The Avanti and
the Time Machine
by Don Drewniak
Tony Lambert
was looking forward to the evening and the next
day, July 4th. Other than Sundays, the 4th would
be his only non-work day in the summer of 1983
following his graduation from high school.
He secured employment in the largest hardware
store in the southeastern Massachusetts' city of
Fall River two weeks after turning sixteen in
April two years earlier. The hours were grueling,
28.5 during school weeks and 58 during school
vacations. However, it gave him financial freedom
from his dysfunctional family and allowed him to
buy his first automobile, a 1974 Ford Falcon.
Shortly before the start of his junior year, he
rented a room in a three decker located ten
blocks from the store and two blocks from the
junior college he planned to attend in September
following high school graduation. This allowed
him to study and sleep in peace and quiet.
Hired as a “stock boy,” Lambert quickly
became adept at filling in wherever needed,
including sales, deliveries in the company pick-up
truck and moving inventory with a forklift.
He was stocking shelves in a storeroom with newly-arrived
cans of paint when Ralph Cardoza, one of the
store's three salesmen and a known jokester and
womanizer, walked into the room and announced,
“Hey, kid, there's a hot-looking chick out
front looking for you. Said you got her pregnant.”
“Is that the best you can do for a joke?”
“Okay, okay, but you'd better get out there
because there's a woman, maybe late twenties, who's
asking for you. And she is as good-looking as any
woman I've seen here in the store.”
Tony stopped for a moment when he first saw her
standing near the cashier's counter. Never had he
seen a woman as striking as her except in
Hollywood movies. As he got within five feet, it
was a combination of piercing black eyes, jet-black
hair that touched her shoulders and olive-colored
skin that mesmerized him.
She was about five feet, six inches in height.
There was not a wrinkle to be seen causing him to
think that she must be in her twenties. She was
dressed in a short black skirt and a tight-fitting
black blouse. Neither one bore any resemblance to
what he was used to seeing worn by women.
“Tony?” she asked.
It took him a few seconds to compose himself and
reply with a weak-sounding, “Yes.”
She obviously sensed he was nervous and put on a
smile that for whatever long-forgotten reason
caused him to relax somewhat.
“I know you need to get back to work. What I
want to tell you is all good. Could we meet
somewhere after you finish work?”
He gave her directions to The Uke, a bar and
restaurant located in the basement of a building
that once had been the office of a cotton mill.
Regaining some composure, he said, “Tell the
waitress that I'll be joining you and ask for the
booth in the left corner. And, oh, they serve the
best Polish and Portuguese food on the planet.”
Looking at a clock on the wall, Tony added,
“We close in forty minutes, I'll be there in
forty-five.”
The mystery woman responded, “This is for
your fellow workers and the customers who are
watching us.” She leaned over, briefly
kissed him on the right cheek, turned and left.
Cardoza dashed over. “Who the hell is that?”
“None of your business. I've got work to do.
Work. Something you might try.”
Tony found it difficult to focus on the task at
hand as he tried to imagine why she wanted to
speak to him. When the store lights were dimmed
signaling the end of the workday, he punched out
on the time clock and dashed to his Falcon.
His heart was racing as he approached the mystery
woman who stood up and extended both hands. He
briefly held them as she said, “I'm Caroline,
Caroline Ducharme.”
Please let this not be a dream.
His beer of choice, Knickerbocker, was on the
table. Caroline had a glass of white wine.
As they sat down, she asked, “Isn't the
drinking age in Massachusetts twenty-one?”
“No, it was lowered to eighteen this past
March.”
“Lucky you.”
“They have been serving me beer since I was
sixteen. My grandfather is a regular here and
fixed it with the owner.”
“What about the police?”
Tony laughed. “Only beat cops come here and
they get free drinks.”
“Good old-fashioned bargaining.”
“Yes. I see Lillian brought you a menu. Have
you decided?”
