Chapter 1: The Idea

Matt kicked off his wet shoes in the general direction of the lit fireplace. He shivered as he wrapped his arms around himself. He had just let himself into the front door of his best friend’s house. Thomas Ford had known Matt since grade school and they had shared numerous adventures. However, only Denise, Thomas’s girlfriend, knew of Thomas’s current time-traveling adventure.

“Since when do we get snow in September?” Matt muttered.

Kimmi, his girlfriend of just under a year, said sarcastically, “Snow? Really? There are a few flakes intermixed with rain. There is no accumulation, and other than on your windshield, if you weren’t looking, you probably wouldn’t even see it.”

Before Matt could reply, Denise stood and said to him, “Go sit by Kimmi on the couch and warm up. I’ll get you a hot chocolate. Do you want another one, Kimmi?”

“Yeah, sure, thanks,” Kimmi replied. She took the last gulp from her mug and held it out for Denise.

Matt sat on the couch. Kimmi tossed her legs over his lap, hugged him, and gave him a prolonged kiss.

“If you try and warm him any more, I may need to be sure and boil a fresh pot of water,” said Denise with a backward glance over her shoulder.

“No need. I can have Mr. Speedy serviced faster than you can get your oil changed at a quick lube,” replied Kimmi.

As Denise turned into the kitchen she saw Kimmi slide off the couch and between Matt’s legs before tugging at his zipper. Denise laughed to herself and thought she would give them an extra minute or two even if Kimmi’s “Mr. Speedy” comment was accurate.

Denise put her and Kimmi’s mugs on the counter top and pulled a third from a cabinet. She added water to the pot on the stove and turned on the burner before she called out, “There isn’t enough water so it will take a minute.”

Matt said, “OK, no problem.” His voice cracked slightly on the last word. Denise then knew for sure that Kimmi was indeed trying to service him faster than the quick lube.

As the water boiled, Denise wondered how Thomas’s appointment with the financial advisor was going. She knew that he had come back in time and was now living the life of a twenty-something even though he had lived his life into his fifties. His knowledge of the future, and what companies would become the stalwarts of the next decade, meant he could invest without fear of losing money. But today, Denise could tell that Thomas’s interest was not fully focused on finances. She knew he was worried about the upcoming two-year anniversary of his return to the eighties. On his first anniversary he was forced to make a decision that caused him and the ones he loved a lot of pain.

Denise was pulled from her thoughts as the water began to bubble. She added a pack of hot chocolate to each mug, then the hot water, then a quick stir. She called out to the living room, “Anyone want marshmallows?”

“None for me, but Matt will take a few,” replied Kimmi. Denise thought Kimmi really must have finished him off in record time.

Denise dropped a few mini-marshmallows into Matt’s mug, then carried the three back to the living room. Kimmi was seated sideways with her legs over Matt’s lap just as she had been when Denise left. Matt had a shit-eating grin on his face and his hips were squirming as he tried to reposition his deflating member.

“Mr. Gonzalez,” Denise said as she handed Matt his mug.

Kimmi barked out a laugh. It continued when she saw Matt’s bewildered look.

“Mr. Speedy Gonzalez,” she said as she kissed Matt on the cheek.

He blushed a crimson red as his eyes went wide.

Kimmi covered for him by asking, “When is your other half due home? I hope it is soon. I am getting hungry.”

“Any minute,” Denise replied.

No sooner had Denise answered when they heard the low rumble of Thomas’s Corvette pull into the driveway. A few minutes later he let himself in the backdoor. They heard him stomp his feet before entering the living room.

“Hey there, Kimmi, Matt. This is a surprise.”

“We called to see if you wanted to get dinner,” said Matt. “Denise said you were out, but to come on over and we could go once you got home.”

“Oh, sure,” Thomas said. “Give me a couple of minutes to run some papers upstairs and we can go.”

The three waited in the living room, concentrating on finishing their newly made drinks.

When Thomas came downstairs he called from the kitchen. The others met him and dropped off their mugs in the sink before letting themselves out the back door. Matt asked, “Can we take separate cars? I have an exam in the morning and it would be faster for us to leave for the dorm from the restaurant.”

“Of course,” said Thomas. “Want to trade?”

Matt’s eyes lit up. He loved it when Thomas offered to let him drive his Corvette. It was Thomas’s second. The first was older and needed a lot of work to get running. He sold it when he went through something like a mid-life crisis and bought a Toyota. After an eventful weekend away, Denise talked him into getting another ‘Vette, but this time he went with a brand new one with all the extras.

“Are you sure you can handle the Corvette in all this snow and ice?” chided Kimmi.

Matt looked toward her with a scowl.

“I’ll explain in the car. C’mon,” Denise said to Thomas as the guys exchanged keys.

At the restaurant, Matt was afraid to look Thomas in the eye, but Thomas played it cool and gave no indication that he knew about the quickie blowjob on the couch.

Dinner was at a local diner. Thomas missed his other timeline and the amount of TexMex food available in almost every city. The tacos the diner served were a small step above Taco Bell, but nothing like what he wanted. Instead, Thomas always ordered a burger and fries.

“What exam do you have tomorrow?” asked Thomas as they dug into their food.

“It’s on O. Henry’s The Gift of the Magi,” answered Matt.

“And unlike many of his exams last year, he’s actually read the material, done the assignments, and will easily ace this test,” said Kimmi proudly.

“It doesn’t mean I don’t need to review the material one last time,” said Matt quickly.

“Yep, that’s reasonable,” said Denise. To Kimmi she asked, “How are your classes going?”

Kimmi swallowed her fries and said, “Good. I got past the overwhelming feeling that I had to know everything all at once that consumed me last year. Now I can focus on just the class material.”

“I’d ask how your classes are going, but for you two geniuses, I know you’re kicking ass,” Matt said with a mouthful of burger and a hint of jealousy.

“They are going well, yes,” said Thomas. “But now that we have mom’s house, there is a lot more work. Just the basic chores such as cleaning, cooking, and shopping takes up more time that you would expect.”

Soon after coming back to the eighties, Thomas gave his mom a slight push to go back to school and get a job at the local computer store. Within a year, his mom met and married the computer shop owner. They decided to renovate and move into his parents’ old house. They also built out the apartment over the garage for Thomas’s sister, Tammy. That left his mom’s house open for Thomas and Denise instead of another year in the dorm.

“Speaking of your mom, how are Sandy and Eddie doing?”

“Great,” answered Thomas. “They are talking about another cruise. Probably two weeks this time.”

“Two weeks! Eddie will leave the shop for that long?”

“Wow, I guess we haven’t talked in a while,” said Thomas with a shake of his head.

“Yeah, Eddie is actually opening a second location, and with the new store, he has hired a manager and two assistant managers. The two assistants will be responsible for the day-to-day oversight of each store. The manager will cover for their off times and do the staffing and inventory for both of the stores. Eddie will then be able to focus on selling, primarily to schools and businesses.”