𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐨𝐰𝐞𝐫 𝐨𝐟 𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞| 𝐛𝐚𝐜𝐤 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐟𝐮𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞

𝟎𝟎𝟒-𝐠𝐚𝐬𝐩

"hello, is anybody home?"

WALKING INTO the McFly house was always painful for Marty. Walking into that same home everyday for seventeen years was starting to get a little bit old; especially when watching your now completely destroyed car get toed along with Biff Tannen sniffing around here constantly. "I can't believe you loaned me a car, without telling me it had a blindspot. I could've been killed!" Biff roared. Marty cringed, watching in silence.
"Now, now, Biff, now, I never noticed any blindspot before when I would drive it." Marty's father, George McFly stammered before looking to his disappointed son at the door. "Hi, son."
"But, what are you blind McFly? It's there. How else do you explain that wreck out there?"
"Now, Biff, um, can I assume that your insurance is gonna pay for the damage?"
"My insurance? It's your car, your insurance should pay for it. Hey, I wanna know who's gonna pay for this? I spilled beer all over it when that car smashed into me. Who's gonna pay my cleaning bill?" Biff shouted, shoving his beer-stained suit into Mr. McFly's face. "And where's my reports?"
"Uh, well, I haven't finished those up yet, but you know I figured since they weren't due till-" Mr. McFly smiled while being dragged by his tie to a different part of the kitchen.
"Hello, hello, anybody home?" Biff said, hitting Mr. McFly's gelled head as he fake laughed. "Think, McFly, think. I gotta have time to get them re-typed. Do you realize what would happen if I hand in my reports in your handwriting. I'll get fired. You wouldn't want that to happen would you?" Biff asked looking to Mr. McFly who hadn't answered the question yet. "Would you?"
"Of course not, Biff, now I wouldn't want that to happen. Now, uh, I'll finish those reports up tonight," Biff looked to Marty who stared him down with every fiber of hate he could fathom in his body. Biff rolled his eyes at the young McFly, popped a few candies in his mouth and went back to his conversation. "and I'll run em them on over first thing tomorrow, alright?"
"Hey, not too early I sleep in on Saturday. Oh, McFly, your shoe's untied." Mr. McFly looks down only to be forcefully brought back up by Biff's mighty hand. "Don't be so gullible, McFly. You got the place fixed up nice, though. I have you're car towed all the way to your house and all you've got for me is light beer?" Biff joked, raiding the fridge. He turned to see Marty still staring at him. The more he looked the more angry he had gotten. Biff easily caught on. "What are you looking at, butthead?" Marty couldn't reply. "Say hi to your mom for me." Biff says, walking out the door. Marty looks up to his dad who stares as sympathetically as he could. He really did care.
"I know what you're gonna say, son, and you're right, you're right. But Biff just happens to be my supervisor. And I'm afraid I'm not very good at confrontations." Marty looks to his spineless father. Mr. McFly had been known to always grovel and toe the line. Marty always had himself asking in his head at family dinner: Hello? Is anybody home? Because it never really felt like anyone was.
"The car, Dad. I mean He wrecked it, totaled it. I needed that car tomorrow night, Dad. I mean do you have any idea how important this was, do you have any clue?" Marty said walking into the living room. He needed that car for his getaway with Jennifer. He planned to go with Emma since they planned since freshman year to go on a camping trip. Although he was more than happy to go with Jennifer, it wasn't the same. Nothing is the same anymore.
"I know, and all I could say is I'm sorry."
Right on cue, the cherry on top, the finale, Jennifer's call.

_____

"Believe me, Marty, you're better off not having to worry about all the aggravation and headaches of playing at that dance." Mr. McFly says while offering cereal to him at dinner. He nods his head no. He's been silent for almost all of dinner. After the day he had, I wouldn't blame him.
"He's absolutely right, Marty. the last thing you need is headaches." said David, Marty's brother. He watched TV with his dad in his work uniform.
"Kids, we're gonna have to eat this cake by ourselves. Uncle Joey didn't make parole again." Marty's mom, Lorraine McFly says, tossing the WELCOME HOME UNCLE JOEY cake in the middle of the table. "think it would be nice, if you all dropped him a line."
"Uncle Jailbird Joey?"
"He's your brother, Mom." said David with a grunt.
"Yeah. I think it's a major embarrassment having an uncle in prison." Linda McFly, Marty's older sister says, taking out her earrings.
"We all make mistakes in life, children."
"God dammit, I'm late." David yells, running off to the door.
"David, watch your mouth! You come here and kiss your mother before you go, come here." David groaned at his mother who stuck out her cheek for him to kiss.
"C'mon, Mom, make it fast, I'll miss my bus. Hey see you tonight, Pop. Time to change that oil." Marty never knew how but David loved his job.
"Hey Marty," Linda began. "I'm not your answering service, but while you were outside pouting over the car, Emma called you twice." Marty had almost spat out his Pepsi. Emma was never the one to call first after an argument. Let alone twice! This was huge, and Marty had to make it up to her.
"Is Emma your girlfriend? I don't like her, Marty. Any girl who calls a boy is just asking for trouble." Lorraine says, disgusted. Marty buried his head in his hands.
"For the millionth time, mom, she's not my girlfriend." Just the name Emma made him want to flip the table over. He had lost his appetite.
"What about that Jennifer girl? Oh she's trouble."
"Mom!" Marty yelled at the table.
"Oh Mom, there's nothing wrong with calling a boy." Linda says, defending Emma's non-existent case.
"I think it's terrible. Girls chasing boys. When I was your age I never chased a boy, or called a boy, or sat in a parked car with a boy." Lorraine ranted while Linda completely ignored everything her mother had just said.
"Then how am I supposed to ever meet anybody?"
"Well, it will just happen. Like the way I met your father." Lorraine said, smiling. Linda scrunched up her face.
"That was so stupid! Grandpa hit him with the car."
"It was meant to be." Linda rolled her eyes at her mothers comment and begrudgingly began to eat. "Anyway, if Grandpa hadn't hit him, then none of you would have been born."
"Yeah, well...I still don't understand what Dad was doing in the middle of the street."
"What was it, George? Bird watching?" Lorraine asked George who wasn't paying attention to the conversation at all.
"What Lorraine, what?" George asked immediately as he watched his wife pour her third glass of vodka.
"Anyway, Grandpa hit him with the car and brought him into the house. He seemed so helpless, like a little lost puppy, my heart just went out for him." Lorraine explained, reliving the story. You could see it in her eyes.
"Yeah Mom, we know, you've told us this story a million times. You felt sorry for him so you decided to go with him to The Fish Under The Sea Dance." Linda sighed, picking at her food.
"No, it was The Enchantment Under The Sea Dance. Our first date. I'll never forget it. It was the night of that terrible thunderstorm, remember George?" No answer as he was occupied with the TV. "Your father kissed me for the very first time on that dance floor. It was then I realized I was going to spend the rest of my life with him." The dinner table grew excruciatingly silent as George laughed at the TV. Once again Marty thought: Hello? Is anybody home?

_____

The Eaves family night was fairly silent as well. She and her mother sat on the couch watching whatever caught their eye and eating whatever they felt they wanted to. Family dinners never existed anymore since her older brother went off to college and her father was occupied in the Marines. Although the Eaves women appreciated time to themselves, they were missing the men in their lives. Emma's mother had practically forgotten how to cook since their boys left. That's why her mother loved and cared for any boy that came her daughter's way that made her happy. She never judged much; only Emma.
"So..." Ellen, her mother began. "How was your day?"
"I broke up with my boyfriend." Emma can still hear the gasp that escaped her mothers mouth.