Nov. 22, 2007
Man, was it was ever nice to see Mom again! The moment I walked into her house Thanksgiving morning, I broke down crying. She was not only alive, but looking healthy and happy months before the cancer diagnosis and chemo. Seeing me break down, she broke down too, of course. So we ended up standing there in the foyer for a couple minutes, a sobbing mess.
Once we had pulled ourselves together, the succulent smells of roasting turkey and all the delicious fixings washed over me with a power that was nearly a physical blow. We chitchatted a while as she finished up the last of the food preparation, with me helping set the table. Once everything was ready, I dug in with a vengeance. I hadn’t eaten so well since this exact day, nine months earlier from my present—I knew that for a fact. Everything was as delicious as expected, and soon, I was uncomfortably full.
I helped clean up, a major undertaking as the kitchen had become a disaster zone of leftover food and dirty dishes. Mom packed a number of Tupperware bowls full of leftovers since the amount of food was way too much for just the two of us. She clearly planned on sending nearly all the leftovers back with me since she worried I was too skinny, as moms tend to do.
Once we finished the cleanup, I turned on the TV to watch a football game and drink a beer. She joined me, and we chatted for a while, not really paying much attention to the game. I guess my improved mood was noticeable, for she remarked on it.
“You seem happier, Jason. Did you get a promotion at the store or find a new girlfriend or something?”
“Uh, no, not really.”
I doubted any promotions at the store would be coming ever again, unless the supervisors abandoned that sinking ship to the point their numbers were stretched way too thin. As for the second part of the question, I’d never considered Nell girlfriend material before as she was quite a bit younger and always busy with her schooling, but for some reason, she came to mind. She had been on my mind quite a bit lately, and I was actually looking forward to seeing her at the store when she returned during winter break—in my timeline. In this one, we hadn’t even met yet.
With her keen mother’s sixth sense, Mom must have deciphered some of my thoughts, for she just gave a knowing smile. “Things better at the store?”
“Well…” I remembered the Walmart hadn’t opened yet, so business would’ve been still healthy, though apprehension was building at the pending opening. “Could be better, but not too bad, I guess.”
I badly wanted to share my discovery of Tina with someone, but this particular secret I was destined to keep to myself. Nobody would believe me, for one, and would likely assume my old TBI was acting up again. Or they’d think I’d just plain lost my marbles.
“Well, it’s nice to see you in a better mood, hon,” she said.
After a while, I steered the conversation to my suggestion that she should see a doctor. Unfortunately, she didn’t want to hear any talk of doctor’s visits or cancer screenings or mammograms.
“Jesus, Jason,” she said sharply. “This is Thanksgiving—don’t be such a downer.”
I apologized and shut up about it. The damper on the holiday mood didn’t last long, and after a slice of delicious pumpkin pie, a bunch of which she also sent home with me, I said goodbye and took my leave.
Looks like I’ll be staying a while in this timeline, I thought as I drove home with a week’s worth of leftovers. I’ve got to convince her to get checked out somehow.
Not popping back right away would be a first. I glanced at my counter when I had a moment alone, and it read 007450. So it took a much bigger hit this time, coming back nine months. I was beginning to think I was the only one who could see the counter as nobody ever remarked on it. Perhaps it was a hologram in my vision, like Tina’s avatar.
That night, as I was chilling in front of the TV and getting ready for bed, I got a surprise call from the night manager at Fleet’s.
“Jason, did you forget you’re on shift tonight?” Jimmy asked, annoyed.
“Oh, crap. Yeah, sorry, Jimmy.” Okay, this is seriously going to mess me up, jumping timelines. “I’ll be there in fifteen minutes.”
“All right.” Jimmy hung up.
I cursed and went to find some clean clothes. I had to be careful to not accrue any more absences since my attendance at work was already anything but stellar. The last thing I needed was to return to the present and find out I’d already been fired for missing too much work.