept by Ryan Coats Crowley.
Outskirts Press and the "OP" logo are trademarks belonging to Outskirts Press, Inc.
PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
TABLE OF CONTENTS
CHAPTER 1
CHAPTER 2
CHAPTER 3
CHAPTER 4
CHAPTER 5
CHAPTER 6
CHAPTER 7
CHAPTER 8
CHAPTER 9
CHAPTER 10
CHAPTER 11
CHAPTER 12
CHAPTER 13
CHAPTER 14
CHAPTER 15
CHAPTER 16
CHAPTER 17
CHAPTER 18
CHAPTER 19
CHAPTER 20
CHAPTER 21
CHAPTER 22
CHAPTER 23
CHAPTER 24
CHAPTER 25
CHAPTER 26
CHAPTER 27
CHAPTER 28
CHAPTER 29
CHAPTER 30
CHAPTER 31
CHAPTER 32
CHAPTER 33
CHAPTER 34
CHAPTER 1
The sound of the old-fashioned wind-up alarm clock bells rang loudly, reverberating off the walls. Robert groaned as he pulled his pillow over his head to block the noise.
He lay there until the spring unwound and quit annoying him before he decided to get out of bed in what was seeming to be a feat in itself.
As he stumbled to his feet rubbing his eyes, he couldn’t get the gray haze out of his vision. He walked to the sofa to get dressed from the pile of clothes that he refused to fold it was a waste of time just because they would get wrinkled after he put them on anyway. He stopped dumbfounded in the middle of the room; all the clothes were neatly folded and separated.
Robert started looking around for more oddities or an intruder. He wasn’t too concerned about an intruder so much because he figured whoever breaks into a house and does his chores couldn’t be all that bad.
He walked into the kitchen to see all the dirty dishes were washed and put away, the stove was cleaned, and the refrigerator was polished. Robert stood there scratching his head trying to remember last night talking to himself. "Did I bring a chick home last night? If I did, she’s a keeper!"
He went into the bathroom and was not too surprised to see the bathtub was spotless. He did custom work on bikes and cars, so the tub was always dirty with an oil ring. He just half smiled in disbelief.
Robert turned to look at the toilet. "Nope! Not a chick leaving the seat up!" He peered into the toilet. It was like new and never had been that clean.
In confusion, Robert wandered around the house looking for anyone who could be in there, but the house was empty and quiet. He went into the kitchen and wasn’t surprised to see all the cabinets were neatly organized; it was like he was in his house but not in his house.
Trying to figure this out he decided to get on with the day first by making coffee. As he was putting grounds in the filter, he spilled some grounds on the countertop and wasn’t too worried about it. Then he filled the carafe and poured the water in the coffee maker. He turned to clean up his mess, but it was already cleaned off.
"Am I getting dementia?" he mumbled in confusion.
Robert had a fascination with science fiction and unproven theories. He convinced himself that he was wasting too much time on those subjects and it was starting to affect him.
It didn’t take Robert long to move on with his day.
After the coffee was done brewing, he poured himself a cup and made garlic toast for breakfast.
Robert sat at the table eating his favorite breakfast and pondering the things that he needed to do that day. Finding parts for the carburetor on an old panhead motorcycle engine was at the top of his list.
As Robert opened the door to head out for work, he looked around worried that strange things may be going on outside of his house, but it all looked normal at first. Mrs. Johnson was in her flower garden like usual across the street fussing over every little thing she didn’t like, but other than that, everything was quiet.
He stepped off the last step, smiling with relief. "How’s it going, Mrs. Johnson?"
She looked up at Robert and smiled while waving back, then she suddenly looked down, quickly picked something up, and then put it in her mouth.
Robert looked at her with a shocked expression on his face. "Is she eating the bugs? No! She wouldn’t do that!"
He started walking toward his shop, which had been his dad’s a long time ago, shaking his head trying to figure out what was going on. Thoughts that he had jumped into an alternative universe were at the top of the mental list he had made.
