The Journal: A Prophecy, A President & Death

by Parker, W. Leland

  “Jesus!” exclaims a frustrated Hinton, which draws frowns from Robert, Joanna, and even Lauren prompting him to say, “I’m sorry, I just– I’m sorry.”

  Joanna excuses herself from the table, and Lauren follows, as they both go out to greet Mrs. Phelps, fresh from her nap and descending the stairs wearing Joanna’s robe. She says, “Hello you two, I thought I smelled lunch, it woke me up.”

  Joanna is very please to serve her, and with a big smile says, “Well, come along dear one,” as she meets her and escorts her down the rest of the stairs. Lauren looks on as they head for the dining room.

  Meanwhile, a discussion on why the Lord’s name should not be so freely bandied about is underway between Robert and Hinton.

  “I know you don’t mean it that way, sir,” says the minister, “but you have to understand that it is important to maintain a distinction between everyday common speech and certain separate and special names and understandings.”

  “Yeah, I get it,” replies Hinton, “but can you tell me how what I just said offended anybody? I mean, it’s rules like that that–”

  “Okay. Let’s pick something else you might want, or tend, to keep as important. Say your mom’s name. What is her name?”

  “I don’t like this already. Her name was Josephine.”

  Robert, “So you could see why if every time something went wrong, if we all said, Josephine Hinton! Or, Josephine Hinton, that was a stupid thing to do! Or, I’m sick of this, now leave me alone, Josephine Hinton! Do you see how that casual use tarnishes what I hope were fond memories you have of your mom?”

  “Yeah. Like I said, I knew I wasn’t going to like this.”

  “Well, it’s even worse when the person whose name being tossed around is someone whom you not only love, but you feel, literally saved your life.”

  “Point made, Minister.”

  “And I didn’t even get to the part about how God feels when you do that.”

  “Hallelujah,” says Hinton, to the quiet chuckles of Agents Reese and Levy, which Hinton follows with, “and I meant that!”

  “Good afternoon everyone,” says Mrs. Phelps as she enters the dining room. They all say hello, and Joanna places her at her seat between Agent Reese and Lauren.

  Agent Hinton says, “Okay Joey, you were saying.”

  But Joanna interrupts says, “Wait a minute, let me finish getting Mrs. Phelps situated.”

  “I can serve myself Joanna.” Says Mrs. Phelps.

  “It is my pleasure Mrs. P., please allow me.”

  Hinton gets up to retrieve his note pad. And while Joanna continues to serve Mrs. Phelps she also catches her up on the conversation. It is Joanna’s retelling to Mrs. Phelps that draws her husband and Agent Reese’s interest into the conversation.

  Meanwhile, Hinton’s back at the table reviewing his notes about the other dream, and also powering down his food so he can have both hands free to take notes when the recount resumes. He explains to Agents Reese and Levy that Joseph has had a dream about the red 10-speed bike that the assailant used to hide in plain sight to arrive at the Market home undetected.

  Levy, the greatest skeptic in the group, says, “THE ten-speed bike, or A ten-speed bike?”

  “Look, I hear ya! But let’s put it this way, he dreamt of a kid riding a bike that was red, a ten-speed; that this kid used it to get to their home to attack it; that in the end, the very bike he used caused him to be captured. So, you’ve read my report, what would you say Agent? Does that match the description of THE bike in our case, or just some bike!”

  “Alright, alright. I get your point,” surrenders, Levy.

  “Well, that’s all I’m saying. So this kid has another dream that’s got Agent Coles and me in it, even though it’s before he’s ever met either of us! Our kid! Please, I’m gonna listen to that!”

  So at this point everyone is eager to hear the rest of this story. Back at her seat, Joanna says, “Please Joey, go ahead, I think you were saying that you were out back gathering wood.”

  Joseph, feeling a little on the spot says, “Wow! Okay, here it goes. This was Friday night, before the fire. I had fallen asleep on the chair over there, on this side of the fireplace.” He motions to point in that direction. “Mom was in her chair, God rest it’s soul.” Everyone laughs. “Anyway, in my dream I’m out back of the house gathering firewood. Which is wild ’cause I had just been doing that, so it made the dream feel so real. Anyway, I’m out gathering from the woodpile, only I’ve got an armful of wood that’s like this big around!” He uses his arms to indicate a big round circle. “Way too big for me to carry. Which really was the first dream-like thing that strikes me as odd, you know.”

