BACK TO THE PAST
Chapter Eleven
Note: There’s a minor racial slur in this
chapter. It’s not meant to be malicious, not by the author or even the
character using it. It’s my own group even, so it’s not like I’m trying to
insult anyone.
Things got even worse for Gary Dawson. He,
Doc, Jack, and Rose had waited for Christine at his house. Unfortunately,
Christine had brought more than just Shirley; they came home with Joey and
Ricky, too. Lizzy was also there; she was using the pool. It was the same group
from last night all in his living room. Gary thought he was going to faint
again. He tried to tell Chris privately, but after ten minutes the conversation
had geared off topic and away from Gary himself.
"And some high school in the next county
got all up and arms when a black guy and white girl tried to go to a dance
together." Christine was updating Jack and Rose.
"If that’s the case," said Shirley,
"who in the hell am I supposed to take to senior prom? There’s only five
other black kids in this school. Three are girls, Don Blake has a girlfriend
and Louis Russell is socially defective and wears decade-old pomade—and globs
of it, too."
"Well, if the school’s got a problem
with it you’ll either have to change you’re sexual orientation or make Louis
Russell’s day." Christine smiled.
"Ick, Louis,. Shirley shuddered.
"Then I’ll switch sides if that’s the case." Everyone else laughed,
especially Rose—her mother told her once that there were no such things as
homosexuals. "Actually, I’ll just go with a normal date—because you know
what they say." She looked at Christine as she went to the record player
and slipped on Chris’s Hair soundtrack.
"What do they say?" Christine
asked, though she already knew what she was doing. The music started and Shirley
and Christine began to dance. Shirley sang along—with Chris and Lizzy as her
back up, standing in line behind like Diana Ross and the Supremes.
White boys are so pretty
Skin as smooth as milk
White boy are so pretty
Hair like Chinese silk.
Rose jumped up to dance with the girls and
tried to keep up with the modern dance moves and the words. Shirley pulled Joey
up from his chair and started dancing with him. The three back up singers
rolled back their shoulders in sync with the music on the word shoulder.
I’ll tell you that you white boys give me
goosebumps
White boys give me the chill-hills
When they touch my shoulder
That's the touch that kills.
Now everyone was up and dancing, even Doc.
Shirley was now dancing in between Jack and Ricky and singing to them.
Pretending to flirt with them.
Well, my momma calls them lilies
But I call them Piccadillies
My daddy told me stay away
But I said come on out and play!
Hey! White boys are so groovy!
White boys are so tough!
Every time that they're near-ear-ear me
I just can't get enough.
Everyone was now dancing in a circle
around the furniture.
Oh-oh! White boys are so pretty!
White boys are so sweet
White boys drive me crazy
Drive me indiscreet.
Whoa-hoo! White boys are so sexy
Legs so long and lean
I love those sprayed-on trousers
Love the love machine.
Yeah-eah! My brother calls them rubble
That's my kind of trouble
My daddy told me "no no no no!"
But I say "White boys go!"
She went up to Gary and starting dancing with
him and when the line ‘run my fingers’ came up she moved her hand through his
hair. Gary tried not breathe, otherwise he would have been panting.
Hey! White boys are so lovely!
Beautiful as girls!
I love to run my fingers
And toes through all their curls.
Give me a tall
A lean
A sexy
A sweet
A pretty
A juicy
White boy!
"Black boys!" sang Lizzy and
Chris.
"White boys!" Shirley
answered.
"Black boys!" they shouted,
with Rose joining them.
"White boys!"
"Mixed media!" all the girls
sang together, and the song ended.
Everyone jumped up and down and clapped.
Nothing like a musical number, is there?
"I think I see a future for us,"
Shirley turned to Lizzy, Chris, and Rose, "Shirley Houlihan and the
Crackers…maybe not today…but someday." Everyone else burst out into
laughter.
It took another two hours to get everyone out
of there. Gary sat Christine down and pulled out all of his grandparents’ old
photos. He felt nauseous; she’d never believe him. He calmed himself and
decided to handle the situation delicately.
"All right Chris, sit down and shut up
till I finish." He took her by the shoulders and plopped her down on the
couch. "What would you say if I told you time travel was possible?"
He spread out his hands for effect. "You can talk now."
"Well, if you told me time travel was
possible…" She paused. Gary waited anxiously for her reply. "I’d
ignore you like usual."
"Come on, work with me!"
"What? And believe your childish
crap?"
"Admit it. Jack and Rose look exactly
like the old pictures of Nana and Pop. They even have the same patterns of
speech. Now, you tell me who else they could be."
"I don’t believe I’m hearing this."
