A Second Chance – Chapter 21

Lizzie was completely stunned by David's question. She didn't know how to answer, she didn't know what to say.

As she held firmly onto the microphone, she slowly turned head towards Gordo, who was sitting right next to her. She looked straight into his eyes, to gauge his reaction, to get a sense of what he was thinking. Their eyes met for only an instant, as he quickly averted his eyes and dropped his head towards the floor.

He's so nervous, I can feel it, she thought. And I'm nervous, too . . . .

After an awkward moment of silence, he managed the courage to look up and return her gaze. He saw that she was looking at him with an odd look on her face – it was a look she often had during school when she was struggling with a difficult math problem. She looked deeply unsure of herself. But, he thought, what is she unsure about? Is she unsure about . . . him?

With that frightening thought, he nervously clasped his hands and started rubbing them together. He could hardly breathe, as his heart was caught up in his throat, and he anticipated with great fear and with urgent hope as to the nature of her response.

She gave Gordo one more quick glance, then turned to stare at the microphone. She felt torn and twisted inside, unsure of exactly whom she was talking to, unsure of everything she had ever known in her entire life. When she answered the question, she wondered, who would I be talking about, the boy sitting right next to her, or the man talking to her through the radio? It couldn't be both, that's impossible . . . . .

She didn't know what to say, but she knew she had to say something. She slowly put the microphone closer to her mouth, closed her eyes, and then softly whispered, "David, I don't even really know you, you know? So, I - I can't answer that question."

Upon hearing her answer, both David and Gordo closed their eyes in frustration. Her answer meant that she still didn't believe what they had been telling her about her future, about her tragic destiny.

"But, Lizzie, you do know me. It's me, Gordo, your best friend. I'm a little bit older than you right now, but it's still me. You believe me, don't you?" Asked David, with a clear sense of urgency in his voice.

She paused for a slight moment, gathered her self, and then said, "I really want to believe you, both of you, but you've got to understand where I'm coming from, do you know what you're trying to have me believe?" Her eyes glanced sideways towards the younger Gordo. He looked back at her with a look of deep disappointment and despair.

"Lizzie, I know it sounds crazy but –"

"David, please stop this, okay?" She said in a soft, solemn voice . "This is all so crazy and it's beginning to really upset me. I don't know who you really are, but if this is something both of you came up with to try and break up Jimmy and me, it's not going to work. All it's doing is making me feel really hurt, you know, that you and Gordo would go to such lengths to deceive me like this. It just hurts."

Silence.

David didn't know how to respond. The palpable emotions in Lizzie's voice took him by surprise, rendering him momentarily speechless.

No, this isn't going well at all. She doesn't believe me, she doesn't believe us. It's not working, she's going to go right back to Jimmy and we will have failed. And Lizzie will still be dead . . . .

With that numbing, awful thought, he felt his mind go blank and his body suddenly besieged with fear. He was paralyzed, unable to think, unable to conjure up an appropriate response. Instead, all he could say was, "I – I don't know what to say, Lizzie, I'm sorry."

Silent throughout the entire conversation, the younger Gordo suddenly felt the need to act. He could see that things were not going well, and he knew that something had to be done, now, to make Lizzie understand that they were telling her the truth. He leaned over towards her and gently grabbed the microphone from Lizzie. "Let me talk to David a for a minute."

"David?"

"Gordo?"

"Yeah, it's me. Listen, David, we've got to do something to convince Lizzie we're telling the truth. "

"I know, but what can we do? I'm all out of ideas right now, and god, I'm so tired."

"What about telling Lizzie some of the things that are going to happen in the next few years? You know, tell her something about her future."

"No good. I thought about that, but there's no way she's going to believe us right now, especially since those things won't happen for a while."

"Hey, why don't you tell her some things that you know about her that only you or I would know?"

"No, I don't think that will work, either, because you could have told me those things earlier. You know Lizzie, and just how damn smart she is, she's not going to just accept a few personal details about her as proof that I'm who I say I am."

"Yeah, I guess that's right, one thing you and I know, Lizzie sure is one smart girl, the smartest girl I've ever known," replied Gordo.

