AUTHOR NOTE: March 20, 2004. My apologies it has taken me forever to update this story. I never once lost sight of it, but not having a functional computer for over a month didn't help any. LOL. You won't have to wait until May for anything more from me.
October 26th, 1985.
11:00 AM.
Shutting the mailbox door slowly and with a squeak bad enough to need a can of WD-40, Marty McFly let the envelope with his band's demo tape find its way into the dark slot. There was no turning back now. The worst that could happen was that Chrysalis Records wouldn't like it – as the teen vocally feared the day before, which now seemed like another lifetime in the past.
The best that could happen – well, that was limitless to Marty! A chance for The Pinheads to play at some of the local clubs in the area, possibly a mention in some music magazines, or who knows? The chance to get signed at 17 years old, on the road to performing right next to his rocker idols.
He didn't want to get his hopes up too high for the latter (always expecting they would blow it off as just another wannabe band), but the very idea that a man could create a way to travel through time began to make him realize anything was possible.
Standing on the street with his left hand pushing against the side of the rusted old mailbox, he wiped a bit of sweat from his face with his right, just lost in thought. After a long wait, he mumbling to himself and broke the silence. "Geez, what the h*ll? You've really done it, McFly. So, what's next, just sit at home and wait for 'em to tell me it s*cked. Man, Bryan Adams is still only like 25, and the guy is world famous! My hero, David Lee Roth, is already 30. Like any of that's gonna happen to me."
His thoughts were interrupted by shuffling footsteps, which made him look up and come back to reality all of a sudden. The familiar, soft-spoken voice asked, "Marty, did you mail in your tape?"
Looking as if he already hesitated his less than a minute-old decision, he quietly said, "Yeah, dad. I don't know, though," before changing the subject. "So, I take it that he wasn't at home again," said Marty, with obvious sarcasm.
"Yes, it seems that way. He didn't answer the door and I didn't hear anything coming from the house. He should be back soon, though."
Marty got a bit frustrated again, looking down. "Don't tell me you're gonna wait for the loser to stumble in from another drinking binge, are you?"
"No, that won't be necessary. I just put the papers under the doormat and put a note on the door. We can go now," said George, already getting on the driver's side of his wife's car.
"Thank God, let's hope so," said Marty to himself, as he did the same.
The borderline luxury vehicle was beginning its 3-mile trip to JFK Drive to drop Marty off. The first couple minutes were spent in silence, which was not unusual for occasions like this. Marty didn't talk as much to his family about things anymore, mostly worried his mom would give him a talk about how bad or unpopular something was with her. He just had lost a lot of respect for his father over the last several years, so tended to avoid talking with him just because they didn't have that much in common anyway.
However, no matter how gutless the man sitting next to him was, the youngest McFly did love him. He was his father, after all. So he spoke up about something on his mind.
"Hey, dad, can I ask you something?" Hardly waiting for a breath, he continued on, "Why do you think mom is so against me in everything sometimes? I mean, how am I ever gonna go on in life without her stopping to tell me how she never did it and how I'm such a troublesome boy and all that?"
George could actually relate to this very well, since he, often times, was the source of his wife's bickering as well.
"Well, son, I know she gets a bit angry some of the time. I suppose she is just worried about things and doesn't want to see you or your brother and sister get hurt in life. Maybe it's all she knows to do about it."
"Yeah, but, I," Marty paused, contemplating in his mind whether or not to be hones with Jennifer – whom he really was going up to the lake with tonight. Nah, maybe some other time. He resumed with a slightly easier topic, "I'm just wondering, what if Chrysalis likes the band's music? I just think she's gonna sit me down and tell me how rock and roll is ruining young people's lives or something, you know?"
"I'll try to talk to your mother about it, but she may not change her mind. That's just not what she's used to, she doesn't know about things like that very well. It's not from her time, maybe," called George weakly, looking straight ahead as he spoke.
Marty sensed that was only half the story. "Yeah, but, c'mon, what about Chuck Berry? That guy wrote some great tunes, and he's older than you guys. He was big when you were just a little older than me, right? How could she put him down?"
George knew about how his wife really was before they met, but didn't really feel comfortable to divulge that kind of information yet, but didn't want to lie either. "We're all different people, that's all I know of."
Not satisfied with the typical responses he was getting, he asked, "So, we know the age thing doesn't matter as much, but I, you know, I worry about my age sometimes, you know? I almost feel like I'm getting old, ya know?" he said with a chuckle.
"You're not old, Marty. You have 30 years to catch up to your mother and I."
"I know, but, I mean, look at anyone who's famous and how fast they did it. All the older rock stars who are having comebacks were originally big in the 60's when they were younger. And, the newer guys are all not that much older than me. Tom Petty dropped out of high school to be in his first band, worked really hard and had that song 'Breakdown' come out when he was in his mid 20's. Even that was almost 10 years. The way I'm going, I'll be 40 before I have my first hit."
His father was not the hippest guy in the world, musically, but at least he knew a few things, and would even like the occasional rock song now and than, unlike his mom. Still, Marty wasn't sure how many of these guys his dad even knew about, let alone liked.
