Driving
home from work I swerved to avoid hitting a deer, I hit a huge pot hole. I
thought boy is Susan going to be mad. Then I noticed that the world seemed to be
going from a gray to color. However the color world wasn’t the
same. Confused, I pulled to the side of the road to examine my surroundings.
I
tried to stand but my knees gave out on me and I fell back into the driver‘s
seat. The car started to look like an old truck from the 1930’s. The steering wheel of my minivan was huge and
chunky instead of small and sleek. I got out of the car to see if there were
other changes as well. But that didn’t seem to fit my car and neither did the
fact that my tires were now white walls. In the pickup there was no air
conditioner or radio. Since I couldn’t drive this car or any car right now I
got up and decided to walk to the local food store.
In
the store I picked up a newspaper and saw that it was 1936. I also brought some
food because I was hungry. Walking around the store in shock I bumped into a
woman.
“I’m
sorry miss. I didn’t see you there” I said.
“That’s
okay I’m fine” She replied.
“What’s
your name? I’m Michael”.
“Nice
to meet you Michael I’m Maria”
“I’m
completely lost as I’m not from here. Can you help me find a place to stay?”
“There’s
a charming little hotel around here called the El Rey Court,” She said
“Sounds nice I’ll think I’ll head there. My
car is broke down. Is there a cab around
here?”
“Yes,
there’s one that stops here every fifteen minutes. You’d better hurry the next
one will be here in two minutes.”
I
rushed to buy my food. Then I happened to think my money might happen to look
like it did 2011. I pulled it out and quickly realized it has changed too. I heaved
a sigh of relief.
I
arrived at the El Rey Court around seven p.m. I know I didn’t have a
reservation but I asked for a room at the front desk. They had one room
available and they gave it to me.
I
was wearing a red shirt, blue tie, and a gray suit. As a Professor of History I
recognized that my simple suit from 2011 was now a drape cut suit and tie. The
drape cut suit has folds upon folds so it looks like it overlapped at points.
In
2011 I taught at New Mexico Highlands University and yet somehow I found myself
trapped in 1936. .
I
couldn’t seem to figure out where I knew Maria from. I got this feeling that
I’d seen her before. I felt some deep connection to her. She reminded me of my Grandma Maria. I found
myself thinking she was pretty. She had the most beautiful smile. Plus her
figure was like an hour glass.
We
agreed to meet at the park the next day just to talk.
“So
Maria what do you do for a living?”
“Well
right now I’m a school teacher. So what do you do for a living?”
“Well
right now I’m unemployed. Do you know if anyone is hiring?”
“Yes
the local grocery store is hiring right now, “she said.
“Okay
thank you, I think I’ll go apply for the job.”
So the next day I headed to the
local grocery store Smith’s Food and Drug to apply for a job. The job they were hiring for was cashier to
which I used to do while going to college to get my degree. Even though I had some experience I filled out
the application with trepidation as I had never worked a manual cash register
before and my math skills were horrible.
That night I met Maria in the hotel
dining room for dinner and we talked about my day.
“Well I applied for a job at Smith’s
Food and Drug today. I hope I get the job.”
“You’ll get the job because you’re
smart and I bet you’re a fast learner.”
“Well I may be a fast learner but my
math isn’t so good.”
“Oh I bet you pick it up really
fast.”
“I don’t know about that Maria, but
thanks for the vote of confidence.”
Maria seemed to have this grandmotherly
feel about her. Yet I had these feelings for her I couldn’t seem to explain. Oh
no she can’t be my grandmother. My
grandma Maria Katko died on February 22, 1995. I was eighteen. Then I remember
I’m in 1936. I decided to ask Maria some questions.
“So how old are you Maria?”
“Don’t you know it’s rude to ask a
lady her age?”
“I’m just wondering because you remind
me of someone I knew.”
“Wow. In that case I’m 30. I’m
married to a great man.”
“Who
are you married to?”
“I
am married to a guy named Charles Katko, why?”
“Just
wondering. You remind me of my grandmother,
Maria Katko.”
