“Hey, there!” Ernie said, emerging from the side of her trailer. He wore a soiled white t-shirt – not muddy, but covered instead in ashen spots, like he’d been in a coal mine. His face was similarly splotched. He looked like your typical working man.
He put one foot on the bottom stoop and looked up at Jane with a big smile and shining teeth that were emphasized by the drear and drab of the trailer park. “Was checking to make sure your electrical’s not frayed after yesterday’s crazy business.”
“What business?” Jane asked.
Ernie’s surprised look went away almost as soon as it appeared. “Happened to some folks, the Werners. Other side of the park. That was just the most recent. Other day it was the Chicksons. Wires were frayed, trailer went up in smoke, they lost it all. Carter was first on the scene-- the boy likes going for his walks,” he said, indicating his son by throwing his hand over his shoulder. “I’m damned proud. Because of him, nobody got hurt. Isn’t that something?”
Mandy huffed.
Jane sighed and ignored her. “I’m sorry to hear that happened to those people,” she said, putting as much humanity in her voice as she could. They all still had their lives. She didn’t know the Werners or the Chicksons, or really any people here other than Ernie, and so she felt no real sadness for them. She wished she could. Instead, she had to resist the urge to ask about the expansion chip. If she asked, she would seem desperate when she should be expressing sympathy for the tragedy a neighbor suffered. She needed to get back to Bruce. He turned, concern in his eyes—
She opened her mouth to ask, but Ernie beat her to it. “But listen,” he began. “That’s not why I came knocking. Me and the boy wanted to invite you two over for dinner. We just sat down. My boy, Carter, is hoping to see Mandy, I think.”
Mandy tensed a little, but Ernie had a smirk. Carter was a good boy. Older than Mandy by two years-- the same age difference between her and Bruce. It was a nice thought.
“Thanks, Ernie,” Jane replied. “But I can’t. I’m in the middle of something.” She turned to her daughter. “But I’m sure Mandy would love to see Carter. Go ahead, dear, I’ll leave the door unlocked for you.”
“I have a key, Mom,” Mandy replied, retreating back into the trailer a little. “But I’m not really hungry. I’ll just stick around here.”
“Don’t be ridiculous, of course you are,” Jane replied. “And Carter is there. They would love to have you.”
“Absolutely,” Ernie said.
“Mom, really—”
“Then it’s settled,” Jane interrupted, nudging her daughter gently forward. Mandy resisted, staring her mother with those big blue eyes. Jane pushed a little harder and finally she gave way. “Thank you for your kindness, we appreciate this.”
“Anytime, Jane,” Ernie replied. “Go ahead Mandy, I’m sure my boy will keep you company.”
Mandy went slowly, looking over her shoulder, staring at her mother. Jane turned her attention to Ernie. “Were you able to get the chip?” she asked.
He fished in his pocket and pulled out a small, crushed, brown paper bag. “It’s in here,” he said, handing it to her.
“Thanks, again,” Jane said. “You’re a life-saver.” She opened the bag and inside was the small, black chip. The VR had expansion slots and this would slip right in. She smiled and turned her back to Ernie, ready to continue where she left off with her husband.
“Hey, Jane,” Ernie said as the door was closing, “glad to see that old smile Bruce always used to talk about.”
She shut the door quickly and hurried back to the bed, slipped the chip into place, and returned to Bruce with that smile on her face.
He turned, concern in his eyes – “What’s wrong, honey?” Bruce asked.
“Nothing, just checking on you,” Jane replied. “I missed you my love.”
Bruce reached toward her from the couch. “Come here and give me a kiss,” he said.
She obliged and ran to him as quickly as she had when the quake started. Only this wasn’t a moment full of fear, it was one of excitement and comfort. She nearly toppled over the couch in her rush to get to her husband.
“Boy, you’re in a feisty mood!” Bruce said. “I like it!”
“You could say that again,” Jane replied, nearly out of breath.
“Boy, you’re in a feisty mood!” Bruce said again. “I like it!”
She ignored the glitch and kissed Bruce’s forehead.
“I have a present for you!” she said, excited that she could give him something else to accent his life here.
“You’re always thinking of me, honey,” Bruce replied, kissing her forehead in return.
“We got a wonderful cable package, it has everything! Sports, news, movies, television shows! No more weather forecasts on repeat. What do you think about that?”
“It looks like it’s going to be sunny!”
“It always does, my dear,” she said. “You watch TV, whatever you want. I need to finish up.” She returned to the kitchen. The lack of the smell of the sauce wafting about the house was something she missed, but at least they would have their time. Maybe she could sell her engagement ring and get another chip? She regarded it, admired it nestled next to her wedding ring. The stone was a little bigger and glistened a little more here than it did in real life, but the stone was plenty big back in the trailer. Bruce had saved for some time before he proposed. If she sold both rings, she could definitely upgrade this place. And she would still wear them here, where it mattered.
The sounds coming from the living room distracted her from her thoughts, mostly because they were different than she was used to. Instead of the weather, she heard the brief half-utterances of dozens of different voices as Bruce flipped through the channels. Jane closed her eyes and imagined Bruce lingering longer and enjoying a program of his choice.