"I'm not as familiar with music as you are, but, are you sure you want to go with it? I know how you'll feel if another band gets chosen or has more big songs than you. Why not just work as a producer, maybe, and not have to deal with things that could hurt you?"
Here went that same speech again. The one which he would always end up listening to and would be depressed. Before the conversation could go on, it would have to e put on hold for awhile. Not even noticing it, the car pulled into the Burger King parking lot to let Marty out.
"Oh, yeah, I know, but – we can talk about this later, I guess. I'll be back in a couple hours before I gotta go to Chris' place. See you later," said Marty as he swung the door shut and walked towards his friend's house, eager to know about his future.
As Marty went to Doc's door, his father went to get some fast food. He frequented this Burger King, no doubt in part, due to the fact that his other son, Dave, worked there for the past 6 years. George didn't go too many places on a regular basis. He never had too many friends. However, this was one of his few hangouts, and most people knew him.
On this particular Saturday mid-morning, the place was averagely busy with hungry lunchtime customers, but there were 3 registers open. George went up to one, recognizing someone behind the counter.
"Oh, hey Ralph," he said to Dave's best friend.
"Hiya Mr. McFly. I heard about your car last night. Sorry about it, pal."
Assuming Dave told him, George simply nodded agreeably before ordering. "I think I'll have a number 4. And, gimmie a Coke," after a pause and setting a 5 dollar bill on the counter, he continued, "Diet."
Meanwhile, Doc answered the knocking on his door.
"Marty!" he said happily.
"Yo, Doc, I'm so glad you're okay after last night," said Marty as he did something a bit unusual for him. He actually hugged the scientist, having been in fear for both their lives last night.
Doc returned the favor, and within a short time, he came in, shutting the door behind him. It was clear something else was on Emmett's mind, though. Before Marty could ask what it was, the information was given to him.
"Marty," he began, with a slightly irritated, yet not angry look, "listen, kid, I'm sorry to begin with this, I really don't know if this is the correct time to discuss such a matter, but I have to ask, what in the name of Thomas Edison happened to the amplifier?"
This was one of the things he hoped wouldn't come, but knew he'd have to face it sometime.
"Yeah, I'm really sorry about it. It-it just kinda h-happened, I had no idea anything was wrong with it, I just was doing what I normally would and it blew up."
"That's okay, there's more important things to worry about in the world, but could you just tell me if something like that happens again? I'm serious." From his voice, anyone could tell he was too.
"Yeah, I can understand that. Sorry. What happened was I had just turned it on, plugged in and got blasted back into the shelves over there. That's why everything is cleaned up. Than you called, and I was kinda just caught off guard."
"It's forgotten and done. Now, would you like me to tell you about my time traveling experience last night? Or, to be precise, early this morning."
"Of course. Did you get away from the terrorists? What happened to them?" he asked with concern.
"Yes, and gathering from future evidence, that won't be a further problem. They had an accident as they tried to pursue me and your future self even assured me they were still imprisoned."
Not meaning to get off the subject, that caught his attention. "Oh, speaking of that, how was I like in the future? I'm I a rich rock star or do I look like an old man or anything?"
Slowing way down, because much would need to be explained, he motioned Marty toward a wooden chair in his living room, near the jukebox.
"Marty. Sit down, there's a lot to talk about. I think you'd get along with your future self. He's," Doc hesitated a bit. "Still not unlike you are. You have a family as well, but I'll get to that later. Let me start from the beginning."
Marty listened intently.
12:30 PM.
"That's amazing. Jesus Christ, seeing 2010, and me. Does he – I – remember you going to the future and having this conversation now?" said Marty with enthusiasm after more than an hour of conversation had gone by. Most of which was Doc talking and Marty just nodding or throwing in the occasional question or comment.
Of course, there were a few things Doc had to be very careful not to let his young friend know, such as how he would eventually get married to one of Marty's Junior College teachers in only about 2 ½ years!
He was also careful not to tell him too much about details of his future, such as where he worked or that he & Jennifer would get married. Mostly it consisted of things such as the Café 80's and the beginning of flying cars. He also told Marty that he, himself would still be alive at 90 years old. However, he did do his best to answer that last question.
"Well, your older self didn't completely understand it either, since he didn't remember what I told him about my trip to the future. He recalled me leaving for the future and coming back, but that part of his memory was unclear. And, theoretically speaking, how would you know details of something that hadn't happened yet?"
Expecting an answer along the lines of English, Doc!, he realized he should make the point clearer.
"So, what I relayed to your older self was that because I had not yet returned from 2010 to 1985, that part of the future was still not quite written. I would assume the conversation he and I had after I was supposed to return were just like this. In fact, in 25 years, chances are you will be him, or an extremely close copy."
Marty tried his hardest to understand. Some of it made sense, but much did not.
"Well, hey, what about Einstein? Why did he disappear for the minute he was gone, but you didn't?"
"I had a theory that it was because I never intended to send him back. Why would I do that just for one minute? If that did occur, I believe Einstein would've seen his future self. However, since I had every intention of returning, I arrived in a future based on my coming back. But, as I said, it was still in flux, that's why that part of your future self's memory was blank."
