Goldie's POV
April 1966
Ever since Mom found out about us and we found out about her, we seemed to have gotten closer. She seemed much more relaxed, giggly, and funny. However, around the boys, she usually stayed out of their bubbles and hung around the sidelines. She was going by the, "don't speak unless spoken to" rule.
All three of us started going with Mom on little trips to the secluded grass field she arrived in. It was outside of the heart of town, only a single road traveling through it, but from the amount of time we were there we never saw another car pass by.
Mom told us that her Time Machine was ripped apart by animals, and it needed every single piece in order to work. Our job was to help her find every little screw and nut that originally was on the Machine. Once we collected as much as we could, then we would put it in a bag and bring it home where she would try to repair the Time Machine, which was hidden under Dad's bed. It never worked, so we knew there were more parts in the field we needed to find.
We would all disappear for hours at a time, and the guys started to notice. They would always ask us where we were going, but Mom always found some excuse that didn't provoke anymore questions.
April rolled around again, around the same time when we traveled here in the first place. I can't believe be its been a year already. I wondered if I could age while being here. Probably, but it would be hanging if I didn't age until 2038 came organically. A lot of people would kirk out though.
We were scavenging through the dirt and patches of long grass when the wind started to pick up. The wind also picked up some dust so we were rubbing our eyes from the stinging. The wind was blowing more and more, and started to blow in a circle.
"Is this a tornado?" Red asked.
"No," Mom said, but she was clearly confused herself of what was happening.
A bright white light flashed and made us all cover our eyes and turn away. The light went away as fast as it came, but when I opened them my vision was blocked by floating colored dots.
"What was that?" Candy asked.
We turned back and Mom gasped. We suddenly saw a girl sitting in the grass. She was holding what looked like our time machine with a metal band around her head and the "T" shaped bar between her legs. The girl was tan, blonde, and looked my Mom's age.
"Who's that?" Red whispered.
"Lillian?!" Mom dropped everything she was holding.
"Bri!" The girl shouted and the two ran towards each other and slammed into a hug.
"I missed you so much." Mom sounded like she was going to cry. I couldn't tell if they were tears of joy, or of sadness.
"I can't believe it worked. I found you," Lillian said, "but it's only been a few days."
Lillian looked up and saw me and my siblings. Her smile faded into concern and she pulled away from Mom.
"Who's that?" She asked, pointing at us. "They just saw me."
"They are from the future too," Mom reassured, "this is Goldie, Red, and Candy."
"Hi," Red greeted with a big friendly smile.
"Oh, right. I read about you guys. How did you know they were telling the truth?" Lillian asked.
"I can tell you about some movies or musicians," Red suggested.
Lillian thought for a moment then said, "go for it."
"Avatar is the highest grossing film of all time," Red stated like the little film-nerd he is. "That was released in 2009... End Game and Titanic have been right up there with it for decades."
"Oh, I love Titanic," Mom said dreamily.
"What about music?" Lillian asked, like she wasn't convinced yet.
"There's Elvis, and he dies in the late 70s, there's Michael Jackson who becomes a huge name in music, and the Beatles break up at the end of the decade. Oh, and the Beatles release a song in 2023 called Now and Then... but I guess that's a little out of your time," I stated.
"Is it a good song?" Mom asked.
"I mean, you really like it," I stated. "You play it all the time."
"Okay, I believe them," Lillian said but still eyed us wearily.
"And you'll never guess what I found out—" Mom started to say.
"Is it about your future?"
"Yeah—"
"No one should know too much about their future," Lillian snapped at her. She seemed kind of bossy.
"Well, what's the difference if I already know and just tell you? It has nothing to do with you."
"That's true..." she tapped her chin in thought. "Tell me later."
"Anyways, I've been trying to get home for the past year. I just can't figure out how to fix the Time Machine," Mom said.
"That's what I figured when you didn't come back right away. I used my original plans and created another time machine to bring you back home."
"Does that mean that if I never figured out the Time Machine, I never would have made it back?" Mom asked her softly.
Lillian shook her head slowly. "No, I don't think so."
Lillian pointed to us and asked, "they got here with a Time Machine, right? Where is it?"
"We buried it so no one would find it," I said.
"So? Go unbury it," Lillian said.
"That's the thing, we don't remember where we buried it," Candy said quietly.
"You don't remember where you buried it?!" Lillian nearly shouted. She took a breath before calmly asking, "do you think anyone can find it?"
"We buried it in an empty space," I tried to remember since it was a year ago. "And pretty deep. I don't think anyone will find it any time soon."
"Good, that's good. Because if the Time Machine gets into the wrong hands—"
"It'll be catastrophic, we know," Mom said. She grabbed Lillian's hand and they swung the knot playfully. "I have so much to tell you."
"You don't need to tell me. I've read it all," Lillian said in a happy voice.
"What?" Mom asked, stopping the hand swing.
"Bri! I was using the book to keep tabs on you!"
"What do you mean?" Mom asked.
"What book?" Red asked.
"They don't know about the book?" Lillian asked.
Mom turned to us and explained that Uncle Ponyboy will write a paper for school about his experiences with the Socs, being up in the church, and just all the events from the past year. She said that before she was zapped to 1965, the book was about the gang, Johnny killing Bob, them going up to the church, the church collapsing and Johnny dying. The end was Dally getting shot and killed by the cops. Much darker. I knew that Ponyboy grew up to be a writer, but I obviously didn't know about this book.
