Dimensional Observer Part Ii:: The Past Traveller

By Michael Retsina

Susan Morrow had come from an alternative laterally inverted world, where she had been there instead of Michael Morrow. They are now collaborating together on whether there could be any other travellers. Could that be likely, considering that her pet dog, Fido, had come through the same portal as her?

• Language: English
• Publisher: AuthorHouse UK
• Release date: Mar 31, 2020
• ISBN: 9781728399591

Michael Retsina

The author works as an accountant from home and has been writing for the last four years as a hobby.

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© 2020 Michael Retsina. All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means without the written permission of the author.

Published by AuthorHouse 10/18/2022

ISBN: 978-1-7283-9958-4 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-7283-9959-1 (e)

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Getty Images are models,

and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Getty Images.

Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

Contents

Chapter 1A Game of Pitch and Putt with Andrew

Chapter 2Lisa and Her Friend Join Them During The Game

Chapter 3Meeting Melanie At The Cinema

Chapter 4The Meal At Susan’s House

Chapter 5Susan On The Do Program

Chapter 6Evening At The Pub With Susan, Paul And Melanie

Chapter 7Moving Onto The Nightclub

Chapter 8The Surprise Visitor

Chapter 9In The Woods

Chapter 10The Summer Solstice

Chapter 11Lisa’s Story

Chapter 12At The Soup Kitchen

Chapter 13Lisa Arrives To Stay For Three Nights

Chapter 14A Game of Chess

Chapter 15Computer Games

Chapter 16Conferring With Susan

Chapter 17Michael’s Brother, James, Visits Him

Chapter 18The Return Game of Chess

Chapter 19Lisa’s Dream

Chapter 20Lisa’s Third Night

Chapter 21The Ancestry Website

CHAPTER ONE

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A GAME OF PITCH AND

PUTT WITH ANDREW

Michael Morrow was driving home in his blue Vauxhall Astra. He wore glasses and had dark-brown hair, and thought about Susan Morrow who was a version of himself from an alternative laterally inverted universe. He again thought, Wow! How could she be an alternative of me? She’s just so sophisticated, self-assured and knows where she is going, though much due to her added experience of being a traveller. She could have easily fabricated that scene where those dinosaurs were roaming the countryside. Though I don’t think so with everything that’s happened. When he arrived, he noticed someone looking at him in the distance near to the woods, before he or she walked away into them where they couldn’t be seen. He walked round to the main entrance of the flats where it was wet on the ground. He thought, Err! What the heck is that? It could be dog pee. He caught a whiff of ammonia.

He muttered, Oh, that’s disgusting. Who’s been here? He remembered two rough lads and their sister whom had frequently been up to no good. Michael went inside the hallway to enter his flat, which was on the ground floor. After putting on a comedy DVD and sitting down to have his supper, he thought back to some of Lisa’s rough habits when she had blown her nose into a shabby green coat. He considered what Susan had said about Lisa picking her nose, in addition to her swearing and bad Irish temper.

That night, he dreamed about Lisa dressed in a not so shiny, but dirty blue leotard that revealed her lovely shapely figure while being immersed in some muddy ditchwater, which was in the woods behind his flat.

She said to him, Oh, come on, Michael! Come in with me. He immersed himself with her, where it was surprisingly warm. He then woke up while feeling aroused, after which he couldn’t quite remember the dream.

The following morning was the third Wednesday in April when it was fairly warm. Michael arrived at the office wearing a plain, light-blue long-sleeve shirt with a maroon tie, and dressed in a charcoal-grey suit with black shoes. He saw Melanie Ward talking to Susan. Everyone else knew Susan as Sarah Morrison. Nobody other than Michael knew of her as accidently travelling from the mirror image universe. Melanie was about his height and quite slim, with dark-brown hair and turquoise-hazel eyes. She wore the same standard women’s work uniform as Susan, which was a plain long-sleeve white blouse and dark-blue trousers with black shoes.

Like Michael, Susan was almost thirty and slim at about five foot five, but with dyed ginger hair and brown eyes because she wore brown contact lenses. Her natural eye colour was hazel-blue-green just like his, and she was two inches shorter than him in height.

She said with her fairly deep voice, which was a little lighter than his, Hi, Michael. How are you? She winked at him with her right eye.

