air.
“I believe I may need to make one more prediction before I gain all of CJ’s trust. Greed is a powerful motivator. If he knows I’m not a one-hit wonder, I think he will be more open to a strategic alliance.”
My father nodded his head in agreement, “I can see that.
Never in my life did I think I would potentially have ties to organized crime.”
“Nor the day when son could beat his father in chess!” I laughed and raised my glass of wine in a mock salute.
“Is that a challenge?” my father questioned as he knocked glasses with me.
“Nope, just a statement of fact,” I retorted, smiling my best devilish grin. “In all honesty Dad, I’m not yet sure what the end results will be in regard to CJ and his connections. It seems right somehow, for the moment anyway. It’s easy to see he is attracted to material items and as long as I play the magical soothsayer of untold riches, I think I can manipulate the situation just enough to get what I need.”
“I really don’t like the idea of using him to get a new identity. It could all go wrong. It’s dangerous enough even asking about it,” my father cautioned me.
S 72 S
RemembeR me
“Maybe, but it’s still the only foreseeable option available.”
“Do you really think he’ll bet the point spread too?”
“I really don’t know, maybe. I think he’s hooked, but cautious. The potential payout may be too much to ignore,” I commented.
“What if…by you just being here it has already changed
the outcome of the game?” my father asked me quizzically.
“I’ve considered it, but I’m going purely on gut-feeling alone, I don’t think so. I’m no expert on time theory varia-tions—who is? Show me one other person in my situation. I’m not even certain if twenty-five years from now the weather will be the same as it was on the day I was sucked into the wormhole, or whatever it was that brought me here.”
“Maybe you should make another trip to the library for a little time travel research. I’m sure Marge would be willing to help,” my father said nonchalantly.
I snorted, nearly spitting out my wine on the table. “I’m persona non gratis at the library. By now Margret has posters of me hanging in all the libraries around the state. She probably even hired a sketch artist to do a rendering of me.” I started laughing, and my father joined in.
“Stop it you two,” my mother interceded, “it’s not funny.
Life has become complex…ok, exciting too,” she said with a sly smirk on her face. Leaning over the table to whisper to us she said, “We have to take it slow and be extra careful. More than just our lives could be at stake!”
I looked around the restaurant. No one was paying us
any attention. For the entire world to see, we were just three adults enjoying a Sunday meal. If they only knew the truth, they might not have been so carefree in their indifference.
I had that “living a science fiction movie” sensation again.
Sarah Conner from the “Terminator” was nagging at the back of my mind, and recently Marty McFly from “Back to the Future”
S 73 S
Brian L. MacLearn
had begun to join her. If only Doc Brown was real, and he would let me borrow his DeLorean. With all the money to be made betting—what I wouldn’t give to have Marty’s book of sports scores. There were definitely some similarities between the movie and my real life. I didn’t believe for a moment that I would be going “Back to the Future.” For a taste of strange, I remembered that the film would actually be released in a couple of months. Maybe my life really wasn’t so coincidental.
My father and I stayed up fairly late on Sunday night. We were into our fourth game of chess. The first two went my way and the third one went to my father. It was a stupid move on my part that gave him an easy win. He asked for one more game, and I obliged. By twelve-thirty the outcome of our game was still in doubt, and both of us were losing our
“I believe I may need to make one more prediction before I gain all of CJ’s trust. Greed is a powerful motivator. If he knows I’m not a one-hit wonder, I think he will be more open to a strategic alliance.”
My father nodded his head in agreement, “I can see that.
Never in my life did I think I would potentially have ties to organized crime.”
“Nor the day when son could beat his father in chess!” I laughed and raised my glass of wine in a mock salute.
“Is that a challenge?” my father questioned as he knocked glasses with me.
“Nope, just a statement of fact,” I retorted, smiling my best devilish grin. “In all honesty Dad, I’m not yet sure what the end results will be in regard to CJ and his connections. It seems right somehow, for the moment anyway. It’s easy to see he is attracted to material items and as long as I play the magical soothsayer of untold riches, I think I can manipulate the situation just enough to get what I need.”
“I really don’t like the idea of using him to get a new identity. It could all go wrong. It’s dangerous enough even asking about it,” my father cautioned me.
S 72 S
RemembeR me
“Maybe, but it’s still the only foreseeable option available.”
“Do you really think he’ll bet the point spread too?”
“I really don’t know, maybe. I think he’s hooked, but cautious. The potential payout may be too much to ignore,” I commented.
“What if…by you just being here it has already changed
the outcome of the game?” my father asked me quizzically.
“I’ve considered it, but I’m going purely on gut-feeling alone, I don’t think so. I’m no expert on time theory varia-tions—who is? Show me one other person in my situation. I’m not even certain if twenty-five years from now the weather will be the same as it was on the day I was sucked into the wormhole, or whatever it was that brought me here.”
“Maybe you should make another trip to the library for a little time travel research. I’m sure Marge would be willing to help,” my father said nonchalantly.
I snorted, nearly spitting out my wine on the table. “I’m persona non gratis at the library. By now Margret has posters of me hanging in all the libraries around the state. She probably even hired a sketch artist to do a rendering of me.” I started laughing, and my father joined in.
“Stop it you two,” my mother interceded, “it’s not funny.
Life has become complex…ok, exciting too,” she said with a sly smirk on her face. Leaning over the table to whisper to us she said, “We have to take it slow and be extra careful. More than just our lives could be at stake!”
I looked around the restaurant. No one was paying us
any attention. For the entire world to see, we were just three adults enjoying a Sunday meal. If they only knew the truth, they might not have been so carefree in their indifference.
I had that “living a science fiction movie” sensation again.
Sarah Conner from the “Terminator” was nagging at the back of my mind, and recently Marty McFly from “Back to the Future”
S 73 S
Brian L. MacLearn
had begun to join her. If only Doc Brown was real, and he would let me borrow his DeLorean. With all the money to be made betting—what I wouldn’t give to have Marty’s book of sports scores. There were definitely some similarities between the movie and my real life. I didn’t believe for a moment that I would be going “Back to the Future.” For a taste of strange, I remembered that the film would actually be released in a couple of months. Maybe my life really wasn’t so coincidental.
My father and I stayed up fairly late on Sunday night. We were into our fourth game of chess. The first two went my way and the third one went to my father. It was a stupid move on my part that gave him an easy win. He asked for one more game, and I obliged. By twelve-thirty the outcome of our game was still in doubt, and both of us were losing our
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