Honestly, finding out that Dally was technically supposed to be dead makes a lot of sense. It's horrible, I know, but I wasn't surprised.
"The book. When you left, it changed. You caused such an impact that you changed the plot of the book."
"There is still a book?" Mom asked.
"It's pretty different. But also the same."
"I'm in it?"
"Hell yeah! These guys are in it too." Lillian nodded to us. "It's incredible. I still can't believe you took Johnny's spot and saved those kids from the burning church. Maybe some things will change or be added when we get back home," she said.
"I honestly never even thought about it," Mom said.
"I don't know if you remember but you said that Mr. Kenner came by and gave you a letter to give to me. I opened it after you left and it was from you! I never stopped working on another Time Machine once you didn't come back."
"Who is Mr. Kenner?" Candy asked.
"One of our teachers in high school," Mom answered, "I found him as a kid and told him to deliver that note to Lillian in 2017. I can't believe he actually did it!"
Lillian took out a worn out piece of paper and handed it to mom. Mom said, "this is the note," and handed it to us to look at.
The paper was ripped some at the edges, and the once white page was now a yellow-beige color. The writing was greatly smudged, but I could see that this was her handwriting. It had obviously aged from the past few decades.
"I don't think I've seen him since I delivered the note to him," Mom stated. "It must have been horrible déjà vu for him to see me in his class years later."
"I didn't even think about that!"
"How long did it take you to build that?" Mom pointed to the Time Machine that Lillian came in on.
"Not too long. Since I had the plans from the first time. I just needed to get the equipment."
"Why did you choose this date?" I asked. "It's been a year for us but only a couple days for you. What gives?"
"I couldn't remember what date Bri chose, so it was my best guess. I guess I got the year wrong," Lillian said. She picked up the Time Machine and held it to her chest. "Y'all ready to go?"
"You mean we can go? Just like that?" Candy asked.
"Just like that," Lillian chuckled.
"I've got some clothes at the Curtis house that I wanna snag," Mom said. "We should go."
"Yeah, let's go," Lillian agreed.
Mom waved us over and all five of us piled into Mom's car. Mom drove us to the Curtis house, but I didn't see any cars in the driveway besides mine.
"Is anyone home?" Candy asked.
"I don't think so. That's strange," Mom said as she unbuckled her seatbelt.
"Who's car is that?" Lillian pointed to mine.
"Mine," I said.
"You think there's someone inside?" Lillian asked.
"Maybe," Mom said.
"Who knows. People come and go all the time," I added.
"That's true," Candy said.
We all hopped out of the car, and Lillian left the Time Machine in the car seat. Mom started to fiddle with her car keys, which had a key to the house. She said that she's never had to use it, because they never lock the door but Darry gave it to her just in case of an emergency. He never gave me a key.
"Hello?" Mom called out when she walked in, "guys?"
The only response was the sound of the old house settling.
"I wonder where they are," Mom wondered out loud. "I don't remember anyone telling me where they were off to. Do you remember?"
"No," I said, and Red and Candy shook their heads.
"That'll make leaving a little easier," Lillian stated.
"Candy, will you grab some bags from the garage?" I asked. She ran off, but I made Red stay with me.
If we didn't tell Mom that we were from the future as well, I wonder what would have happened if she left with Lillian without us. Would we have been stuck here for forever?
Candy came back with the bags and we went into the room we were staying in. We packed all our clothes, and things we bought during our time here. Mom did the same. Lillian was getting impatient with us and she started packing Mom's car with the bags.
"Ready to go?" Lillian asked when we were all outside.
"Almost." Mom turned to us and said, "you guys wait in the car. I'll be out in a second." She tossed us the keys, which Lillian caught, and she ran back inside.
We piled into the car and Lillian was in the passenger seat and started the ignition. We cranked the windows down to get some air flow, otherwise it was way too hot.
"What's your story?" Lillian asked us as she turned back to look at us. "How did you guys get stuck here?"
"We were cleaning out the attic in our house." Candy said, "we found it, messed with it, and before we knew it we were in some guy's apartment."
"What year are you guys from?"
"2038," I answered.
"2038?!" She repeated, shocked.
"And we came in the Time Machine that you invented," I told her.
"How did you get it?"
I shrugged, wishing I knew the answer. "It was in our attic."
Before Lillian could ask something else, Mom came back. Her nose sniffled a few times and her face was red. It's so hard to see your mom cry, or try not to cry.
Lillian asked, "are you okay?"
"Yeah, I'm fine. I'm just sad to be leaving."
"It'll be okay, I promise."
"What should we do with our cars?" Mom asked.
"What did you guys have in mind?" Lillian asked.
"We can just leave mine here," I said. "The keys are inside and maybe Soda can have it or something."
"We can either sell mine, or drive it into a cave or something and get it in 2017," Mom suggested.
"Sell it."
"Alrighty," Mom stated unenthusiastically.
"We can take the cash with us back to 2017," Lillian said to Mom.
"Yeah, that's a good point," Mom reluctantly agreed.
"A cave would be cool," I mumbled.