I’m OK, thanks, and ready for work as usual. Are you OK, Sarah?

Yes, I’m fine. And there is quite a lot to do today. See you later, Michael. He was aware she was distant because of her predicament.

Melanie said, Yes, I’ll look forward to seeing you later, Michael. She went into her office, and he went to his to prepare for the work ahead of him.

At lunchtime when Michael was walking into town, Melanie came up behind him and tapped him on his shoulder, saying, Hi, Michael. It’s good to see you again. Are you going for a snack?

Yes, but not too much though … What are you thinking of having?

Oh, just a sandwich and drink I think. They went into a bakers shop and he chose a ham salad sandwich and cola. She looked at what he had and chose the same.

Michael said, I’ll buy all these.

She smiled broadly and said, Are you sure? I don’t mind buying my own.

Oh, I’m sure.

OK. Thanks, Michael. He felt a warm feeling before paying for them, and suddenly became tongue tied when all he could think about were the things which Susan had told him the previous evening. He thought, Pull yourself together, Michael. I can’t tell her anything. It could put Susan in danger, besides being a Breech of her trust. I must keep everything private, that I had talked about with Susan over the last few days.

He said to Melanie, Work’s gone on as usual today. Well, so far anyway. This morning I’ve been doing nothing but processing some more invoices, which Sarah had left on my desk. I’m hoping this afternoon I can make a start on the salaries, so I can prepare them for submission.

Yes. I’ve been busy too in processing some orders we need, to replace the goods that have recently been sold. Sarah though, has been quieter than usual. She’s left some more work for me to do, which she normally does herself. I’m pleased though, she’s delegating more to me, because it’s all good experience. I wonder if something’s happened between her and Paul?

It could have. I don’t know … She keeps that to herself.

Melanie said, Yes, I know. She’s still the dark horse she always is. I am for that matter. She smiled and said, I’m not so keen on letting everybody know my private life either, as if I have one. She looked straight into Michael’s eyes, which made him blush. She continued, Oh, excuse me. I don’t know why I just said that.

Oh, we all have our problems. Mine is work in most cases.

Me too. She paused to continue nervously, This coming Saturday, I’m going by myself to see a film I have wanted to see for a while, before it’s no longer shown. You can come along if you’d like to.

He felt apprehensive and asked, What’s that one then? She told him and the time she would be seeing it.

He thought for a moment and said, Well, I’m quite curious about that one myself. I may come. If I do, I could meet you in the foyer just before then.

OK. I hope you can make it. I’d enjoy the company. She smiled.

I’ll try and come then. They both smiled at each other.

Melanie said, Thanks, and I’m enjoying this snack. I hope Sarah sorts out any of the problems she may be having. She has been acting very differently over the last couple of days. In fact, I’ve noticed her more relaxed and happier recently. They finished their sandwiches.

That’s good to hear. Do you want to look around town?

Yes, that would be nice. But there isn’t too much time before we have to get back to work. They walked out and she looked at clothes in the shop windows while commenting on some smart blue-and-charcoal-grey slacks and pretty blouses.

They later walked back to work and she said, Some of the things Sarah wears are so lovely. That’s why I’ve been interested in some of those styles.

He said reservedly, Yes. I like what she wears. He wasn’t really knowledgeable on women’s clothes and wanted to just go with the flow and be friendly with her, giving her the good impression he usually wanted to give everybody. They arrived back at work and he said, Thanks. I’ve enjoyed your company. I’ll try and make it on Saturday. See you, Melanie.

She cheerfully said, Yes. See you, Michael. They went to their offices.

The following Saturday afternoon, Michael had agreed to meet Andrew Thomas for a game of pitch and putt. It was at the same park where he had previously joined Susan Morrison and Paul Johnson for a game, shortly after she had started going out with Paul from work who works in sales.

When Michael arrived in his car on this fairly warm and sunny day, he saw Andrew already waiting outside the clubhouse. He was tall at six foot two with dark-brown hair, and he wore a white T-shirt with blue jeans and brown trainers. Michael wore a light-blue long-sleeve shirt with light-grey trousers and black shoes. He picked up his golf bag from the boot, which contained a five and seven iron besides a putter and some balls and tees.

