5:00 PM PDT
Family Ties Universe
Marty and Alex had decided that they should eat at McDonald's for dinner. Marty had ordered three fish sandwiches and super size fries. Alex had ordered a big mac and a large strawberry shake.
"Wow, Marty!" gasped Alex. "You've got a hearty appetite, eh? I don't even care for the fish sandwiches that much."
"So you don't like fish, Alex?" Marty gasped. "One of my favourite meals consist of beer-battered fish and chips."
"Oh, yeah, I love fish and chips," Alex said. "It's just that I think the fish sandwiches they serve at McDonald's taste rather funny. It's just my opinion, though. Even Hardee's serves better fish sandwiches."
"Yeah, I like Hardee's, too," Marty said, nodding. "I especially love their roast beef sandwiches. I love roast beef and horseradish sauce."
"So, anyway, Marty," Alex said, after he bit into his sandwich, "what all happened after Marty picked you up the next day? I hope they do, one day, film a sequel for the movie. I've always been curious to see what happened after you went to the future."
"So you do like the movie, then?" Marty asked, smiling.
"Well, I never said I didn't like it," Alex said, smiling back. "I just said that I'm not into it as much as my sister is. I actually do like Michael J Fox. I think he's a very sweet and charming man - and I think I do have quite a bit in common with him. I just don't like him in the same way as my sister does, if you know what mean. Also, I will occasionally watch Jamie Takes Charge. It's just that I do prefer watching Wall Street Week."
"Okay, I see," Marty said, smiling.
"I'm just worried that some people may think me vain," Alex continued, "if I admitted to liking Michael J Fox. People may think that I like him, simply because he looks like me. So, anyway, Marty, you and Jennifer went to the year 2015 with Doc?"
"Right, that's correct," replied Marty. "I was supposed to stand in my son's place at the Cafe '80s, and pose as my future son."
"Right, I remember you telling me that," Alex said, smiling. "So Biff's grandson, Griff, was trying to get your future son to commit a robbery?"
"That's right," replied Marty. "I was so amazed by how much my future son looked just like me - but ended up being, well, for a lack of better words, a wimp."
"You've always struck me as being a rather courageous and confident person," Alex said, smiling. "I guess your parents are a little older than mine, as my parents were high school sweethearts during the early '60s. I'd be scared if I ever ended up travelling back in time."
"Well, yeah, it was very scary," Marty insisted, "especially when I had a rough time trying to convince Doc that I really was from the future. Of course, the second time I saw my future son, it was when he himself came back to 1986 - with Doc's future granddaughter, Harmony."
"Okay, Marty, now I'm a little confused," Alex remarked. "Since when did Doc have kids? How is it possible for him to have a granddaughter the same age as your son in 2015."
"Oh, uh, well, I'm getting to that," Marty said, "You see, we were planning on just taking one trip to 2015, and then returning to 1985. However, I made kind of a foolish decision. I wound up picking up a sports almanac, that had the sports statistics from 1950 and 2000 - and I was planning on making a few bets from that book."
Alex then burst out, laughing. "I guess we really are alike," Alex gasped, through chuckles. "I would have done the exact same thing in your situation. People tell me that I'm obsessed with money - that I could actually say 'money' before I could say 'mommy'. So did Doc chew you out for that?"
"Yeah, he did," Marty said, "although I guess I can't really blame him. He insisted that he didn't invent the time machine for financial gain."
"Oh, he didn't?" Alex asked, smirking. "Then what is this he said about being able to see who wins the next 25 World Series, huh?"
"Yeah, you know," Marty said, nodding, "I wish I had thought to remind him of that. Too bad I didn't think of it. Well, anyway, Old Biff of 2015 had overheard Doc lecturing me about the almanac - so that's where the problem started."
"Let me guess," said Alex, "old Biff went back into the past to give the almanac to his younger self?"
"How did you guess that, Alex?" Marty asked, stunned.
"Okay, I'll be honest," Alex said, blushing a little. "That's what I would have done, if I was ever presented with the opportunity."
Marty couldn't help but laugh a little. "Anyway, when Doc and I had returned to 1985 with Jennifer, we had seen just how corrupt Biff was with a lot of money. He killed my father, married my mother, and I was sent to a boarding school. He also had Doc declared 'insane' and committed."
"That is awful!" gasped Alex. "I would hate to think I would have become as corrupt as Biff Tannen."