We drove the car dealership, and Mom sweet-talked her way into selling her car for the full price of what she paid for. However, the deal fell through when they refused to pay with straight cash. Mom argued with them, but they didn't budge.
Mom explained the situation to us through her rightful annoyance. She talked to a Lillian about it, and they figured that it was probably for the best. They decided to just ditch the car and someone would deal with it later.
"Driving might be better anyways," Mom said as she peeled out of the parking lot. "Otherwise we would have to carry everything."
"Yeah, that would suck," I agreed.
Mom drove us through town while Lillian was commenting about how different everything looked. She should see 2038, it doesn't even feel like the same city anymore. I think it would be cool if we could see Mom and Lillian's time and if they could come see ours. Lillian seems like a stickler though, I don't think she would like that idea.
We stopped at a stop light and I thought I heard someone's stomach growling. Then, Mom said, "you know, Dairy Queen here is better than Dairy Queen back in our time."
"It is?" Lillian asked.
"Yeah. Wanna try it?"
"No, we should probably just get home."
"Come on, please. It'll be the last time. What damage can we do that I wouldn't have already done?"
"I'm hungry too," Red stated.
I piped up, "so am I."
"Me too," Candy added.
Mom looked at Lillian with big puppy eyes. "Come on. You won't make the children starve, will you?"
Lillian looked back at us and jokingly rolled her eyes, followed by a smile. "Fine, I guess it's okay. We should be quick though."
Even though I just met her, I did like Lillian. She seems nice and my mom obviously likes her a lot, considering they're best friends. Maybe it feels off-putting because we don't know her in 2038 but she's kind of bossy. I know that she's just anxious about this time-travel stuff, but why is she the one calling all the shots here?
When the light turned green we zoomed into the parking lot and had to drive in a couple of circles before we found an empty space. All five of us got out of the car and headed inside. There was a big line, and I was nervous that Lillian would get annoyed and tell us just to go back to the car.
We got in line and I studied the small menu to see what I wanted as a last-supper before we went back home. Lillian wouldn't stop talking about the prices, which I was still having a tough time wrapping my head around it as well. Seventy-two years is a long time for inflation to rise. It would be the same difference if they left 2017 and went to 1945.
Just as promised, the food was made fast and Mom's name was called. Mom and Candy both grabbed all the bags while Red went around to try to find us an empty table. He spotted a booth in the back corner, so we all met there and took our food out of the bags and passed them around.
"So, where did you guys come from?" Mom asked as she bit off half of a greasy fry.
"2038," Candy responded.
"No, I mean where were you when you got here?" She rephrased.
"Oh, in some guy's apartment," I responded.
Her face dropped. "The inside of an apartment?"
"Yeah," I said and took a bite of my cheeseburger.
"You guys live in an apartment?" Lillian asked while covering her mouth since she was in the middle of chewing.
"No, we live in a house. We were up in the attic before we got here. We were on the second or third floor of that apartment complex," I stated.
"Maybe the apartment complex gets taken down and homes are built there," Lillian suggested.
"Probably. I can look into it when we get back. Not that it'll help you guys for a while," I chuckled.
Mom and Lillian laughed together while eating fries. Mom responded, "we probably won't care by then."
While chewing on her burger, Lillian turned to me with her blue eyes squinting as if she saw me at a grocery store and was trying to figure out how she knew me. "You know, you look like someone but I just can't put my finger on it."
"Who?" I cluelessly asked.
"Soda?" Mom suggested.
"I don't know. Maybe," Lillian stated. "I'd have to look at him first."
"Wait, look at this." Mom took her dinosaur phone out of her pocket and made sure no one was looking before she showed Lillian a picture. I assume she was showing her a picture of my old man.
"Holy hell..." she looked at the old-school screen then me. Then she looked at me, and then the screen. "Literally twins."
"What did you show her?" I asked.
"This." Mom showed me the picture of her and Dad and Steve hanging out at the DX. Judging by their work shirts, I assume they were all on the clock. "We took this a while ago, so I got a picture of the picture."
"Hanging." I nodded and shoved the rest of my burger into my mouth. Seeing old pictures of my dad is so weird. We do look a lot a like.
"I think the plan is to take you guys to 2038, then we might have to come back to 1966 to go over to the field," Lillian said as if she was thinking out loud.
"You think so?" Mom asked and took a sip of her soda. All of us were nearly done with our food but she was eating slow. I could tell that she didn't want to leave. I don't think she was ready.
"I mean, my house will probably still be there and it'll be occupied by someone else's family. You really want to break in?" Lillian asked, bringing up a good point.
"Maybe it's you," Mom said.
"And risk seeing my other self?" Lillian asked.
"Yeah, you're right," Mom said. "That won't be so bad, we can just drive to the field."
"Exactly."
When Mom was finally done eating, we all tossed our garbage away and headed toward the exit at the front of the restaurant.
"It's crazy, I never thought that being here would be so—"
Mom interrupted Lillian by whispering, "hide" and grabbed her and yanked her down to hide behind the garbage can by the door.
"Ouch!" Lillian screeched.
"Sorry, force of habit," Mom apologized.
"What's going on?" I asked, utterly confused.
"It's Two-Bit and Steve," she whispered as she slowly stood up and peaked over the top of the garbage can.