He paid extra attention to every detail around him as he made his way to the shop. Everything looked normal until he saw a man wearing a pink flamingo printed shirt and bright yellow knee-length shorts. His hair was messy.
Robert didn’t recognize him, but he looked kind of familiar.
Robert walked up to the man and asked, "Can I help you?"
The man turned to face Robert, giving him a surprise that nearly made him fall to the ground.
This man was the uptight "I only wear blue suits with red ties" type of guy, and seeing him dressed like a beachgoer in a mountain town on a cool day just floored Robert. "William?"
William turned and greeted Robert with a giant smile. "Hey, Rob! How’s it hangin’?"
William was the mayor of the town. He was a dot the i’s and cross the t’s kind of guy. When he wrote a letter, he never abbreviated anything; he always said, "It is" never "it’s." Nothing made him madder than being called Bill!
Robert and William were always at odds with each other about the appearance of Robert’s shop. William thought it made the town look bad, because the paint wasn’t perfect, and the oil stains on the driveway to the shop drove him nuts!
On the other hand, Robert thought it was his shop, paid in full, so William could just go suck an egg. Robert felt that it was his shop, so he could do what he wanted! The shop was fairly clean looking, and that was important to Robert because he wanted to show that he cared about his shop and that he cared about his customers. As for the oil stains on the driveway, that was just going to happen because people brought broken vehicles to the shop all day long.
Robert’s mind was blown by this point. "So… You needing something fixed?" he asked William.
William slapped his hand on Robert’s shoulder, which worsened Robert’s opinion about his mentality. William smiled. "NO…of course not! I need your expert opinion."
Robert couldn’t make sense of anything going on. He was looking at a man who would never wear those kinds of cloths. Come to think of it, they were the exact sort of clothes that Mrs. Johnson would wear, but this morning she was wearing her Sunday blue dress in the garden.
William pulled Robert in closer. "What I need is a good motorcycle. You know…wind in your hair and bugs in your teeth is what makes a happy man!"
Robert looked at William in disbelief, panting out a laugh. "So…what kind are you looking for?"
William slid his finger to his bottom lip. "I am not totally sure…something that will make me look cool."
Robert shook his head back and forth with his mouth hanging half open, thinking that it might be impossible to make him look cool. "How about a scooter…you know, something small until you get used to riding?"
William’s face lit up with joy. "You know, you are exactly right! But I don’t want an off-the-shelf scooter; I want one with the fenders removed so it looks way cooler, and a custom paint job like the ones you do! Something with flames and a half-naked woman on the tank. And I want headers! Loud pipes save lives! OH, I want a fat tire in the back and a real skinny tire in the front. CHOPPER FORKS! I am going to need chopper forks for sure! Make it happen, and I will be back for it. Call me when it is done! OH, and by the way, throw in a black leather jacket with "SCOOTERS ROCK" embroidered on the back!"
Robert was totally dumfounded! "What the hell did I just witness?" he said under his breath, "See ya later, Bill!"
William turned and waved to Robert smiling from cheek to cheek, mumbling about how cool his scooter was going to be.
After standing there for a while, totally lost as to what to think, Robert turned and headed to the shop mumbling, "An alternate universe, it has to be an alternate universe!"
As he turned the doorknob, he found it was unlocked. Cautiously and slowly, he slowly opened the door, grabbing a crowbar as he quietly moved past the parts bins. As he stealthily moved into the shop, he heard loud shouting and cursing. He moved toward where he thought it had come from, then he heard the jingling sound of tools hitting the concrete floor.
Robert couldn’t remember if he had given one of his friends the keys to the shop so they could work on their stuff. He couldn’t remember anything before the alarm clock this morning!
"Can I give you a hand with something?" Robert called out as he lowered the crowbar.
A voice came from behind an old motorcycle that he didn’t recognize. "No! I almost got this fuckin’ thing together!" Then the man raised his head above the saddle.
Robert fell to his knees. "Dad?"
CHAPTER 2
Robert sat up in a flash when he heard the alarm going off.
The last thing he remembered was seeing his father in the shop. He couldn’t remember how