He walked over to meet Andrew, who said, Hi, how are you? I’m glad you could make it. I haven’t been here too long myself.

Michael said, I’m OK, thanks. How are you?

Yes. I’m fine, thanks.

Well, we may as well go in and settle for the round. He didn’t want to let Melanie down this evening, even though he hadn’t necessarily committed himself. They both paid and Andrew put down a deposit for some equipment, after which he chose a seven iron and their standard putter.

Andrew said, By! These putters could be a lot better than they are. The irons are OK though, and not much different to yours I see.

Yes, thanks. I liked their type of irons from the last time I played, so I thought I’d get these two second-hand ones as a bargain. I can play all right with them. Well, most of the time. I could do with a more lofty iron to get out of the bunkers. Some of them here are severe. He remembered Susan making a mess of her game when she had wasted some shots trying to get out of one.

Well, I’ll just try to steer clear of those darned things then.

Best idea. He placed his tee in the starting off area of the first hole and said, You can start first if you like.

No, it’s OK. I’ll see how you play first.

Michael placed his ball on the tee and took the first shot with his seven iron, since it was only a short hole of just under seventy yards. The ball bounced just before the green although he under hit it, but it still rolled through the green and over the ridge to the back of it. He said, Oh no! I nearly always do that, because it’s difficult to judge correctly. I’ll have difficulty doing this in four now.

Andrew smiled and took his shot, which landed just over halfway up the fairway to roll up and finish on the edge of the front part of the green. He said, Oh, that’s good. They walked towards where his ball lay.

Michael said, Normally I should take my shot first, but you may as well play yours out.

OK then. He took two putts to finish for three. Michael walked over to where his ball was to take a gentle chip, but it finished just before the ridge. He concentrated hard by using his putter for the next stroke, to push it over the ridge where he almost putted it. He had to settle for four.

Andrew said, You can play well with that thing. You have an advantage.

Not when you’ve got a three. You should be giving me some kind of a handicap start. He smiled.

Not really. We should establish a difference between us first. They wrote down their scores and walked to the second tee.

Michael said, Since you’d won that first hole, you should start first.

Fair enough. It’s not a lot further than the last one. Andrew placed his ball on the tee and over hit it through the air. It bounced before the green and then over it, to finish more than twenty yards beyond. He threw his iron down and said, I didn’t expect it to go that fast. Drat! That would have been the right type of shot for the next one.

Michael said, It was a good long hit. You’d do all right at that rate over the next few holes. Andrew smiled. Michael took his first shot with his seven iron off the tee. The ball went high into the air to bounce near to the green and roll on just beyond the hole.

Wow! Good shot. You seem to know this one quite well. They arrived at the green.

Thanks. it’s better than I expected. I may as well play mine out.

Andrew seemed a bit fed up and said, OK. Just do it. Michael holed it out for a two. Andrew said, See what I mean. The advantage of your putter paid off then.

Well, yes. It just so happened I finished close to the hole. Andrew walked across the green to where his ball was behind it and took the shot with his putter. It rolled up to the green and over the ridge where it finished not far from the hole. He took two more putts for a four.

The next hole was longer than the last two by being just over a hundred yards. Michael took his first shot off the tee using his seven iron and topped it slightly, where it skimmed along the ground to stop twenty yards before the green.

Andrew cheerfully said, At least I have a chance now. He took his shot, which went into the air and landed to the left of the green. Michael used his putter since the grass was short on the remainder of the fairway between where his ball lay and the green. He gently putted it and it rolled nicely onto the green. Andrew played a similar shot, after which they both took two putts to finish on four.

Over the next two holes, Michael had fours, and Andrew had to settle for two fives with having taken three strokes to putt his ball. Over the next two, Michael landed his ball straight onto the green to finish for a three on each one. Andrew had a four on each of those, so Michael was now five strokes ahead of him.

CHAPTER TWO

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LISA AND HER FRIEND

JOIN THEM DURING

THE GAME

As they walked to tee off at the eighth hole, Michael heard two girls giggling in the distance whom were walking slowly in their direction. He took his shot which landed on the green.