I followed her eyes and saw Steve and Two smoking right outside the door. We could see them easily through the window but since they had their backs to us, they didn't see us.
"Who?" Lillian asked.
"Some guys that we know," Mom said.
"What are their names again?" Lillian asked.
"Two-Bit and Steve."
"Two-Bit and Steve?" She asked.
"Yeah."
"Two-Bit and Steve," Lillian repeated a bit more confidently.
"Yeah."
"Two-Bit Mathews and Steve Randle?" Her eyes widened. "You're joking."
"I swear to god that's them."
"What's the problem?" Candy asked.
"If they see us, we might not be able to make it out of here," I told her.
"And that's a bad thing?" Red asked.
"Yeah, I love them both but those boys can talk your ear off," Mom said.
"And it'll make leaving even harder," Lillian added.
We all watched like stalkers as Steve stomped out his cigarette while Two-Bit pointed over at Mom's car in the parking lot.
Mom turned back as she said, "shit, they know we are here."
While her back was turned, Steve and Two both looked at the door and Two did a double-take when he saw us through the window. He put his finger up to his lips and walked like a sneaky cartoon character up to the window and he put his face against it, smushing his skin until it flattened out against the glass. He had a crazed look on his face that he froze until Mom turned back around.
Mom jumped back from fright with her hands coming up to her mouth to stop a scream that escaped her throat. Two's eyes widened and he laughed manically while Steve was busting a rib behind him.
Steve opened the door and walked up to us with Two behind him.
"You didn't tell us you were comin' here. We woulda joined ya," Steve said.
"Are they makin' pretty girls pay for food now?" Two asked playfully. My great-grandfather is such a playboy. "Ya know, if I worked here that wouldn't fly with me. Count on that."
Steve nodded toward Lillian and asked, "who's your friend?"
"This is just a friend from school. Lillian, this is Two-Bit and Steve. Guys, this is Lillian," Mom introduced.
"Lillian. You know, Bri here has talked about you before." Two walked up to Lillian and he leaned against the wall to try to act cool.
"She has?" Lillian asked.
"I have?" Mom also asked.
"Yup. She didn't mention how pretty your eyes are." He winked. He fixed the collar of his favorite red Hawaiian shirt and smoothed out a wrinkle in the front.
I was surprised to see Lillian appear to fold for this guy. Maybe it's the generational difference, but it felt like a cheap shot to me. I might know him a little too well now, because he flirts with anything with boobs. Especially if they're blonde.
"Oh, barf." Steve rolled his eyes.
"Say, there's a rumble tonight. You guys wanna come? It's just skin, no knives because I know you don't like to come to those, Bri," Two asked.
"Oh, I don't know—"
"You can bring your friend if you'd like," Two said and he flashed a smile at Lillian.
"Yeah, I know Soda would really appreciate it if you came. It would mean an awful lot to him," Steve added.
Mom smiled at them and finally said, "sure, yeah. I'll come."
"Oh, hot dog!" Steve exclaimed excitedly. "I'll tell Soda. He'll be mighty pleased."
"And you're comin' too, right?" Two asked Lillian.
"I'll try," she said.
"Have you ever been to one?" Two asked her.
"Can't say that I have."
"Its real cool." Two flexed the side of his mouth and started speaking in a 1940's film accent. "We get all boozed up and we pummel the Socs into the ground, see? Then we rustle them up and tie them to trees and swing at 'em like piñatas."
"Oh, I get it. You want us to come see your ass get whipped?" Lillian asked jokingly, making herself giggle.
Two stared at her admiringly. "She's got jokes now."
Seeing them together, it finally hit me. I know her. Well, I know of her. That's my great-grandmother. Lillian is my great-grandmother. I don't know why, or how. I didn't recognize her at first because I've only seen photos of her and Two so it didn't click until I saw them together. She must have some secrets of her own... or maybe she doesn't even know it yet. I'm just going to keep my mouth shut about it.
"What about you three, huh? Goldie? You gonna fight tonight?" Steve asked and faked a punch to my arm.
I figured that Mom was lying. There was no way she would stay here tonight. If she did, I think all of us knew that she probably would never leave. I copied her by saying, "yeah, I can."
"You'll get better and better every rumble. Red and Candy can hang with the other girlfriends, just like Bri. Evie will be there too," Steve said.
We met Evie a few times. Not a whole lot though. She was never at the Curtis house, but Steve usually went to go see her. She always went to the rumbles or the parties that Steve and Soda liked to throw. I know that she was pretty good friends with Mom though.
"We were just about to eat. Wanna join us? You guys probably ate already, huh? I'll buy," Steve offered.
"Yeah, we really have to go. It was great meeting you both," Lillian said.
"You too." Steve nodded in her direction.
Two smiled at her and watched her walk away. She headed straight to the car. I was gonna follow her too, and I think Candy and Red were about to too but Mom didn't move, so neither did we.
"You guys go on ahead, I'll catch up," Mom said, dismissing us basically.
"Bye, Steve. Bye, Two," I said softly. I held the door open for my siblings who also said their goodbyes for the last time and we all headed for the car.
When we were settled inside, Lillian asked, "where's Bri?"
"She's talking to the guys," I told her.
"Why?"
"I don't know," I replied. "Probably saying goodbye."
