Time And Again

Chapter 5

"Good morning Los Angeles, all of you WKJB-FM listeners out there! This is your wake-up call with the Wizard of the 8-track, the mad genius of pop, your main man MegaWatt getting you up and groovin' this AM. For you beach goers, it's gonna be a scorcher today, so stay hydrated! I hope you liked Madonna's Papa Don't Preach because she's keeping that baby! Now we're going to go Back In Time with Huey Lewis & The News."

Tell me, doctor, where are we going this time? Is this the fifties? Or nineteen ninety-nine? All I wanted to do was play my guitar and sing. Take me away. I don't mind. You better promise me I'll be back in time. Gotta get back in time...

His hand hit the alarm as he brushed his teeth. He'd been up for a while now. In fact, he had gotten up so early that he had gone downstairs and cooked breakfast. His mom should be surprised. At least he hopes so. After going back into the bathroom and spitting out the toothpaste, he walked downstairs. There may be an extra sparkle in his eyes today and a spring in his step that wasn't there before. 

Today is going to be a good day. He just feels it. In the kitchen, his mom stood spooning breakfast onto plates. She heard him enter and stopped to say, "Johnny, did you do all of this?" She motioned to the French toast, eggs, and bacon. The French toast he added last minute, as he knows she loves that stuff.

"Yeah, I did. But it's not a big deal," he told her. She disagreed with him and came over to kiss his cheek. Then she handed him a plate. They were both seated at the table before DeeDee even entered the room and bumped their hands for head scratches. The two of them were engaged in a conversation about college and Senior year when Sid came in.

He took one look at the table and moved to get a cup of coffee. This time the loud crash was Sid tripping over the dog. The coffee spilled on him and the floor. "Damn dog! I don't know why she has to lay in the middle of the floor like that." 

Before his mom could get up, he did and went to get the broom. He also came with paper towels to soak up the coffee that DeeDee hasn't licked up. It doesn't hurt to be nice once in a while, even to his old stepfart. The man sat at the table, staring him down with curiosity. Having cleaned up the mess, Johnny asked, "Would you like breakfast, Sid? I made plenty." The curious expression hadn't left his face, but he managed to nod his head. 

After fixing him a plate, he set it on the table and remarked, "I'm going to take a muffin and get going. I'll see you later." Then everything played out in the same manner as the previous day. He arrived at Dr. Mead's, checked in, paid for the woman's bill, helped the stroller lady into the building, gave Timmy the muffin, and had his teeth cleaned.

It was after the dentist that he decided to shake things up a bit. He went to Bumper's and ordered the same meal. His eyes glanced at the vehicle next to his to see if it was Nicole's. It is. Same as before, they waved to each other. When the roller girl brought him the meal, he looked to see if Nicole had gone to sit at the open table. She had. 

So he got out and carried his food with him. He noticed she was sitting and writing something while waiting for her food to arrive. Walking up to her, he asked, "Mind if I sit with you?" For some reason or other, his heart threatened to beat out of his chest. With her dainty hand, she motioned to the spot on the other side of the table, and he took it.

Honestly, he's not had to do this in a really long time, and truth be told, he didn't even do this with Ali. It was he and the guys throwing popcorn and her taking the bucket and dumping it on Dutch. So, it's more accurate to say he's never done this. All of the insecure middle school feelings rushed through him. The only thing he could get out of his mouth was a lame "Hi." He didn't even stay looking at her since he quickly glanced down at his fries.