Fearing if a 25 years-older version of Marty didn't fully understand time travel, neither would the one from the current time. "Listen, though, I just discovered time travel myself, I don't hold any blame if you're having trouble comprehending anything. By the way, I thought you mentioned something last week to me about going up to the lake, right?"
So lost in time travel concepts and the idea of how his life would change, he almost forgot for a minute about his girlfriend. Rising out of his chair, he abruptly turned to Doc, who was looking at what was left of the amp. "My God, holy sh*t, Jennifer! That's right. I was gonna go up there with her tonight, but because Dad's pain in the a*s supervisor, Biff, he wrecked the car last night, so I can't."
"Yes, I recall Biff Tannen as a teenager without too many fond memories myself. You never said that last night, but, I suppose there wasn't time with everything else concerning the time machine," he said, thinking of all the times Biff and his friends toilet papered his mansion.
'Yeah, now the truth of my real life is starting to set back in. Basically, it went like this. Biff and dad were at work, Biff's car was in the shop, but he wanted to go out, so he took dad's car. Of course, he's too much of a wimp to say no to that. So, Biff gets drunk and crashes head first into some old man in a van. Great guy, huh? Not only did he total dad's car, but pretty much ruined any chance I had to be alone with Jen for once."
"Is there any other way for you to arrange getting up there? What about your friends in the band? Alex and Chris both have cars, right?"
"Yeah, but that's where the problem kinda is. Mom would never in a million years let me go up there with her. So, I fibbed and said me and the guys were going on a camping trip up there. I don't wanna lie, but getting past mom is like getting past the crowd at a Who concert," he joked, referring to the famous incident a few years earlier.
"I've had my own experiences with her, when I first met you, in particular. I realize how she's not always very understanding or agreeable, but what if you told her it was just a special occasion. Surely your parents must have done something like that when they were a new couple."
Marty tried to get the mental picture, than just as quickly trying to get rid of it. "That's not something I wanna think of, Doc. Knowing them, though, I doubt that. Dad's too spineless to ask a girl out, and, geez, the way mom talks about that. I mean, she thinks even calling a boy is terrible," he said, doing a voice of what he remembered her saying at the dinner table the night before. "Forget about anything else. If she knew we've kissed before, I think she'd physically keep me under house arrest until I'm 30."
Thinking he was probably right, the scientist still thought he'd ask again. "Are you sure you want to go behind her back. Think about that, I, myself would hate to think what happens if she found out after the fact."
"You're not kidding about that! But, hey, I snuck out to meet you last night. Imagine what would've happened if I couldn't do that?"
Knowing he was one of the most important people in Marty's life as well, he had even more of a clear picture of where he was coming from. "Well, alright, I suppose the occasional thing can't hurt. After all, what fun would life be without that, right? I could drive you both up to the lake tonight and pick you up tomorrow, if you wish. But, I just want to tell you that, hard as it may seem to believe, your mom might not always be like this."
Hardly able to contain his happiness, the teen barely heard the last sentence, and said, "Hey, thanks a lot, Doc! That's great of you to do. So, what time should I be over here?"
"Oh, is 4:00 okay?, he questioned with a straight face."
"Yeah, I'll give Jennifer another call, just to make sure she didn't make other plans." He was must about to head out the door, when something Doc said before caught his attention now. "Whoa, wait, Doc."
Emmett turned around, all ears. Marty continued, "What did you say about mom not always being as she is? Is this something about the future?"
He wasn't sure about how much he wanted to reveal about the future. Materialistic things, such as music of TV shows were passably okay in vague terms (just as long as Marty didn't try to invent them ahead of schedule!), but personal things in life could be dangerous.
Due to older Marty's lack of knowledge on the events surrounding Doc's trip to 2010, he had no idea if he was 'supposed to' have this conversation with him all along, making it a part of that 42 year-old Marty's past, or if it could somehow spawn a totally different reality. Why did time travel have to be so confusing already!?
"I can't say too much. Just that in 25 years, your mom and you, as well as other people, will get along a bit better. I cannot tell you the circle of events, but I had contact with her when I arrived in 2010. I didn't know how to use some of the futuristic technology, and I didn't want to attempt to ask anyone else about where to find you, so I went to your house, I mean, your current home, and called your future self from there. I had a brief conversation with her at the time, too."
"That's amazing, Doc, I wonder what could be different, but I guess I shouldn't ask too much, right?"
"I would tell you, but I'm just afraid if you have prior knowledge of future events, you could change them without even intending to. I'll just say this change still won't happen for several more years."
Figuring, that was all he would get, he reached for the front door, where he had been standing, deciding not to push the issue. "Still, I can't believe what I just heard. Well, I'm gonna get home now. Should we pick Jennifer up, or do you want us to both be over here together?"
"Just to make sure you don't get in trouble, we will pick her up together, but you should let her know this. I'll see you soon, Marty," called Doc, as Marty headed out of the converted garage, relieved and a lot happier than he was a couple hours ago.
