December 12, 1979
A moment passed and then a muted, hollow thumping grew in the darkness. Then he was spinning and the thumping was in his head, then nausea, then rage and, "No! No! No!!!"
"James Benjamin, you need to calm down or you'll get a spanking!"
He opened his eyes. Below him, spaghettios lay splattered over checkered linoleum. Above, his mother towered.
"That's it, darling. That's it."
His chest heaved. His head throbbed.
"James?" His mother bent down to his level. She was beautiful – the damage from cigarettes and raising him yet to come. "Is something wrong, darling?"
He dropped his head and shifted his weight from one foot to the other. It was always jarring to lose so much muscle so quickly. He closed his hands into fists then reopened them, flexing his chubby fingers. He took a deep breath then recited his line. "I sorry Mommy. I sorry I mad."
"Oh darling, it's okay. Come here." She picked him up. He laid his head on her shoulder and readied himself for the fifteen years until he could see Martha again.
Author's note:
Fifteen years of faking it. Fifteen years of isolation. Fifteen years without Martha. Sure, time moves a little quicker for James, but still.
Like, totally 90's detail: Considering the chapter takes place in the 70's, I'm giving myself a pass.
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For Those Who Don't Believe in Love Songs
General FictionGROUNDHOG DAY mixed with SIXTEEN CANDLES and a splash of DOCTOR WHO. A boy forever reincarnated as himself meets his soulmate for the 200th time, but can she solve the puzzle and break the curse to make herself his last? ***** Martha Beckett's life...