It sounded like he settled on Casablanca.
She was almost done, so she yelled, “Pause the TV, dear. I’ll watch with you after dinner!”
“Okay, love,” he replied from the living room.
“Can you set the dinner table while I finish up here?” she asked.
“Of course, dear,” he replied.
Soon she heard the sounds of dishes clanking as he removed them from the hutch, followed by the sounds of forks and knives being placed on the large oak table in their dining room. Even though this wasn’t a routine, it brought her all the comfort of one.
Jane turned off the stove and began making a salad. She mixed olive oil and vinegar, salt and pepper, and added a little lemon juice to the dressing. Even though the little things wouldn’t spark Bruce’s taste buds, it’s still the little things that count. She put the pasta in a serving dish, picked it up with one hand and the salad bowl with the other and joined her husband in the dining room.
“Everything smells great,” he said, as she served him his pasta and salad. She loved him for the compliment.
“Thank you, my dear, you know just what to say to a girl,” she replied.
They ate in silence, he at the head of the table, she to his left. She only picked at the tasteless meal, instead spending most of the time staring at him as he ate, smiling at him as he sat engrossed. When he was done, he reached his hand out to her, which she took. He squeezed and said, “I haven’t had a meal that good in a long time.”
“I know,” she said. “I’m glad you like it.”
She let the moment linger for a while and then said, “You go into the living room and I’ll clean up. Then we can watch Casablanca. How does that sound?”
“That sounds just fine. Hurry now!” he said, pushing out from the table and returning to the couch.
Jane didn’t want to leave him waiting. She didn’t cheat when she made the meal, but she didn’t mind a little cheating at the cleanup. Her eyes closed, she pictured the dishes and utensils in the dining room and the pots and pans in the sink all cleaned and put away. The familiar shift in reality and that tingle in her head that signaled all w
as changed. She opened her eyes. All clean.
Jane snuggled up with Bruce on the couch and lost herself in him as much as the movie. He had his arm around her and she rested her head on his shoulder, draping her arm across his chest. She wanted to fall asleep like that, but falling asleep disengaged the VR and she didn’t want to miss this.
When Isla said, “Kiss me, kiss me as if it were the last time,” Jane paused and with both hands turned Bruce’s face to hers. She studied it for a moment before he leaned forward to kiss her, just as she’d wished.
A knock at the door interrupted them.
“That’s strange,” she said, getting up and briefly contemplating thinking whomever it was out of existence. Curiosity got the better of her.
“It’s probably one of the neighbors,” Bruce said.
“It shouldn’t be, though,” she replied. “I programmed them to never talk to us unless we talk first.”
Bruce laughed. “You shouldn’t talk to the neighbors like that. You’ll scare them off!”
Jane opened the door and was surprised to see Ernie.
But it couldn’t be Ernie.
“Hey there, Jane!” he said.
She stared, stunned. When she didn’t reply, he continued, “It looks like it’s going to be sunny!”
“What are you doing here?” she asked.
“Me and the wife wanted to invite you over for dinner,” he replied. “It looks like it’s going to be sunny! Great day for a barbecue!”
Betty was across the street waving. Her husband, Joe, was not out front washing the car like all the other husbands up and down the block. Joe had become Ernie? But how? She hadn’t altered the VR since coming back in. This didn’t make any sense.
“How did you get here?” she asked him.
“I just walked across the street,” Ernie said, laughing the same good-natured laugh he had in real life.
And then the world began shaking again, and she knew what was happening.
She turned to Bruce and began to speak, hoping to tell him she would be right back.
“Bruce!” she began. He turned, concern in his eyes—
Just as she had done earlier when pulled out of the VR unwillingly, her hand moved to her temple to hit the “restart” button. Mandy’s hand caught hers and she opened her eyes. Her daughter sat at the edge of the bed. She look almost as if she’d been crying.
“Mom,” she said, trailing off.
Jane carefully pulled the connecting pins from her head and slowly and deliberately removed the headset. “What’s wrong, dear?” she asked, sitting up just as slowly and deliberately as she’d taken off the VR. “You know I don’t like when you do that.”
Mandy threw her arms around Jane. “It’s Carter,” she said, pulling away.
“Oh, honey, broken hearts mend,” Jane replied.
“No, Mom, it isn’t that, I think he—”
“It’s okay, honey,” Jane said, pulling Mandy back to her. “There. All better.”
“No, Mom, not better—”
“It will be. Trust me. You’re young, time heals all wounds.”
Mandy pushed her mother back violently and stood. “You hypocrite. Heals all wounds? You don’t even want to hear what I have to say! You just want to get back into that VR and live your dream. It isn’t real.”
Jane let silence fall between them. She knew this would come eventually. Teenagers simply had wild emotions and so she understood where her daughter’s feelings were coming from. “It’s always easy to take out our frustrations on those we love most,” she said to Mandy. “Time does heal all wounds, dear. You won’t feel better today. Or tomorrow. But Carter will only bother you as long as you let him. And he seems like a sweet boy. Who knows? Maybe you’ll work it out.”
“Oh my God! Just be a real mom for once! Just listen!”