"That's right. She's still the smartest, most amazing girl I've ever known my life. I have yet to meet anyone yet quite like her."

She found herself blushing as David and Gordo both showered her with compliments. And she found herself watching and listening in amazement as the two "Gordos" went back and forth with each other, astonished with the ease and fluidity of their communication. It was as if they were telekinetically linked, as if they knew each other inside and out.

Maybe, maybe they're telling the truth, she wondered. But no, that can't be, this is just impossible, I can't be talking to two Gordos right now, I just can't be . . . .

She got up from her chair, and started to walk around the room, trying to clear her head and to figure out what was really going on. She circled the small office twice and then walked up behind Gordo, as he kept talking into the ham radio, and stood right behind him.

As she continued to listen to the two Gordos trying to figure out a way to convince her that they were telling the truth, she suddenly began to feel a real sense of affection and tenderness for Gordo, and for David. She didn't really know why, but the earnestness and passion in their voices was touching her deeply. Whether or not they were telling the truth, what she was certain of was that they both seemed to care about her immensely . . . . both Gordo, and David. . . . .

Without thinking, she placed her right hand on Gordo's shoulder, and began to gently stroke it, with a soft, loving touch.

Gordo felt Lizzie's hand on his shoulder and he immediately began to relax, his muscles in his shoulder began to loosen up, and a sense of well-being began to take over his body. He closed his eyes for a moment, and then, he had it, he had an idea. He knew how he was going to make her believe . . . .

"David, I've got it! I've got an idea!"

"What? You do? What is it? Tell me!"

"Tell me, which ham radio are you using right now?"

"Why do you want to know that?"

"Just tell, David, and I'll tell you why it's important."

"Alright. It's the 1977 Green R2D2 model."

"Great! That's the model I'm using right now. It's the same ham radio, isn't it?"

"Of course it is! It's one of a kind. Remember, we got that for five bucks at Mrs. Donner's yard sale."

"Yep, I remember. What a great deal, huh? Anyway, this ham radio is the answer! We're going to use the ham radio to convince Lizzie we're telling the truth!"

"What are you getting at, Gordo?"

"Hold on, I'll show you." He grabbed a sharpie pen from the desk and started to write something on the left side of the ham radio. "David, take a look on the left side of the radio. Do you see anything?"

Lizzie watched with great curiosity and fascination. What in the world is Gordo doing?

As Gordo kept writing on the radio with his pen, David responded, "Hey, I do see something. Ohmigod, something's being written on the radio as I'm sitting here. Hold on, I can make out the letters. The letters are a little faded, but I can see what they're spelling out. The words are spelling out to say . . . . hello, David!"

Lizzie peered over at the radio, looked at what Gordo had scratched onto the side. He had used his pen to write two words on the side of the radio. Those two word were "hello David."

She gasped. Ohmigosh, how did they just do that?

David spoke again. "That's brilliant Gordo. You just wrote that on the radio, didn't you?"

"Yup!" He said triumphantly.

"Brilliant, absolutely brilliant. Anything you write on that radio means its also going to show up on my radio, since it's the same radio. Man, I'm so glad I kept this baby, I almost thought about getting rid of it last year!"

Gordo turned around to face Lizzie. Smiling broadly, he asked, "Now do you believe us?"

"I – I don't know how you guys just did that, but, but, I'm still not sure, I'm so sorry . . . ." she said. No matter what sort of proof was given, she just couldn't get herself to believe what was going on. . . . because the truth was frightening to her. She didn't want to believe, because that would mean that the awful things Gordo had told her about her future would be true . . . .

"Lizzie, you've got to believe us! Tell me, how did David know that I had written "hello David" on the ham radio? There's no way he could have known unless he has that exact same radio with him, in the future!"

She shook her head and said, "No. There's got to be an explanation for all of this. Maybe you and David had agreed before hand that's what you would write. So he knew all along that you would write that. Right?"

"No, Lizzie, that's not it at all, I promise. I hadn't told him anything, you've got to believe me!"

"Oh, ohmigosh, I don't know what to believe, I'm so sorry, Gordo," she said in despair as she flopped back into her chair, exhausted and bewildered.

"Lizzie?" David said.

She took the microphone and responded. "Yes?"