“We
just got married two days ago. We’ve been saving up for the big day.”
Oh
crap, she is my grandmother Maria. Now what am I going to do? I’m in love with
my own grandmother and never mind the fact she’s married. Oh crap, I’m doomed.
Then I thought about my wife and
kids in 2011. How do I get back to 2011? The more I thought about my wife and
kids in 2011 the more I realized that I needed to get back to that time.
Then
it hit me I may never get back to 2011. Then what would happen to my wife Susan
and my kids in that time period. And what about me what would happen to me. As
I thought about all this, I wondered what would happen if I married another
girl here in 1936. I just had to get back to 2011 but how.
After
some thought I called Maria from the hotel phone and asked her some hypothetical
questions.
“Maria
say you weren’t already married, what is the type of guy you would date?”
“Well
I like the rugged handsome type sort of like you why do you ask?”
“I
asked because um I’m just curious. So what do want to do on a first date?”
“Boy
you are sure curious. My ideal first date would be a picnic on the beach with
my best guy why.”
“Well
Maria I may be stuck here a while and I was wondering if things were different
here from where I was from.
“Oh
I see. So at this time you’re single and looking to date someone. Do you have
someone in mind?”
“Yes
and no. The someone I’m in love with is already married so that complicated things.
But I think about making love to this woman any way.”
“What
if that someone also thought about making love to this man.?”
“What
are you saying Maria that you want to make love to me as well?”
“Yes
that are what I’m saying.”
“Wait
a minute you’re married! Why are you thinking of making love to me?”
“Well
Charles slapped me yesterday for no reason. I guess he thought I cheated on him
which I didn’t.”
“I
haven’t been totally honest with you. I’m not single I’m married in another
time period. I come from the year 2011.”
“Yeah
I know you weren’t from 1936. I did some research on you. And there is no
record of you yet so I figured you were from distance future. Unfortunately I
have no idea how to get you back to your time. So I figure I might as well make
love to you. I’ve fallen in love with you too Michael.”
Needless
to say I wasn’t surprised. I mean I did pursue her pretty hard. So, I decided
to look for a house in this small town. I’m still in New Mexico but where
exactly I’m not sure. But one thing was bothering me, the fact that Maria
wasn’t surprised I was from the 2011. Something just isn’t right here. What
kind of research could she have done? One thing was for sure I needed to know
what she knew.
“Hi
Maria, how are you doing?”
“I
am fine. How are you doing? Why are you being so formal Michael?”
“I
am fine, thank you. What makes you think I am being formal?”
“It’s
the way you’re taking l and looking around.”
“I
need to know what you know about me because it all seems so surreal to me. Like
the fact you knew I was married and I was from the year 2011.”
“I
told you I did some research on you.”
“Yes
you did but how could you some of the resources available to you in 2011 isn’t
available in 1936.”
“Yes
I know. Yet somehow I was able to get files on you in 1936 in our library.
There I was just sitting there when this strange guy came out of nowhere and
handed me a file with your name on it. How come you didn’t tell me you were
related to me or Charles, Michael Katko?”
“Yes
you are my grandmother Maria. And you know my full name is Michael Kristopher
Katko. Yeah my parents wanted Christopher with a C but you said spell it with a
K sounds much better. What doesn’t make sense here is how did this guy come to
you and what time period did he comes from?”
“He
said he came from 2011 in a wormhole. The wormhole was open long enough for him
to bring me the file and leave. But he did say there may be away for you to get
back to your time through another wormhole.”
“You
mean I could get back to 2011 through a wormhole in time. What would happen to
us?”
“I
would still be your grandmother in the future till I die in 1995. Yes that file
contained that too. But I don’t know how to create a wormhole or how you got
here in the first place.”
So
I go back to the car um pickup truck I left at the side of road. Once I got there
however, I discovered the pickup truck was towed to the local gas station. So I
go walk to the local gas station to pick up the pickup truck. Somehow I have to
recreate the wormhole in which I traveled through to get back to 2011.
