Mark arrived at the McDonald’s that his daughter directed him to and got in line to place their order. The one thing he had in common with her was a good Big Mac. He smiled to himself because he was working at a McDonald’s when Big Mac’s arrived on the scene. The training video included the jingle that was used to advertise it; two all—beef patties, special sauce, lettuce, cheese, pickles, onions, on a sesame seed bun. That was the exact way he used to put it together. The only thing that gets to him when there is too much lettuce. He also loved their Fish sandwich with extra tartar sauce.
He walked the tray with their food on it to the soft drink island to get two diet Dr. Pepper’s, straws, and ketchup and to a table in the corner. He sat so he could see Marie enter the building. He opened a pair of napkins and spread one in front of him and the other on the opposite side, a habit his wife taught him, and places a medium bag of fries on each one. He added a Big Mac box beside each of them, his fish box on t the top of his, and leaned back against the seat.
Mark tried not to think about what he was meeting her here for, but he couldn’t help it. The circle window was all consuming especially that he now knew what IDAN meant TIME and he, somehow, he went back into time, to his birthday. Sounds like a Stephen King novel. A funny thought wrinkled into his mind and he wondered why he hadn’t wondered about it before, what is Marie about to tell him? A dark blue, almost black Jeep drove past the door and he sat up straighter. His daughter would be joining him momentarily.
When she opened the door and looked around, Mark waved at her and she smiled and waved back. She hurried through a few tables and scooted into the booth across from him.
“Hi, Dad,” she looked at him closely, as she always did, to assess if he was feeling all right. “I only have a little time because of class if you don’t mind. Thanks for getting me a Big Mac.”
“Always,” Mark said watching his daughter open her Big Mac box. “Ok, since you don’t have a lot of time, tell me what you know about the circle window and time.”
She took a bite of her sandwich and Mark started in on his fries, you have to eat them hot, so he always started on them first.
“Why?” she took a second bite from her sandwich.
“I went on a visit to my birthday,” Mark told her watching her closely.
She looked at him and took a sip from her drink.
“Dr. Pepper but diet, Dad, really?” Marie returned the drink to the table and took a few fries from her bag. “I liked my bed under the window for a reason, now you know why. My first time –“
“First time?”
“Yes, my first time I only went back a few hours. I had a fight with Sue, you remember her, don’t you? She was my best friend in sixth grade. I told her that I like Michael Moore and she went and told him. I was so mad and said some pretty ugly things to her. I was looking out the window and wishing I could go back and never told her I liked him, and we wouldn’t have had that fight. The window kind of shimmered and I reached out to touch the glass and the next thing I knew I was back out on the playground, leaning on the big slide and there was Sue. She was looking at me funny and she said, well? I asked her, well what? Do you like any of the boys? She said to me and I realized I was back at the point where I told her I liked Mike, so I didn’t, and we didn’t have that fight. The bell rang and when I touched the door to go back inside, I was standing on my bed looking out the window.”
Mark had finished his fries as he listened to her. She looked back at him in silence.
“I used the window a lot but never to hurt someone. I changed some things where I had gotten myself into some trouble and redid it. It was funny that you and Mom would ground me and a few minutes later, or so it seemed, you never knew it happened. But I never forgot, I always knew.”
“Like what did you have to undo?” Mark leaned back.
Marie looked at him and put her Big Mac down on the napkin.
“One time, I was in high school and snuck out to a party that Billy Smith had at his house by the pond. It was winter and we built a bonfire. Some people skated and an older kid brought some beer and I got drunk. I just walked over there so when I walked back I was getting sick. When I tried to sneak back into the house, I threw up on the back porch and I woke you guys up. The boys thought it was so funny and Mom was crying, and you were so mad. You grounded me for a month.”
“I don’t remember that,” Mark stared at her.
Marie picked up her drink, took another sip from it and said, “I know. I did things like that, go back and retake a test, replay a softball game. One time I had such a good time on a date, I simply went back to redo it without even changing it.”
“Why didn’t you tell me about it?”
“You are kidding me. It was great! I never got in any big trouble, got better grades when I need to, kept my friends longer but I stopped when I went to college. No, that’s not right. I tried using it one time when I returned home that first year. I went back to redo a test I wanted to do better at but I was going there to take it and I changed my mind because I was afraid of how it might change things too much after the test.”
“What would have changed?” Mark asked.
“I had met my future husband.”
Mark nodded and opened his Big Mac. “Speaking of future, could you go into the future?”
“No. Only the past. Your past. You simply had to think of the time you wanted to visit and then you touch the widow and it off you go. And too get back, you think about going back and the next door you pen, you are back in that room. Why did you go back to your birthday?” Marie asked.
“I was thinking about it and I stepped into a hospital room wearing a white coat and my Mom was laying in a bed. I opened the door and I was back in the room. I did it again but went into a car in front of a department store and ran across your aunt there. I caused enough ruckus that she remembered a man in the store the day I was born.”
“Dad,” Marie interrupted him, I got to go back to school. Don’t do it again until we can talk more about it,” Marie slid out of the booth and stood up. “Promise.”
“Promise,” Mark agreed.
“Okay,” Marie bent and kissed him on the cheek. “See you later. The girls are fine when Mom asks, and you report into her later.”
He watched her walk back using the same route she used when she had arrived.
“Marie!” he shouted.
She turned and looked at him, waiting.
“Did you tell anyone about it? Your brothers?”
“No, Dad, why would I?”
To be continued…
My First Stories 