  “Um hmm,” says, Joanna.

  “So then I hear what sounds like arguing. It’s you and Dad—not bad, just a little disagreement. And you say something like, Stop defending him; I don’t trust him!”

  Joanna and Lauren both register shock, and Lauren actually says, “Really! Are you sure that’s what you heard?”

  “Yeah, something like that.”

  “Hmm. Go on.”

  Then Joseph says, “Well, so then I hear some mumbling, and then I swear I heard James arguing with—you, Miss Coles.”

  “Really, what did I say?”

  “I can’t remember specifically, but something like, No! No way, forget about it!”

  Possibilities of what that could mean causes everyone to laugh a little. But feeling a little embarrassed, James guides Joseph to continue, “Eh hem, what happened next, Joe!”

  “Well, here’s where it’s definitely a dream ’cause somehow I know that I’ll be able to see better if I’m in front of the house, so instinctively I leap over the house to the front yard!”

  Everyone chuckles, but truly investigating the dream Hinton asks, “What about the firewood?”

  Joseph says, “You know, I had it when I noticed the commotion, but I don’t remember it after that.”

  He makes a note and says, “‘’Kay, go on.”

  “Let’s see; so I get to the front of the house and this is when things get really weird!”

  “’Cause up until now–” interjects Levy, which was meant to be funny, but is met with dry expressions, eager to hear Joseph.

  Joseph pays him no mind and says, “As I’m leaping, I hear you, Mr. Hinton, clearly say, This is sick, but I can’t stop watching. I thought it was Jimbo’s voice, but now I realize it was you!”

  “Okay,” says Hinton, “then what?”

  “Everyone is looking at the TV, but I get this sense it’s one of those, um, emergency broadcast things, you know, the tests.”

  “Umm hmm,” says Joanna.

  “Well, this is the weird part! Dad is standing on top of the TV!”

  “I’m what?” exclaims Robert.

  “Yeah, it’s like you just told a joke, or made some announcement, but none of us seem to like it!”

  “Oh, great,” says Robert, with a fairly good Rodney Dangerfield impersonation, “I tell ya, I’m even bombing out dreams!” Everyone laughs.

  Joseph continues, “Wait. This is when I hear Agent Coles, ’cause– Wait. I’m not sure, but somehow Jimbo gets upset. I thought it was– Yeah, I’m pretty sure it was from what Dad said. At any rate, you storm out of the front of the house, and …” Joseph’s face registers shock! He turns and looks at Lauren and says, “Oh, my—I saw you. I saw your face! You were in front of our house!”

  “Oh, my God. Really?” Exclaims Lauren.

  “Yeah, you were getting into your car.”

  “What kind of car?” asks Hinton.

  “I couldn’t see it. But I break free from somebody to go catch him. To catch you Jimbo, but then Mom reaches out and grabs my hand.”

  With a very serious tone, Mr. Hinton asks, “Joey, what did you mean by you break free from somebody? Where you being held against your will?”

  The agents all listen with great interest to Joseph’s one word answer.

  “Yes.”

/>   Lauren looks at Agent Hinton. His face is all but screaming, you need to act upon this. Lauren then says to Hinton and Reese, “Can we speak for a moment gentlemen. Agent Levy, please watch the assets while I go over some things with them, Reese will bring you up to speed.”

  “Yes ma’am,”

  Lauren walks the senior agents over to the living room, and once out of immediate earshot asks them, “Okay, you both know more about this than I do, what the heck do we do now?”

  “Humph!” says Hinton, “If you had asked me that on Friday, you’d gotten a totally different response from what I’m about to say.”

  “Well?”

  “Well, this is what this cockamamie case is all about isn’t it? Making actual action decisions and orders based on dreams and hokum? In for a penny, in for a pound.”

  Reese interjects, “He’s got a point. Nobody’s gonna look at you funny if you decide to take the alert up a level.”

