The Way Back Machine
A story including the phrases “frozen pizza,” “pair of shoes,” and “movie projector”
I parked my red VW Beetle in front of my boyfriend’s house, grabbed the grocery bag containing tonight’s dinner — a frozen Tombstone pizza — from the front seat, climbed out of the car, and hurried up the front walk.
Greg had called and asked me to come over right after work. I was a pharmacist’s assistant at the local Walgreens and got off every evening at 7 p.m. He’d been bubbling over with excitement. He had a surprise he wanted to show me. He couldn’t wait for me to see it. Greg was an electrical engineer and worked at a lab in Pasadena making electronic doodads. I never really understood what he was talking about when he described his job, but he was a great kisser, so who cared?
He was also a bit of a “mad scientist.” He was always tinkering and inventing gadgets that he was convinced would one day make him a billionaire à la Bill Gates or Elon Musk. Whatever! Everyone needs a dream. Anyway, I was pretty sure I was in for another unveiling.
As I started up the front walk, I nearly tripped over an errant sneaker lying on its side in the middle of the cement path that led to the front steps. As I bent to pick up the size 15 yellow Converse All-Star — definitely Greg’s — I noticed the…
