Remember Me (11 page)

When he opened it, CJ was standing there. “Come on in!”

he said to him.

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“Neil, Linda, nice to see you again,” he courteously said to them as he crossed the threshold into our living room. He kept his eyes locked on mine as he casually slipped into the recliner next to the couch. “You wouldn’t happen to have anything to drink, would you?”

My father responded, “Bud or JD, take your pick.”

“Both, a shot of JD and a Bud would be most appreciated.”

My father smiled respectfully. He was never a heavy

drinker, but he too liked a shot of Jack Daniels with his beer occasionally. When he came back in the room, he carried three glasses in one hand, and the bottle of Jack Daniels tucked under his arm. With his other arm, he nestled the three bottles of Budweiser tightly to his chest. My dad was never one to make two trips if he could somehow manage it in one. Mom came to the rescue, grabbing the three bottles of beer right before one could slip out and fall to the floor.

Dad passed out the glasses and handed each of us a beer.

He took the cap off of the bottle of JD and poured each of us a two-finger shot. CJ didn’t hesitate and downed his quickly, holding out the glass for another. My dad obliged and this time gave him a generous refill. CJ set the glass on the end table next to him. He reached up with one hand and loosened the tie around his neck. Then unbuttoning his shirt collar, he slowly settled deeper into the recliner. All of our eyes were fixated on him. We waited patiently for him to speak.

You could tell that he had a lot on his mind, and he didn’t know how to put his thoughts into words. After a moment, he took a long pull on his beer and then looked directly at me.

“How sure are you about the series being a four game victory for the Lakers?”

After the score of the first game hadn’t changed from my own time, I was feeling comfortable with what I remembered.

I responded with, “Nearly absolutely sure.”

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CJ nodded at me. “The firm,” he flinched slightly with his eyes as he said it, “that took your bet was not very happy with the outcome. To be honest with you, they sniffed easy money.

The odds were still in their favor even should they lose. As you probably guessed, they didn’t do you any favors. Normally, a bet like yours would have garnered in the neighborhood of fifteen-to-one. It isn’t the fact you won that has their attention.

What has them concerned is that you are a new player who made an “out of this world” bet and won. I think you might be able to see the situation from their point of view.”

I couldn’t help but nod my head in agreement with his assertions. “I take it you are here for more than just a social visit.”

“A proposal of sorts for you to consider,” he stated matter-of-factly. “I have no reason to doubt you have an ability to foresee favorable outcomes, which could bring tremendous profits. However, prudence is now the new rule of the game.

I will not make your bet on the series; it will draw too much unwanted attention to you, especially after the last bet. I will however, be willing to place the bet myself for a small fee of course, and provided we come to terms on a formal understanding of our ongoing partnership.”

There it was in black and white! I wasn’t surprised by his request. In truth, I had been expecting it, though not until after winning again with the series bet. CJ was no fool and in spite of the situation, I liked him. He took another swig from his shot glass, immediately following it with a massive swig from his beer. I already knew my answer. I just wasn’t quite sure how to spin it in more in my favor. I decided to shoot for the win, “I can see your point, and I greatly appreciate your candor and thoughtful gesture. I think it will be in my best interest to pass.”

My response totally caught CJ by surprise, and he snorted beer through his nose. He started to cough, and my

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mother quickly handed him a napkin. He tried dabbing the beer splotches from his tie and took a moment to regain his composure. When he looked at me his eyes conveyed his uncertainty. They were saying, “Goodbye easy money.”

I had him. It was time to throw him a line and see if he’d bite. “I might be willing to discuss an alternative proposal,” I cast out at him.

CJ sat up straight in his chair, “I’m listening.”

“It’s true that I’m going to be able to make you a lot of money, knowing what I know. I am not willing to tie myself to you. I’m ok with, and willing to let you make a personal killing off what I know, as long as you play fair with me. I believe there might be other ways in which you might be able to help my personal situation. So…when I get one of those special dreams about the future, you’ll be one of the first to know.”