It wasn't very much longer that we had to wait for Mom to come out to the car. She started the car, and she waved her hand and I realized she was waving at Two. He disappeared into the darkness of the restaurant, while Mom slowly inched out of the parking lot.
"Wow, he's even more funny in person," Lillian said with a dream-like voice.
"You like him?" Mom asked.
"Yeah, I do. It's weird, I felt like I knew him forever."
"I know exactly what you mean."
"Those were the guys you've spent the last year with?" Lillian asked.
Mom nodded as she slowly drove out of the parking lot. "A couple of them."
"It must be hard to leave, huh?"
"You have no idea," Mom chuckled. "We can always visit I guess."
"I think I'm done with time traveling for a long time," she said. We all looked at her with annoyed expressions on our faces.
Red gave Mom directions on how to get to the apartment complex that we popped up in. He pointed to the fire escape that we had to sneak down in order not to get caught the last time. Hopefully we can get to 2038 without a hitch.
"Are we gonna have to go up the fire escape again?" Candy asked.
"Yeah. I've got everything already set, we just need to get up there," Lillian said as she unbuckled and stepped out of the car.
I got out of the car and squinted my eyes through the sun as I looked up at the window we escaped from. "I just hope he didn't lock the window."
"I didn't think about that," Candy mumbled.
With nothing else to do, Red led us up the fire escape until we reached the right apartment. I was carrying all the bags of stuff my siblings couldn't part from in the 60's. By the time we got to the top, my arms were tired and I waited patiently for Candy to carefully push the window open. There was a collective sigh of relief when we saw it was not locked.
The room looked exactly the same as it did the year before. It didn't seem like anyone was home, but the bedroom door was closed so we couldn't be too sure.
Lillian quietly set the Time Machine down on the floor, and whispered for all of us to gather around it. She held up the metal headband, which we all gripped with one hand, making a tight circle of hands while we also hugged bags of clothes to ourselves.
"Ready?" Lillian asked, setting her fingers on the final switch.
"Re—" we all started to say, but was interrupted by the phone ringing ominously.
We all froze, because grunting was followed by the old-school shrill of the telephone. The bedroom door swung open to reveal the grizzly man who was here the year before. He yawned, and all of our jaws fell to the floor.
He was wearing loose denim jeans, and a black and red plaid lumberjack flannel, with black suspenders. His brown curly beard had grown out tremendously since we saw him last, and a pair of black framed glasses balanced on his nose. His pale arms were covered in a blanket of brown arm hair, and he was in desperate need of a haircut.
He saw us, a little cult around a futuristic object in his living room, and we knew that we were toast. The phone continued to ominously ring, which made the hair stand up on the back of our necks.
"We are ready, we are ready," Mom nearly screamed as the man started charging at us, and yelling at us to get out of his apartment and rightfully threatening us. "Flip the switch! Flip—"
She was interrupted by Lillian flipping the switch, and the man froze from the bright light that filled the apartment. I covered my eyes with my free hand until the light was gone.
"Are we back?" Red asked.
I uncovered my eyes and blinked profusely to try to get my vision back to 100%. What I saw was a familiar messy attic, with one group of children.
"I'll never get used to that," Candy said, opening her eyes as well.
"Is this where you were taken from?" Lillian asked.
"Yeah," I said, looking around and seeing our piles of stuff that we left a year ago... I mean, minutes ago.
"We're home." Candy sighed with relief.
"So, we are never going to see them again?" Red asked.
"Depends." Mom shrugged.
"On what?" Red asked.
"On who is still alive," Candy stated morbidly.
"We should probably check to see if everything is the same before we leave you here," Lillian suggested.
"You're right," I said, heading over to the ladder that leads down to the house. "Wanna come?"
"Is anyone supposed to be home?" Lillian asked.
"Just my Mom," I answered.
"And Dad," Candy enlightened, "I remember he came home right before we found the Time Machine."
"Can't we say they're our friends?" Red said.
"Remember? We were all grounded when we got stuck up here cleaning the attic," I reminded him.
"Maybe it would be best if we stayed up here," Lillian said.
"No, no, Lillian. Can we please just check out their house?" Mom pleaded. "We can wait for their parents to leave or something."
I noticed that Mom hasn't told Lillian that we are her children, so she probably doesn't want her to know. At least not yet. Lillian contemplated for a second before agreeing. "I want to see it too."
One by one, first with me, Candy, then Red, we walked down the steps of the ladder to see if the coast was clear.
Mom was in the kitchen, finishing up the sandwiches. Dad was fiddling with the holographic tablet on the couch. Our house is a lot bigger and cleaner than I remember. We would definitely be considered Socs.
"Hi Mom, hi Dad," I greeted.
"Goldie!" Current-day Mom greeted with a smile on her face.
It was weird seeing my parents again, 20 years older. No, it might be more weird that the younger version of my mother is hiding up in the attic.