"I have an idea. This is the last thing we'll try to convince you, and then we'll drop it, okay?"

"Oh-okay, I guess. What is it? What's your idea?"

"Why don't you write something on the radio? You write something, and then I'll tell you what you've written. Do you understand?"

"Y-yes, I guess. I think so."

"And if I tell you exactly what you've written, then you have to believe us, right? There's no way I could know unless I have the same radio with me, here, in the year 2015. Right?"

"Alright, David. I'll play along," she said.

What am I doing? She wondered. Why am I going along with this crazy scheme? I should just go to bed. But . . . but, just what if? What if everything they're saying is true?

Instead of grabbing the marker, she instead picked up a ballpoint pen and a 3 by 5 note card.

What is she doing, the younger Gordo wondered. He remained silent as he watched her start to scribble something on the note card.

Once she was done writing, she took the note card, folded it in half, grabbed some duct tape from the desk drawer, and then she began to tape the note card to the side of the radio, right next to the words "hello, David." She taped the note card on firmly with duct tape, making sure that it would stay on for at least the next decade. She looked at Gordo, and gave him a knowing look.

Even though no words were exchanged, he could sense that she was beginning to slowly open up to the reality of the situation, that she was finally beginning to believe . . . .

And so they both waited, to see if the note would make it to David, twelve years in the future . . . .

"Hey, I see something on the radio! It's tape, duct tape! Did you just do that? "

Lizzie's eyes widened. Ohmigosh, it – it is happening, isn't it? It really is happening . . . .

Her voice barely a whisper, she said, "Yes, David. I taped a note to you. The note should be under the duct tape. Be careful getting it off."

"I see it. Okay, I'm taking the tape off right now, and I'll let you know what the note says in just a sec, okay?"

"Okay," she said, as she took a big gulp of air. She suddenly became very nervous and anxious as she waited for David to read back to her the note she had written.

A few nervous moments passed. Gordo and Lizzie didn't look at each other as they waited for David to say something. But, despite his fears and tensions, he instinctively took his hand and gently placed it on Lizzie's hand and began to stroke it gently, trying to give her some comfort.

Without turning her head, she smiled, and she quietly allowed herself to be soothed by the warmth of his touch.

"Okay, I've got the note. Now, let me read it to you, okay?" Said David.

"Go ahead, we're listening."

"Alright, here's what it says. It says . . . oh my god . . . ."

"David, what's wrong? Are you okay?"

"Uh—it's nothing, Lizzie. I'm fine. It's just so strange, and wonderful, to see your handwriting again. I can't make out what you've written yet, because I don't have my glasses on, but I can still make out your handwriting. It's so beautiful, and it's reminding me of just how much I've missed you, "he replied, his voice quivering with emotions.

"Oh . . . ."she responded, taken aback by David's words. He's so sweet, she thought, as she took one more step to believing, as she took one more step to embracing the truth.

After another brief moment of silence passed, David spoke again. "Okay, I've put on my glasses. Here's what the note says. "Dear David, if you're reading this letter, then it means everything you've said is true. I know I've been very skeptical tonight, but deep down, I know both of you were telling the truth. I know that you're David Gordon, my best friend in the whole world, because I could hear it in your voice, in your amazing, wonderful voice that I've known for almost all of my life. Even though my head was telling me no, my heart was telling me, yes, it is you. You're Gordo, my one and only Gordo.

With Love,

Lizzie McGuire

When David finished reading the note, she closed her eyes and began to weep as she kept thinking to herself, it is true, ohmigosh, it's all true . . . .

Deeply moved by the note that Lizzie had just written, the younger Gordo fought back tears as he continued to hold onto her hands, comforting her and trying to give her strength.

Still weeping, she opened her eyes, grabbed the microphone, and said to David, "Hello, Gordo."

"Lizzie . . . ." he responded. "Yes, it's me, Gordo!"

As she choked back her tears, she managed to let open a small, affectionate smile, and with a playful tenderness in her voice, said, "So, Gordo, tell me, what do you look like as a twenty-eight year old? Do you still have your same scruffy hair?"

She smiled directly at the younger Gordo as she waited for the older Gordo to respond.