CJ held my gaze, no anger, no resentment showing in his eyes.

He understood the stakes even better than I did. At this point, I realized, as did he, that we could become very good allies.

“Go ahead and make the bet on the series, take your cut.

I trust you to keep me anonymous to the best of your ability.”

CJ nodded. “I can’t predict when I might have one of those dreams. Calling me for information on every possible game would be a waste of your time. When I do have one of those dreams, I’ll leave it up to you to figure out the best way to bet it.” In the future, I believe it would be best if we didn’t meet here at the house.” He nodded again in total agreement.

He downed the rest of his shot, followed by the remainder of his beer. He set both empties down on the table and rose from the recliner. “It will be my pleasure working with you, and I look forward to a very profitable relationship for the both of us.” He reached his arm out to shake my hand. As we shook hands he added, “Whatever it is you need, all you have to do is just ask.”

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I gripped his hand firmer and replied, “I appreciate what you are willing to do, Thank you!”

He returned my firm grip and then we let our hands drop.

“I’ll be in touch after the series,” he stated. He moved through the living room and opened the front door.

He was almost out the door, when I stopped him in his

tracks by asking him what he knew about betting horses. He turned to face me with a huge grin on his face. “You have an insight on the Belmont Stakes?”

“Maybe,” I smiled.

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Too close for comfort.

June 19th, 1985

I guess it
was inevitable. I thought through many things, but not what would happen by pure coincidence. After the Belmont Stakes and the Celtics-Lakers series, I had approximately sixty-two thousand dollars in the bank…under my

mattress anyway. True to his word, CJ wasn’t calling me every other day for insightful picks. In total agreement between my parents and me, I moved into an efficiency apartment in Waterloo. It had everything I needed for a temporary residency. The landlady, a rather large version of Dolly Parton, to be blunt, never batted an eyelash when I offered to pay for six months, upfront, and in cash.

I wasn’t planning on staying in the apartment much over

two months if I could help it. I’d only been there a week when disaster finally found me and made itself known. I needed to fill the refrigerator with groceries so I headed to the Hy-Vee grocery store on University Ave. I was nearly done shopping and my cart was full. As I was reaching into one of the freezers for a frozen pizza, a familiar voice shattered my unsuspecting sense of security.

“Andrew, is that you?”

I knew the voice and to whom it belonged. It was so recognizable, because I had heard it nearly every day for twenty-plus years. The voice belonged to my ex-wife, Tami. I had nowhere to hide, no time to run away, and even less time to think. I S 81 S

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closed the freezer door, the pizza now completely forgotten. I did what I was supposed to do; I turned to face Tami with the best bewildered look I could show on my face. I heard myself respond, “I’m sorry, but I think you might have me confused with someone else. My name is Tim Taylor.” I knew in another life that Samantha would be smiling at me for my quick response, and for stealing the name from “Home Improvement.”

Thank God I hadn’t said, “Bond, James Bond!”

Tami stood rigidly facing me, and her eyes continued to

look me over. There were two shopping carts between us, so I really couldn’t run. Thankfully, Samantha wasn’t with her. I don’t know what I would have done if she’d been there. My face would not have been nearly as confident in its deception, as the one I had put on for Tami. I was so stupid! I thought I was safe; after all it was only two o’clock in the afternoon.

Who was I kidding? I knew that Tami occasionally stopped at this store to get groceries on her way home from work. She almost always worked until four-thirty and was more likely to stop at the Hy-Vee near the Cedar Falls mall. She was loyal to Hy-Vee, and my brain meltdown had caused this situation.

I could have easily chosen a different place to get groceries.

Unfortunately, old habits die hard.

Tami’s hair was longer than the way she wore it later in her life. Looking at her I was instantly aware that the “unhappy lines” were absent from around her eyes and on her forehead.