My mom's hair was down, her curls bouncing on her back as she walked. She was wearing a pale green button up shirt tucked into a grey pencil skirt that manipulated the green to come out of her eyes. She only puts on subtle makeup, but it makes her look flawless. Her black belt with silver buckle separated the garments. She is a criminal psychologist. I used to ask her why she decided that career, and she told me it was because she wanted to stand up for the underdog and get into the minds of bad guys to stop them. It made sense to me then, but it's clear to me now. She was talking about Johnny, Dally, Pony, and all the other greasers out there traumatized by the psychotic acts of others. She wanted to protect them. She had a work emergency that morning so she hadn't had the time to take off her black heels. This trip to 1965 made me realize that I need to appreciate her more. Appreciate the amazing woman she has become, and everything she has done for me.
"Goldie," current-day Dad cleared his throat. He looked at me with his thick eyebrows raised, "almost done with the attic?"
Dad usually works over the weekend. He wore a white button up with a colorful tie, and a jacket that matches his pants. It's usually a solid grey, or sometimes it's a stylish plaid or blue. He kept his hair the same from 1965, just without the grease. And much more cleaned up. The only difference from 1965 to now is the salt and pepper that was beginning to grow into his hair, the stubble he lets grow out until my mom makes him shave it all off again, and the introduction of crows feet by his eyes. He's eyes still danced the same, which reminded me that no matter what age he is, he will always be my dad.
"Y-Yeah," I stammered.
Not even close.
"Good. I want to lift your grounding so we can go for dinner with Dally tomorrow," he said.
"Dally?" I asked with my eyebrows raised. Dally is still alive?
"Yeah?" Dad looked confused.
"Like, Uncle Dally?"
"Yeah," Dad chuckled. "What's the matter?"
"Nothing," I said breathlessly.
"Hungry? Made some lunch for you kids," Mom said. "It's in the kitchen. Sandwiches and iced tea. Come and get it."
Mom walked away from the kitchen and sat on the top edge of the couch right next to our dad. He looked up, and she leaned down and planted a kiss on him.
"There's also cake in the fridge," Dad added. There's always came in the fridge, and now I know why.
Candy and Red went straight into the kitchen, but I hung back. My parents looked nearly the same as they did when they were teenagers. What's their secret? Apparently it's time travel. And now, it's Dad that doesn't belong here in 2038 as a middle aged man.
"What are those?" I asked, looking at the tall vase full of white roses on the kitchen island.
"White roses, for your mom," Dad said. "Whenever I see white roses, I think of her. They're her favorite."
"Yeah, I know," I said softly. I was the one who told you that.
Without saying anything, Mom got up and walked into her and Dads bedroom. Dad got up and said, "I'm going to take a leak", then he walked to the upstairs bathroom.
I rushed to the attic and summoned for Lillian and Teenage-Mom to come down now that my parents were gone. They jumped down the ladder, and we gave them a quick tour of our house.
We showed them all the technology we had, which included the doorbell system, the Scene-Screen, the voice activated fridge, how we grocery shop, and started to explain how we shop for our clothes now that shopping malls are dead.
"Damn, this place is gorgeous." Teenage-Mom beamed, "I do pretty well for myself."
"What?" Lillian asked.
We were so close to ushering then back up the ladder to return to their own time when Mom came out of her bedroom.
"Oh, hello?" Mom said. "I thought that a universal rule of grounding is no friends over?"
"Sorry, Mom," I said, "I didn't want to say no."
She walked up to Lillian, and Mom and stuck her well-manicured hand out. "I don't think we have met, I'm Mrs. Curtis."
As soon as Mom said that, she froze. Her hand slowly sunk to her side as it clicked who these girls were.
"I'm... oh," she said, darting her eyes to Teenage-Mom.
"What?" Lillian asked. She turned to Teenage-Mom and said, "did you know about this?!"
Teenage-Mom nodded and said, "I didn't think we were going to meet... me."
"Mrs. Curtis?" Lillian repeated, piecing it together.
"Lillian?" Mom asked. "I haven't seen you in forever!" And she wrapped her in a hug.
Lillian was first caught off guard, probably confused on why she was hugging a stranger. She was just an older version of her best friend, not a stranger. She hugged back, but Mom was hugging tighter. I don't think Lillian knows that she is not in her life anymore.
"What are you doing here?" Mom asked after they released from their hug.
"We really wanted to see 2038, I'm sorry." Teenage-Mom said.
"Hey, honey, we need more soap," Dad's voice called as he made his way downstairs, shaking the water off his hands. He stopped when he saw Lillian and Teenage-Mom and glared at us, "I thought grounding implied no friends?"
"That's what I said," Mom said, but her smile never left her face.
"I'm Soda," he introduced, too focused on his holographic tablet and not on the people he was talking to.
"Soda, honey," Mom said, clearing her throat.
"What?" He asked and looked up. Mom tilted her head toward Lillian and Teenage-Mom, which caught his attention. He turned to them, and his eyes widened.
"What the hell?" He said, setting the tablet on the kitchen island and walking over to our rendezvous.
Candy and Red walked over to us, carrying their lunches and handed me mine. I was too caught up in the moment, so I set my lunch down on the island.
He walked right up to Teenage-Mom and said, "Bri?"
"Soda?" She replied with a smile.
Dad's back was towards me, but he scooped Teenage-Mom in a hug and she hugged back until Mom chuckled and he put her down.
"Sorry, darlin', I got excited," he said. Then he turned to Lillian and asked, "Lillian?"
She beamed and he hugged her too. How did he know who Lillian was?
"Wait..." Dad asked, "should we be doing this in front of the k-i-d-s?"