  Lauren looks at him with surprise, “So you’re saying I should try and recall the staff in DC.”

  Reese, “If you treat this like you just got a tip from a credible informant, how would you act?”

  “So, should I say that: credible informant?”

  “That’s what I would say.”

  Lauren looks at Hinton who shrugs his shoulders as if to say, why not?

  So they discuss the particulars, and compare notes. Hinton mentions that he believes at least some of the staff should already be back due to Agent Caldwell’s inquiry into the whereabouts of Mrs. McCormick’s daughter.

  Back at the table, Mrs. Phelps tries to get up to speed. “So Joanna, I know I was a little groggy, but is he saying that Joey is now having prophetic dreams?”

  “Well, it’s kind of hard to say Mrs. Phelps. Apparently he’s had a couple of dreams that are pretty good representations of what later came to be.”

  “I don’t know what you would call that,” says, Mrs. Phelps, “but where I come from that’s a prophetic dream.” Then adds, “Huh!”

  “What’s that?” asks Joanna.

  “Well, the idea of Joseph having prophetic dreams—like in the Bible.”

  “Yeah,” admits Joanna, “I kind of forgot about that. I always remember him interpreting other peoples dreams.”

  Hinton, now back with the others, asks, “What was that?”

  “Nothing,” says Joanna, “we were just musing the fact that Joseph in the Bible also had prophetic dreams.”

  “Okay.” He turns to her son, “Joey, did you finish? Was there anything else?”

  “No, sir,” he replies, “I woke up at that point, when my mom grabs my hand.”

  “And you can’t see, or have anything at all on who was holding you.”

  “No, sir.”

  “Is there any chance that it was your mom? You did say that she reached out and grabbed your hand.”

  “No, it was a man.”

  “A man! So you did see something.”

  “Oh, that’s right, his hands were on my shoulders, and they were—well, man hands.”

  “What color?”

  “I don’t remember.”

  “Did he have on a ring, or a watch?”

  “Umm. Sorry, not that I recall.”

  “Can you describe his hands?”

  “You know, I don’t know so much if I saw them rather than I just knew that it was a man.”

  “If you had to guess what he looked like, or who he was, what would you guess?”

  Levy interjects, “He said he didn’t know!”

  Hinton frowns at him and waves him off, then back on task, “Go ahead Joey, who or what would you guess?”

  “Well, I’d guess he was big, you know, tall.”

  “Thanks.”

  Levy, “I cannot imagine how you guys get anything done pursuing so many leads.” Turning to Reese he adds, “If we did that, with all the crank calls and foolishness that comes directed at the president, congress, etc., we’d compromise any real protection we could hope to offer.”

  But Reese backs Hinton’s methodical process, “Yeah that’s true for us, but it’s not like that at the Bureau; things they don’t pursue tend to come back to bite ’em.” He lowers his voice, respectful of Agent Coles, “Look at Nine Eleven. If the FBI had gone after every connection to using aircraft as flying bombs they could have–”

  Levy, “Oh, what was I to expect from you, a former Bureau boy yourself.”

  Hinton, “That’s right, I forgot you were with the Bureau. Here in New York, right?”

  “That’s right,” says Reese; and they begin to talk about the good and bad of working for the FBI.

  • • •

  Meanwhile, Joseph gets a strange look on his face, like he had earlier when he was experiencing déjà vu, “Mom, can I speak to you for a moment?”

  “It’s may I; and sure, but you don’t want to talk here?”

  “I really think that I should tell you alone first; I don’t know why. Its– You’re the only one who will really get it.”

  “Okay.” She says to Lauren who is talking to James, “I need to speak with Joey alone for a moment, can we step into the kitchen by ourselves?”

  Lauren thinks a moment and says, “I’m sorry, I can afford you some privacy, but not that level of separation.”

  “Okay then, let’s go with that;” and they all go into the kitchen to talk.

  Joseph then says, “Actually, Mom, Miss Coles can hear this, I think she should.”

  Hinton breaks from his conversation with Reese about the FBI and tunes in for a moment to the kitchen, and asks, “What’s going on, Agent Coles?”