"Naa, you're pretty level-headed and decent," Marty assured his friend. "Anyway, we had to return to November 12 of 1955 to retrieve the almanac from Biff. To make a long story short, as soon as I had grabbed the almanac from Biff, and burnt it - then I saw the newspapers we brought back with us change. Unfortunately, Doc was inside the DeLorean - and it got struck by lightening, sending him back to 1885."
"And that's where Buford and Seamus comes in?" asked Alex.
"Right," replied Marty. "When I had gone back to 1885, I was being chased by Indians and bear, and I hit my head. Seamus and Maggie had found me, and they brought me into the house. Seamus had taken an instant liking to me, but Maggie had treated me a little more coolly. She had the same attitude as Grandpa Sam, that I was a strange young man."
"Did Maggie ever warm up to you?" asked Alex.
"I think she did considerably," Marty said, nodding. "Maybe her treatment towards me had something to do with Seamus' own brother, Martin. We did look very much alike, after all."
"Oh, wow," breathed Alex, "so anyway, what did Doc do, when he travelled to 1885?"
"He set himself up as a blacksmith," Marty replied. "He initially didn't want me to come back to 1885 to get him - but, instead, return to 1985. He had hidden the DeLorean into the Del Gato mine, which was adjacent to the old Boot Hill Cemetery. That was where I discovered that Doc was shot by Buford Tannen."
"So why did Buford kill Doc, anyway?" asked Alex.
"He was shot in the back by Buford Tannen over a matter of 80 dollars," explained Marty.
"Oh, wow!" gasped Alex. "I know 80 dollars was a lot of money back then. It's probably about the equivalent of 800 dollars today. The inflation has been really bad within the past hundred years."
"Just wait until you see how bad the inflation is in 2015!" replied Marty. "Although, come to think of it, your 2015 may be different from ours. If our world is a movie in your world, and they have a sequel planned - they might end up portraying our 2015 in the sequel. Because the movie is considered fictional, their predictions of 2015 would no doubt be different from what 2015 may actually be like in this world."
"That sure is a lot to take in," breathed Alex. "So, how long were you in 1885?"
"About a week," replied Marty. "A lot had happened in that week. Doc had saved Clara Clayton from falling into a ravine - which mean that what used to be known as Clayton Ravine in 1885 has now become Eastwood Ravine? Doc and Clara had immediately fallen in love."
"Oh, wow, that's heavy," breathed Alex. "You said that Doc has a granddaughter in 2015. Does Doc end up marrying Clara? Also, isn't Doc a little too old to have kids?"
"Yeah, Doc wanted to stay behind because of Clara," Marty explained. "I thought it would better for the space-time continuum for Doc and I to return to 1985 - and to take Clara with us, as Clara also technically no longer belonged in 1885."
"So is that what happened, then?" asked Alex.
"No, not quite," replied Marty. "Doc insisted that Clara belonged in 1885, since it was the present to her. Doc went to say good-bye to Clara, and when Doc tried to explain to her that he came back from 1985 in a time machine - Clara didn't believe him, and she slapped him. Doc was then brokenhearted - and he, unfortunately, drank a shot of whiskey, as it was about time to catch the train."
"I agree with you, Marty," Alex said, quietly. "He should have just taken Clara back with you guys."
"Right," Marty said, nodding. "Anyway, somewhere along the way, Clara realized that Doc had been telling the truth, and she decided to hunt him down. Because Clara got stuck on a train, I had to float the hoverboard to her and Doc - which was a 2015 variation of the skateboard. Unfortunately, Doc and Clara were not able to make it back to 1985 with us. So I returned alone. I was so distressed about it, and I cried for about an hour. I thought I would never see him again."
"You did, though, right?" asked Alex.
"Yeah," replied Marty. "He arrived on a steam train sometime later that day. He had spend eight years in the past converting a train into a time machine. He then returned with Clara and their two kids, Jules and Verne."
"Wow!" breathed Alex. "He must be a big Jules Verne fan, eh?"
"He is," replied Marty, "and so is Clara. Eventually, Doc had moved with his family back to 1985 - and they settled in pretty nicely. Sometime in the future, Jules will have a daughter named Harmony. Harmony has been best friends with my future son - and, when I last saw them, they seemed to be developing a somewhat more of a romance with each other. I have a feeling that Harmony will be my future daughter-in-law - and that it will tie the bond between Doc and I even more."
"Yeah, it must be very exciting," Alex said, nodding, "to know that your future descendants will form a bond some day."
"Oh, yes, there's no question about it," replied Marty.