"We can spell kids, Dad," Candy chuckled.
"We actually came here with them," Lillian told him. "Do you remember?"
Mom shook her head no, but Teenage-Mom said, "just think. Who do you remember living with in 1965?"
"Well, it was Soda, Darry, and Ponyboy, obviously," she said. "Of course everyone else stayed over multiple nights. But there were these three..." it finally clicked. "That was you guys?"
We nodded. "Yep."
"Oh, now I remember," Mom said. "Who else knew?"
"No one," I said.
"Besides that store clerk from a few months ago," Candy reminded us. "He either figured it out or thought we were paying with fake money."
"You knew?" Soda asked Mom, "And you didn't tell me?"
"Well, to be fair, you were never supposed to know that I was from 2017 in the first place." Mom shrugged. "Let alone be allowed to stay with me."
"That's true, that's true..." he nodded.
"How did you find out?" Lillian asked.
"It was funny, Goldie actually called me. We were in the living room, and I could feel my phone buzzing in my pocket. I usually didn't have my phone on me because I was afraid that the guys would see it, but for some reason I had it. He looks me dead in the eye and says, 'I'm either being ignored, or no one is home... yet'. As soon as he hung up, the ringing stopped. That's how I knew that he knew," Mom said.
"Glory, I remember that. I had no idea," Dad said.
"That was the point," Teenage-Mom said with a chuckle.
"So," Red asked Dad, "how are you here?"
"Simple: I followed her," he said, and gazed at Mom lovingly.
"How?" Teenage-Mom asked. "I just left you in 1966."
"It's from that Time Machine you left under my bed. Remember?" Dad reminded her.
"I left the Time Machine under your bed?" Teenage-Mom clenched her teeth.
"And you find it?" Lillian asked him.
"And get it to work?" I added.
"Steve was a great mechanic," Dad said.
"Was?" Teenage-Mom asked.
"Okay!" Mom shut us all up. "Honey, I don't think you coming to 2017 has happened for them. You're a day early."
"You come to 2017 tomorrow? To our tomorrow?" Lillian asked.
"Yeah. Is that a problem?" Dad asked with his eyebrows raised.
"No, no, I guess not," Lillian said. "Does it work out? Do we need to go back and snag the Time Machine from under the bed?"
"No!" Teenage Mom, Mom, me, Dad, Red and Candy all shouted. Basically everyone besides Lillian.
"If you remove the Time Machine from my bed, I never come to 2017 and be with Bri," Dad stated. "And Goldie and Red and Candy are never born."
"What he said." I backed him up. I don't need Lillian to remove me from existence.
"I knew we forgot something." Lillian muttered under her breath. "Fine, we won't go back for it."
"Thank you," I said with an exhale of relief.
"What about Lillian?" Teenage Mom asked. Lillian shot her a look, but Teenage Mom told her that she can cover her ears if she didn't want to listen.
"Honestly, we don't know," Mom said honestly, "she disappeared a bit before Candy was born."
"Oh," Lillian said, looking down at her shoes.
"I'm sorry, Lily, I wish I knew," Mom said. I think she does know, but just can't say anything.
Lillian sighed and said, "me too."
"I'm sure you're fine," Teenage-Mom reassured.
"You'll be fine," I promised.
"Do you know?" Teenage-Mom asked me.
I clicked my tongue and said, "I think so."
"I'm sorry, I can't get past this. Did you say that we were getting dinner with Dally tonight?" Candy spoke up.
"Yeah. I told you guys about it last week," Mom said.
"I thought he was dead," Red said.
"Yeah, me too," I added.
Mom and Dad looked at each other in confusion. Dad said, "no, he's very much still alive."
"Was he dead before you guys went back to 1965?" Mom asked.
I nodded. "Yeah, he died of liver failure in 2022."
"You guys must have done something to keep that from happening," Teenage-Mom spoke up.
I wonder if my talks with him helped steer him in the right direction. Honestly, I'm shocked he is still alive now. I wonder what it was I said that actually stayed with him. I wish I got to grow up with him as an uncle, I'm curious who he had become. Was he still a ladies man? Does he still have a bunch of kids and ex-wives? I guess I'll find out soon.
"We should probably be going, we are learning too much," Lillian said, tugging at Teenage-Mom's arm.
"Yeah, good idea," she said. "Say, do you have any advice for us?"
"Don't eat the fondue from the 2022 New Years Eve Party," Mom chuckled. She brings it up every New Years Eve. She was at a friend's house for the holiday and a cockroach had fallen into the fondue that she almost ate. "Trust me."
Dad stepped by Mom and hook his arm with hers and stared lovingly into her eyes, tucking some of her loose brown hair behind her ear and said, "one big lesson I learned from living in such different decades is hold onto what you love, and never let go. I don't know where I'd be if I didn't have Bri."
"You're too sweet," Mom said, standing on her tip-toes for a kiss.
"You'd be dead," Red said bluntly.
Dad nodded and said, "or a very healthy 90 year old."
"With the amount you were smoking? I highly doubt it," Candy giggled.
"Easy." Dad frowned playfully. "I didn't smoke that much. Unlike Dally or Steve."
"No, honey, she's right. You'd be dead," Mom said to him softly.