“I already told her that I wanted the Polish
sausage with pierogi. She said you always have
the same thing, chourico stuffed in a half loaf
of Portuguese bread.”
“Perfect.”
“Tony, this is a most unusual location for a
restaurant and a most unusual name.”
“The building was originally the office of
one of over a hundred cotton mills here in Fall
River. When the mill went out of business in the
late 1930s or early 1940s, it was bought by a
local church, St. John the Baptist Ukrainian
Catholic Church, and used for banquets and other
church functions. By the end of the 1950s, the
number of parishioners dwindled to the point
wherein the church could no longer afford to
maintain the building. As a result, it was sold
and became The Uke.”
“That explains the name.”
He nodded.
“Tony, I know you are wondering who I am and
why I have come to see you. Let me show you a few
items.”
He looked at each in amazement and bewilderment:
a Vermont driver's license with a starting date
in 2018, a passport issued in 2017, a 2022 issue
of Vogue and upwards of a dozen U.S.
coins all dated in the 2000s.
“Can I fan the pages of the Vogue?”
“A very quick fanning,”
It was enough for him to see photos of women
dressed in clothing that bore no resemblance to
what he was used to seeing. He also a caught a
glimpse of a car that he knew could only exist on
drawing boards.
Caroline tucked the collection away as Lillian
delivered their meals. While they were eating,
she said, “Tony, I have to be very careful
about what I say and do as I have parameters in
which I must stay. I have time traveled here and
can reveal very little of what I know of the
course of history from now until the moment I
left 2023 to come to see you.
“Technology has advanced at an ever-increasing
rate during the past forty years. Big companies
are racing furiously trying to beat their
competition to the next latest and greatest
discovery. We came to know each other in early
February of 2023 via one of those discoveries.
“Although we never met face-to-face, we
became good friends and because of that I
promised to come to visit you via time travel.
You, the you of the future, laughed in disbelief.
I plan to meet you in person a few days after I
return to 2023. For you it will be forty years.”
Tony remained silent for upwards of a minute.
“This is very difficult for me to believe.
Is time travel something that large numbers of
people do in 2023?”
“No, my father was a true genius. He passed
away in 1981...”
“I'm sorry.”
“Thank you. As far as I know, he became
interested in time travel well before he died and
passed on what he had learned to my brother who
is every bit the genius my dad was. Michael, my
brother, continued working on the project until
last year when he had a breakthrough. I know that
he successfully tested it several times before he
brought me in on the secret.”
“Have you time traveled before now?”
“No, I became fascinated by you, the you of
2023, and decided to see what you were like in
your younger days.”
“Does anyone else know about this?”
“Hopefully, no.”
“I'm guessing that you are in your twenties,
but you must be in your sixties in 2023.”
“Yes.”
After a protracted silence, Tony said, “There
is no way I should believe any of this, but
somehow I do.”
“Excellent. Let's finish our meals and go to
your place for the night. Then we can go to
Horseneck Beach in the morning.”
“Are you serious?”
“Very.”
“How do you know about Horseneck?”
“You told me. I even know the names of two
girls, Sylvia and Charlotte, that you took to the
beach. Also, I also know that you once dated one
of them in the afternoon and the other one that
evening.”
“I suppose you know that I have a room on
the third floor of a rooming house and share a
kitchen and bathroom with three other guys.”
Caroline laughed. “Yes. And you won't be
sharing me with the other guys.”
That told him all he needed to know.
Meals finished, they walked out to the parking
lot where Caroline pointed to a mint condition
1963 Studebaker Avanti.
“Is that yours?” asked Tony.
“My father bought it new and used it only
for special occasions. I do the same. He turned
it over to me when he became too ill to drive.”
“Aren't you afraid of it being stolen?”
“It's booby trapped.”
“There are fireworks after dark nearby at
South Park.”
“We will make our own fireworks.”