  Lauren, “I’ll let you know.”

  “Agent! I should be in there.”

  Waking up to the fact that in his assignment he is suppose to be with Joseph she says, “Oh, that’s right I’m sorry. Give us ten minutes; then please join us.”

  • • •

  In he kitchen, Joseph, still with the same strange look says, “Okay, this is really, really weird.”

  “Is it the déjà vu again?” asks Joanna.

  “No. Well, kind of. That’s why I wanted to explain it to you first, ’cause I know you can help me say it right. Something strange is going on and, well, I’ve got this sense, I can’t tell if it’s from the dream, or déjà vu. All I can tell you is that it’s a very strong sense of what starts everything.”

  Joanna, as she is so good at doing, coaxes him, “Okay, that sounds good. What do you mean by starts everything?”

  “That’s where it seems like its part of my dream; like, I know; like I dreamt this before, and I’m only now remembering it.”

  Lauren tries to help also, “So, that’s like déjà vu, right?”

  Joseph sits down in a kitchen chair and says, “No, it’s different somehow. When I felt déjà vu, I mean before today, it was always right after something happened that I got the sense.”

  Joanna says, “Yeah, that’s how it is for everyone.”

  “I know, but today, I was sensing it kind of AS it happened, or even just BEFORE, right?”

  Both ladies confirm, “Yeah.”

  “Well, this feels like it’s something I dreamed, like the dream with Dad on the TV, but it’s from a dream I had a long time ago that I’m only now remembering, only it’s the same dream.”

  They are both slightly confused, but Joanna only says, “Wow sweetheart, that’s incredible!”

  Lauren, however, tries for clarity, “Okay, so the dream from Friday night, before the fire, that you had when your mom was talking to your dad on the phone, that’s the one you just told all of us, right?”

  “Yes.”

  “And you are now telling us about another dream– Wait. No, the same dream, but that you dreamt at a completely different time.”

  Joanna pitches in, “But this other dream, you only have a sense of it, and it feels like the déjà vu you were experiencing earlier today.”

  Joseph with great relief says, “Thank God you understand.”r />
  And with that the two ladies also let a sigh of relief.

  “Okay,” says Lauren, “So, what was the dream?”

  “It’s the same dream, but I get this sense that I know what’s going to happen, it’s like I’m seeing parts that I didn’t remember when I dreamt it a second time on Friday. Like I’m seeing it from a different perspective.”

  “Oh, God!” says Joanna.

  “What?” asks Lauren.

  She shakes her head in disbelief. “I remember a prophecy of Joey’s that said something about God’s perspective on the same thought, or same something. I don’t know, it was in Latin and I was just taking a course. Ugh, I wish I had taken it to an expert.”

  “So you think it was talking about this?”

  “I don’t know, but what if Joey’s déjà vu is him remembering portions of the prophecy? That they are seeping out, so to speak, in his dreams!”

  “Well, what do you think Joey?” asks Lauren.

  “Like I said, I don’t remember any of the prophecies at all, but I can’t shake this sense that this, all this, happens after–”

  “All of what happens?” interrupts Lauren.

  “All of the other events of the evening.”

  Lauren, now very serious, “All of WHAT events of the evening? Does that include the president?”

  Joseph, as is his tendency when he begins to feel stressed, gives a one-word answer. “Yes.”

  Joanna, “How is that, Joey?”

  “I don’t know. It’s just that it seems that because of the kiss, somebody does something that causes the rest of the stuff to happen.”

  Joanna and Lauren again say something at the exact same time, “Because of the kiss?”

  Lauren, “God, this is just too much! So, somehow this is tied to the death of the president?”

  Joseph, feeling pressured, “I don’t know, I– I think it’s, I mean, that’s the sense I get!”

  Joanna intervenes with, “Okay, let’s all– How does Mr. Hinton say? Let’s all take a breath.”

  Lauren realizes that she had become a little tense and relaxes.

  Joanna continues, “So, Joey, you’ve got this sense, and it’s the only one that ties your past perceptions to what’s happening now—these new dreams and sense of déjà vu?”