“I am your mom,” Jane replied.
Mandy screamed and stomped toward the door of the trailer. She paused for a few moments and then said, “I know, Mom. I’m going for a walk.”
After the door closed, Jane pulled the curtains aside and saw Carter file in next to Mandy as she walked. The situation was already working itself out. Nothing to worry about, she thought as she slipped back into the VR.
Jane stood at an empty doorway. The virtual Ernie wasn’t on her doorstep or across the street. Neither was Betty, the character she’d created. Or Ernie’s actual wife, whose name she didn’t know. She leaned forward and scanned the block. Everything else was as it was supposed to be. The men cleaned their cars in their white t-shirts and the women watered their flowers. A glitch in the system? A stray thought that took over?
She turned to the living room and saw Bruce, staring at a paused Casablanca. Her plan, after the movie, had been to finally make love to him. It had been so long and the VR headset was implanted with the necessary software to make the experience feel as real as it would normally. Or as close as anything virtual would come. She had never tried it. Tonight was the night.
“Oh, Bruce,” she said, massaging his shoulders as he sat. “Shall we go to the bedroom, dear?”
She felt as though the romance had been broken by the interruption, but the mood would return to her the longer she immersed herself in her husband.
“We aren’t going to finish the movie?” Bruce asked, still staring ahead.
“Only if you want to,” Jane replied.
“Only if you want to,” Bruce said.
“Let’s go upstairs,” she said.
“What about Carter?” Bruce asked.
“Carter? What are you talking about?”
“He’s looking for Mandy,” Bruce said, unmoving.
Jane looked around and saw nothing. What was going on?
Bruce laughed and stood and embraced Jane. “He’s firing up the grill,” Bruce said as Jane pulled away.
“How did he get here? I don’t understand.”
“I let him in while you were talking to Ernie.”
“I wasn’t talking to Ernie here,” Jane said, trailing off and looking toward the open door.
Bruce laughed his good-natured laugh once again. “Of course not. You were just across the street.” He put his hand on Jane’s forehead. “Are you alright? Maybe you should go up to the bedroom and rest. You’re acting strangely. Maybe you’re coming down with something?”
Bruce escorted her upstairs as she fumbled over her confusion in her mind. What had been happening? Nothing could happen here while she was away, could it? No. It couldn’t. Was her subconscious mind taking over and altering the world without her realizing? Maybe it was the new chip.
“I’ll go find Mandy and her and Carter can go swimming. I’ll take care of the grilling-- you picked a delicious cut of fillet, my love!”
“Mandy’s here?”
“Of course she is,” Bruce said, laughing yet again. “Don’t worry, I’ll take care of everything.”
Jane found herself being tucked into bed by Bruce, who kissed her on each cheek and muttered soft and soothing words she couldn’t quite grasp as she drifted off—
“Mom! Mom!” she heard Mandy yelling frantically and with terror. Jane couldn’t quite tell, was this the VR? The trailer? “Ger her out, get her out!” she heard in a cacophony of voices mingled with her daughter’s.
It was so warm. It was supposed to be sunny. A great day for swimming. She must’ve accidentally slipped out of the VR-- the new mod had to be at fault for all of these glitches. Next time she was up and about, she would see what Ernie had to say. His voice rose and nearly matched Mandy’s-- she had to have been hearing it from the VR. The connection hadn’t fully disengaged. They were all at the house party, waiting for her.
“Mandy,” Jane said softly, surprised at the weakness of her voice. It was never like this in the VR. She closed her eyes and wished to herself that she could change reality right now, alter the trailer, turn it into a palace, and bring Bruce and Mandy into a home they deserved. She began to re-engage the VR. So warm. She could be tel
ling Bruce how wonderful he was, how beautiful a man he was, how perfect for her he was. She didn’t have to leave him. The world conspired to keep pulling her out.
She needed rest. She wanted so desperately to go back. He turned, concern in his eyes—
As soon as the uplink finished, Jane opened her eyes and saw the neighborhood and home and life she had built. She breathed a heavy sigh of relief.
The sky seemed limitless and, as always, the most brilliant and perfect blue Jane had ever seen. All was exactly how she had crafted it to be. She so loved the sky. For the first time, she felt the warmth of the Sun in this place. Her broad smile nearly felt painful. She was where she belonged.
The street, still devoid of cars, went on endlessly in either direction. Jane thought of the kids that would come and felt somehow disconcerted at the relative quiet of the neighborhood. She would fix that soon. The perfectly manicured grass and sidewalks lined with marigolds looked as beautiful as ever, especially with all of those flowers she loved that adorned everywhere she looked – purple and blue and tall orange gave life to the vision in front of her.
The people she’d made did as she meant them to do and the routine brought her comfort. The men still washed their cars and the women still watered their flowers.
She felt a nagging at the edge of her consciousness but couldn’t quite place it. This world was perfect. She’d created it to be so.
She heard a commotion coming from what she thought was her backyard. Instead of cutting through the house, she rounded the outside of the house, past the rhododendrons under the front windows and around to the side where she could open the gate of the white picket fence.
9 Tales From Elsewhere 9 Page 8