"Huh?" He asked, his eyebrows coming together in confusion.
"You know about the Vietnam War, right?"
"Yeah, was—was I supposed to die in the war?!" Dad asked with realization falling over his face. "And you didn't tell me?"
"Let's talk about it later," Mom chuckled and gave him a kiss which made Dad fold.
He kissed her back and said, "fine, okay."
"Come on, Bri," Lillian said, walking backward towards the attic ladder.
Teenage-Mom began to follow her, but said, "I can't believe I can't see you guys as soon as I get home."
"I'm born three years after you get back, so you'll see me soon," I said with a chuckle.
"But I can't talk about it for another 21 years!" She pouted.
"Bri!" Lillian snapped.
"Yeah, okay I really have to go," she chuckled. She waved us goodbye, before scampering up the ladder after Lillian.
In the attic I could hear them muttering as they tried to figure out the Time Machine to get back to 2017. I heard Teenage-Mom ask, "where should we put this thing when we get home?"
Lillian's quiet voice answered, "I have an old hope chest we can put it in. It has a lock and everything."
Teenage-Mom replied, "perfect. I can find an old blanket or a tarp or something to wrap it in so no one can find it for a while."
My family was silent for a few seconds, until a bright white flash of light shined out the hole in the ceiling that led up to the attic, and in a blink, it was gone.
Candy, Red, and I looked at each other and ran full force to the ladder. We fought each other to see who got to go up first. Candy won, so she scampered up until she could peak her head in. I was close behind, being able to stand on a lower rung of the ladder and still be able to look in. Red was last, but he hopped on my back so he could see the attic.
Our bags of clothes and other belongings still littered the attic floor, but Mom, Lillian, Mom's stuff and the Time Machine were all gone. Nor was there proof that they ever existed.
We slowly and solemnly climbed down the ladder and to the floor.
"I never thought I'd get the chance to experience time travel again," Mom said, "or see Lillian ever again."
"I just realized that we named our children after the three kids who lived with us for a year," Dad chuckled, "what if we remembered and had their names changed so when they came back their names were like Liz, Herold, and Calvin?"
"Soda, I told you that we were never going to name our daughter Lizard," Mom said.
"You were going to name me Lizard?" Candy asked.
"No," Mom answered while Dad said, "yes."
Mom shot a glance at Dad, but her playfully annoyed expression softened to one of pure adoration. Dad was quick to look at her, already smitten. I'm sure they were reminded of their wild and carefree teenage years, and when they first met. It was like watching my parents fall in love with each other again.
"You guys have had a hard, long year," Mom said, heading to the kitchen and grabbing the cake from the fridge. "Should we show them the book? Or the movie?"
Mom began dishing us all a slice of cake while we were all polishing off our lunch of ice tea and sandwiches.
"Book," Dad immediately said, followed by, "I'm old school."
"I'll go get it," Mom said and skipped off to her room.
"So, Dad," I said, "what did you think of us? You know, in 1965?"
He sat down in a bar stool and rested his elbow on the island. "Honestly? Even if it's brutal?"
"Yes." All three of us said.
As Dad talked, I walked around the island to grab my slice of cake, and I grabbed Dad's, and Red and Candy followed me, grabbing their own. Candy grabbed the last one, saving it for Mom.
"Goldie, I thought you were weak because you weren't a good fighter. But I realize now that your Mom and I raised you well, not to fight but take your emotions out in healthy ways. Candy, I thought you were sweet and quiet. Red, I didn't really think about you too much. I just thought you were really young. Like an little brother. But you all were there for me during my most vulnerable time, and I'll be forever grateful."
Before we had time to be lovey-dovey and awkward, Mom interrupted us. She came out wearing comfier clothes of sweatpants and an old Beatles shirt she has had my whole life. She smiled at us with the book in her hand. She said, "I found it."
She was headed towards the couch, so we met her there. I handed Dad his slice of cake, while Candy set the extra slice on Mom's lap. Mom held the old, well-loved book in her hands. Red sat on one side of her, with Candy on the other. Dad and I stood behind the couch, leaning on our elbows, looking over Mom's shoulder.
"It's like a book-book. A paper book," Candy said.
"You oughta be used to these by now," Dad chuckled, taking a bite of his cake.
"I didn't know they still existed." Candy shrugged.
"They don't," Dad said, "this book was one of the first ones published back in the 60s. I bought it to surprise your Uncle Pony, who wrote it, but I ended up keeping it. This book is over seventy years old. I can't believe it has been that long."
"Are we going to be in it this time?" I asked.
"Probably," Mom said. "When I first read the book in middle school, I wasn't in it. But when I got back to 2017, I was."
"Speaking of Uncle Pony, we should go to the Nightly Double again. Like old times," I suggested.
Dad smiled at me and said, "I think we should too."
"Who made this cake?" Red asked.
"I did," Dad said.
"I could tell. You still put way too much sugar into this."
"Okay, wise guy, next time you make it," Dad said and messed up Red's hair with his palm.
"Ready?" Mom asked, licking her finger to help her flip through the pages until she found the first real page of the book.
"Ready," we all said. I was really excited to read this.
"Okay," she began, "when I stepped out into the bright sunlight from the darkness of the movie house, I had only two things on my mind; Paul Newman and a ride home..."