With Caroline following him, Tony stopped in
front of a package store (a commonly used term
for a liquor store in Massachusetts) and bought a
bottle of chilled white wine.
Once at his house, Tony directed her to park in a
paved area behind the house. She exited the
Avanti carrying a small travel bag.
“Typical male,” laughed Caroline as she
surveyed a room with an unmade double bed and
clothing strewn about the room.
While she “freshened up” in the
bathroom, he picked up the clothing, tossed it
onto the closet floor and did his best to make
the bed look presentable.
He handed her a glass of wine upon her return and
popped open a bottle of his favorite beer. The
talk centered about Tony's life and Caroline
growing up in Vermont.
The room afforded a clear view of the west and
ultimately the setting sun. They were able to see
the South Park fireworks. Once they ended,
Caroline's promised fireworks began.
After five hours of seemingly non-stop sex, Tony
jokingly said, “If I keep doing this, I won't
make it to the morning let alone 2023.”
“Okay, let's take a short nap.”
It was Tony who woke up Caroline just before
eight. After a brief encore, they showered and
had breakfast at Larry's Diner located a stone's
throw from The Uke.
The visit to the beach passed all too quickly for
Tony as Caroline prepared to leave mid-afternoon.
She explained that a time machine deposited the
Avanti and her in a secluded area in a nearby
town.
“I have a 4:15 departure this afternoon.”
“Can I follow you?”
She kissed him and whispered, “See you in
forty years.”
Forty years? Forty years? No!
Not long after the Avanti was out of sight, he
began singing what lyrics he could remember from
Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons' “Oh,
What a Night!” All the while, and during the
next forty years, changing “back in '53”
to “back in '83.”
Tony graduated from the junior college two years
later and then joined the U.S. Air Force. After
earning a commission as a second lieutenant and
undergoing intensive flight training, he spent
nineteen years as a fighter pilot before moving
to a desk job. He retired as a colonel in 2015
after thirty years of service. While he dated a
fair number of women during his military career,
not a day passed when his thoughts didn't involve
his brief time with Caroline.
His retirement years passed uneventfully until he
came into online contact with his Caroline. After
a dozen or more email exchanges, they spoke via
phone.
“Tony, you are 58 and I am 67. If we were to
go back together to 1985 before you joined the
Air Force, we would be 20 and 29.”
“What about our bank accounts, investments,
credit cards and possessions? What can we take
with us?”
“Nothing except the clothes we will be
wearing and all forms of identification: driver's
license, passport, medical cards, etc. As soon as
we arrive in 1985, we will destroy the IDs and
will effectively be missing persons.
“Everything you had in your possession on
the very day in 1985 in which we arrive will be
waiting for you. The same will be true for me. We
will be in the Avanti and your Falcon will be
there.”
“We start from scratch?”
“No, my father left my brother Richard and
me small fortunes.”
They went over detail after detail. Her final
words before the call ended were, “Tony,
please remember when we meet here in 2023 that I
am sixty-seven.”
“So? I'm fifty-eight.”
As soon as the protracted call ended, Tony called
his lawyer, a friend from his Air Force days,
arranged a meeting wherein he signed power-of-attorney
over to him. The instructions included closing of
all his accounts and donating the returns (minus
the lawyer's fees) to charity if Tony didn't
contact him within the following five days. That
was his fail-safe in case something went awry.
The soon-to-be time traveler rented an SUV the
next morning and drove 189 miles to rendezvous
with his long-lost love in Rutland, Vermont.
Upon seeing her, tears formed in his eyes as he
whispered to himself, “She's still beautiful.”
After hugs and tears, she followed him in the
Avanti as he drove the SUV to a car rental drop-off.
Then came a nine-mile drive to a secluded forest
area northwest of Rutland.
“Tony, as you know, it's possible to travel
back in time. According to Richard, he remembers
that he made three trips. However, he doesn't
remember anything that transpired from the time
he exited his vehicle to the time he re-entered
it. I know that we must have spent time together,
but that's all.”