Andrew said, Ooh! I think I know those two who are coming this way. I’ve seen them begging together sometimes in the streets. Michael looked again and recognized Lisa. He thought, Oh no! He knows Lisa too. What now? This could be embarrassing, and set Andrew thinking anything because of her possible comments. Michael became tense and wanted to walk away down the fairway, but he was compelled to wait until after Andrew had taken his first shot. Andrew said, Let’s wait. It’s both Lisa and Laura, as I’d thought.

Lisa shouted from the distance with her deep husky voice, saying, Hi, you two stunning blokes. Please wait, so we can catch you up. They quickly walked towards Andrew and Michael. Lisa was slim at about Michael’s height with sparkling green eyes and jet-black hair. She had plenty of purple lipstick on and wore some newer clothes, being designer faded blue jeans with holes in the knees, and a tight white T-shirt with clearly nothing on underneath. He saw her naval and fairly muscular arms, and how shapely she was. She had tattoos on each arm; the left one saying Kevin, and the one on her right being for somebody called Mick. She wore the same brown trainers.

Laura was of Asian complexion and medium build, and quite tall for a girl of around five foot ten. She had brown eyes and deep-purple-coloured hair, and she wore a little make-up with pink lipstick and purple eyeshadow. She was dressed in a fairly tight, black top and wore smart black jeans with white trainers.

Andrew said, Hi, you two. How are you? Long time, no see!

Laura said, Oh, hi, Andrew. I didn’t see you as one who plays golf. She had an Eastern European accent.

Well, not really. This is only pitch and putt actually. Anyway, I thought you’d be collecting in town again today.

Lisa said, We were, and got bloody fed up with it, after so many tight fisted gits. Stuff that for a lark for the rest of the day, the little squints! She suddenly belched loudly. And that’s better than out the other end! She laughed and Michael smelt a hint of alcohol.

Andrew burst out laughing. You’ve always had a way with words, Lisa.

Too fucking right! This place sucks sometimes. It’s true about Yorkshire people and their wallets being made from moth shit! She noisily cleared her throat and spat on the ground with a grin on her face.

Michael said, Well, well, well! He muttered under his breath, Susan must have seen and heard her like this too, sometimes.

Lisa said, Yes, too right! Anyway, I like that shot you’ve just played, Mick. Or is it, Michael? She smiled at him.

He looked at the ground and then straight at her. It’s Michael. And thanks. He wondered what she would do or say next.

Andrew said, Oh! You two know each other as well.

Lisa cheerfully said, Oh, of course! He’s been dear to me at times. She continued in an artificial posh voice with less of the Yorkshire accent, And quite the gentleman, when we’d had tea once - me paying for a change, to repay his previous generosity. Michael blushed. She continued, He’d even suggested to me, on trying to work for the same firm as him. She looked at Michael.

He said, I was just trying to be helpful then. That was all.

Well, I appreciated it, but to no bloody avail. I applied by post, and was turned down-right! She pulled a face and scowled.

Andrew said, Oh well. Never mind. There are other places.

Lisa said, Not as I am, now. She looked annoyed.

Michael said, I’d heard you were stacking shelves. He mentioned the name of the store which Susan had told him.

Well, not them. You must have heard that from snooty Saza! She restricted too much of a smile.

Well, yes. We work at the same firm.

I know, with all her heirs-and-graces. And she’s so bloody amusing when she gets her lefts and rights the wrong way round. She paused and said, I told her that for effect. She had actually seemed to smile when I’d said it. It doesn’t take much to bullshit her most of the time. Besides. That lot I did work for … I told them where they could shove it! She pursed her lips.

Andrew laughed and said, Yes. And that too, by what you mean. Where the sun don’t shine! Lisa blew a loud raspberry through her wet and strawberry like lips. That made Andrew laugh even more, and Michael was amused too.

Lisa sniggered and said, Oh. Do excuse me, Michael. Andrew calmed himself down and took his shot, which he sliced to the right. Lisa commented, I bet that happened, because you’d just farted. Michael burst out laughing, especially in addition to seeing Andrew’s poor shot. Michael was pleased that that gave him a greater lead in the game.

Andrew paused and laughed. Probably. I shouldn’t have had so many beans before coming here. Now I’m probably going to bogey this one.

Lisa smiled and outrageously said, You should see all the ones up my nose, you two.

Laura said, And that’s only just the start of it.

Lisa responded, You bet! Both she and Laura giggled.

Andrew said, Oh well. He