"Then I’ll have to show the tape."
"The tape?" Chris laughed,
expecting him to use masking tape as some sort of grand evidence. After much protest
he got her to come with him to Doc’s house and showed her the tape. Doc sat and
watched it again, still utterly fascinated, Jack and Rose went upstairs; it
bothered them too much, Gary sat on the couch pensively with his sister’s feet
behind his head as she munched on popcorn.
One Hour Later
"This has been a History Channel Special
Presentation."
"History channel? Bite my
ass!" Christine laughed.
"You already said that three times. It
lost its impact forty minutes ago." Gary snapped.
"By the way," Christine sighed
casually, "I brought you a present." She tossed the baseball almanac
on the coffee table. The others stared in shock.
"How in the hell did you do that?"
Gary asked.
"I’m a freaking genius…it was in the
backseat of Biff Tannen’s car. He was in Lou’s and I pinched it like I was
picking up the God damn newspaper…what?"
Everyone still stared.
"Don’t get any ideas, but you’d make an
excellent criminal." Jack laughed.
"‘Don’t get ideas’? Thanks Dad."
Christine mocked.
"That’s Granddad to you."
"Actually, we call you Pop…Pop."
Everyone but Gary laughed, who was mad at Christine, as usual. "It’s so
weird, you guys are older than Dad and our aunts."
"Yes." Rose thought aloud, thinking
that these were the children of her not yet conceived son.
"So now you believe?" Doc asked
excitedly, eyes bulging in his usual manner.
"Yep," Christine smiled, "if
you really aren’t telling the truth and you were able to pull off making that
little film than you’re much smarter than me and could trick me anyway."
Twenty minutes later everyone had left.
Christine had date to keep with Ricky, Gary had to go to work at the
supermarket, Doc, Jack, and Rose had to go get things ready for Jack and Rose’s
safe departure.
As soon as the third generation Dawsons left,
Doc had to run a couple of errands leaving Jack and Rose at their own disposal.
At first they decided maybe to go upstairs and spend some ‘quality time’
together, but then figured Doc would be home soon and they really didn’t want
to be caught in the act. It did occur to them then that they’d only made love
the one time in the Renault, but they decided to wait until they had more time
to avoid any potential embarrassment. Under normal circumstances, once the idea
of sex had been presented, it would be very hard to resist, but the future
Dawsons had discovered something even better than sex—television.
The two teens sat in front of the television
set for two hours, eyes blank and mouths half-open—not realizing that Doc was
so busy it would have given them enough time make love undisturbed.
"Wow," said Jack admiringly,
"Spock is so cool."
"Cool!" Rose laughed at their new
novelty word.
"Groovy!"
"Sexy!"
"Hey, look at this!" Jack pulled
off his shoe and put it to his ear. "Who am I? Hello?" he answered
his shoe.
"Maxwell Smart!"
"That’s correct, 99!"
While they were both doubled over on the
floor laughing the doorbell rang. They scrambled to the floor to answer it,
figuring it was Doc.
Rose opened the door to reveal a heavily
pregnant woman.
"Oh, hi there," she smiled,
"you must be Doc’s relatives. He said he needed some things so I brought
them over." She was holding a cardboard box.
"Here, let me get that for you."
Jack took the box from her.
"Oh, thank you. Look at this stuff, such
a character he is."
"Well, we all appreciate it." Jack
smiled. "Oh, I’m Jack Taft and this is my girlfriend, Rose McCoy."
"I’m Lorraine. Lorraine McFly. My
brother Joey’s told me so much about you—" She winced and grabbed her
middle.
"Are you okay, Mrs. McFly?" Rose
asked, having a feeling she knew what might be wrong.
"Ah." she winced again. "I’m
fine—fine. Oh, ow."
Jack and Rose led in her inside to where she
could sit down and call someone. Her husband, George wasn’t home and the lines
to the cab service and her doctor were both busy.
"From what I know these things take a
real long time. We should be able to get through to somebody before it gets
really bad." Jack whispered trying to reassure Rose. Then Mrs. McFly let
out another painful scream.
"Listen," she breathed, "it’s
coming," Rose and Jack paled, "not now, but soon. Please get me to a
car. I’ll tell you how to get the hospital. Now!" She wailed again as
another contraction hit. Without thinking Jack grabbed Doc’s keys and pulled
the car around, taking down a few bushes. He had only been behind the wheel
once—and that was in a Model T and for about three minutes.
Rose helped Mrs. McFly into the backseat and
they were off. Poor Mrs. McFly thought they were all right. Jack knew as Rose
wondered that he had no idea what he was doing.