It made me think, “Happier times.” She still studied me with great intensity and there was nothing I could do about it. I held her gaze and waited for her to make the next comment.

“I’m sorry, but you look almost exactly like my husband, just a lot older,” she finally commented.

“I’m not sure how to take that,” I responded, giving her my best smile. The smile was another mistake, because I instantly registered recognition in her eyes. I tried the best I could to S 82 S

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steady the situation. I purposely tried to add a little depth to my voice. I said, “You know they say everyone has a double out there. I’d like to meet your husband. He sounds like he just might be my double.”

Tami’s body language noticeably relaxed. She took a deep breath before replying, “I’m sorry, but the resemblance between you two is absolutely uncanny. You even sound the same, smile the same, and have the same eyes.”

“Sorry, but I don’t have a younger brother. I’m pretty

much an orphan. My folks are from Indiana and both of them are deceased. I can’t recall any other distant family members living around this area. For myself, I only recently moved here to take a job at John Deere. This must be one of those, “once in a lifetime,” really rare coincidences.”

“I’m sure your right,” Tami said with a little more cheerfulness in her voice. “Andrew, my husband, is going to get a kick out of this when I tell him. I wished I had a camera so I could take your picture to prove it to him.” Tami smiled and relaxed even more.

She could stand for hours, engaged in conversation with strangers. I needed to make my exit before I said something wrong.

“My father-in-law works at John Deere, maybe you’ve

heard of him, Neil Johnson?”

I closed my eyes, giving it my best effort at showing that I was thoroughly considering the name, “No…umm…can’t say

that I’ve met him. Does your husband work there as well? It would be interesting to hunt him down.”

“No, he doesn’t. He works at Heartland Food Distributors,”

she replied, becoming even more comfortable in our exchange.

I continued to play it cool and act out my part. What I really wanted to do was to get as far away from her as I could. I needed a polite out. “I’m sorry, your name is?”

“Tami Johnson. I’m sorry I was so rude not to have introduced myself.”

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“Tami, it sure is nice to meet you, but I need to finish up here and get these groceries back home. I have a dentist appointment that I need to get to.” I smiled as friendly as I could, and without thinking, stuck my hand out to shake hers.

Tami responded in kind and as our hands grasped each others’ she replied, “Nice to meet you too, Tim.” I felt it and I know she did too. She dropped my hand as quickly as I let go of hers. The feeling of our hands touching was hard to describe, but I could tell we both felt something. It wasn’t exactly electricity, more the opposite, a dead, or dread sensation. Her eyes said as much when she gave me a tentative smile. She hurriedly pushed her cart around mine and headed it down the aisle, away from me. I turned to watch her walk away. Almost in unison we both did the same thing, wiped our hands on our pant legs. It had been an eerie feeling I couldn’t quite put into words. If it had been Andrew I had shaken hands with, I wondered if the world might not really explode. There was some movie, the title now lost on me, about a time traveler touching his other self. It hadn’t been pleasant as they merged together in horrific screams. I shuddered at the thought.

I had survived my first encounter, and hopefully my last, with Tami. It only reaffirmed my previous train of thought. I couldn’t stay around here much longer. The physical contact with Tami, and the feeling it produced was more than just our past history together. We’d both moved on in the future and I no longer had any feelings for her. She was the mother of our girls and always would be. It was obvious that my touch had set off some sort of negative feeling within her. I’d felt it too.

To describe it was hard, but something close to it would be: shaking someone’s hand right after you’ve seen them sneeze in it. Plain and simple; it gave me the willies.

I hustled to the front of the store and hit the first open cash register. I made it through and out the door before Tami even S 84 S

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showed up at the checkout lines. I didn’t know what I’d have done or said if she would have seen me putting groceries into my Mom’s car. I nearly squealed the tires while trying to make my get-a-way. I headed straight back to my apartment and put the groceries away. The answering machine was blinking with one message. I hit the play button and listened.

“Andrew, CJ here. I’ve tentatively made the connection