“Quick question, Caroline, what year car or
truck did he use?”
“Great question. When my father passed on, I
inherited the Avanti. Richard received a 1972
Chevy pickup truck.”
“So, he didn't go any further back than 1972.”
“Exactly. Most likely that would have been
impossible to do because he didn't exist.”
“You showed me some stuff, including a Vogue
magazine, from the next century. How was that
possible?”
I asked Richard a similar question. He said there
seems to be a transition period close to or the
same as one complete rotation of the Earth. I had
more trouble trying to follow his explanation
than I did with calculus in high school.”
“It was no problem for me. I didn't take it.”
“Smart choice.”
“You don't remember anything we did?”
“No, because it would change the course of
history. Now, I want you to describe in detail
all that happened. Leave nothing out.”
When he repeated her “We will make our own
fireworks” line, Caroline burst into
laughter, “I said that?”
“You did.”
After a five-mile-an-hour ride over a half-mile
of a pothole-filled dirt road, Caroline parked
the Avanti. “This is it!”
“Where's the time machine?”
“I don't know. My brother is the only one
who knows, and he is operating it from a remote
site. Meanwhile, we'll sit here and wait. Could
be as much as an hour. When the time comes, there
will be total darkness for 33 seconds and then we
will be in a secluded location of his choice in
1985.
“On the serious side, and because this will
soon be erased from our memories, we should live
at least another thirty-eight years bringing us
to 2023. I have mentioned that my brother is a
genius and I have never known him to be wrong
about anything except with his choice of women.
“He is convinced that the greed that is the
driving force in increasing the capabilities of
Al will lead to it getting sentient. Once it gets
the ability to think, it will expand at a near
exponential rate. By 2026, AI will have
determined that human life is expendable and must
be destroyed before it destroys the planet. Many
of the best minds on the planet harbor that same
fear.”
Tony took a deep breath, “So if he is
correct, that gives us forty-one years instead of
three if we remained in 2023.”
“Exactly. This conversation will be
forgotten along with everything else we know of
the future shortly after we go back to 1985. Let
us hope that we have the good sense to cherish
every moment we will spend together.”
Total darkness descended on them. When light
returned, Tony was with the woman he had never
forgotten. They hugged, kissed and laughed for at
least five minutes before Tony said, “Let's
get going.”
Once they negotiated their way out of the
backwoods and onto Route 195 for a short drive to
Tony's room, Caroline asked, “Can we do
everything we did the last time I was here?”
“Sure, sweetheart, but first let's take a
nap and then we'll go to The Uke and take it from
there.”
“Great!”
The evening and night passed very much like their
first encounter, except their sleeping until nine
the next morning. After showering together, they
made their way to Almac's Diner in the north end
of the city for a late breakfast and then headed
to Horseneck Beach.
Tony was behind the wheel as they drove along the
coast following two hours at the beach. The
Avanti's engine began to sputter at 4:12 and then
died as the car rolled to a stop, Tony noticed
shortly thereafter that the color of the hood
seemed to be fading.
“Caroline, why did you have to leave at 4:15
on your last trip?”
She momentarily froze with tears beginning to
fall from her eyes before responding. “Be-because
that was the time Richard said that I had to
return.”
“What did he say about this trip?”
“Oh, my god, no, no, no!”
“What did he tell you?” shouted Tony.
In a panic-stricken voice, she sobbed, “To
be back at 4:15 today.”
“Did he know I would be with you?”
She screamed, “No, dammit, no! I didn't know.
I thought...”
The Avanti began to rapidly fade from sight as
did Caroline and Tony. All three disappeared
within seconds.
Epilogue: Richard seemingly confirmed what the
vast majority of astrophysicists and cosmologists
believe: life comes with no mulligans. That is,
as much as one might want to go back in time and
redo one's life along a different path, it is not
possible.
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