Virtual Moonlighting

Season 10, Episode 14

 

Time Flies

 

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Yesterday is gone.  Tomorrow has not yet come.  We have only today.  Let's begin.  -- Mother Teresa

 

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Act I - Scene 1

INT: Hayes/Addison Kitchen – LATE MORNING

 

David rushes into the kitchen with Ellie on his hip.  His shirt is open, and his hair - what little there is of it - is mussed.   There's still some shaving cream behind his ears.  He looks completely frazzled but in a good way.  Ellie, however, is smiling, happy and completely calm in her papa’s arms.  Sunny is pouring herself a cup of coffee.  David tucks Ellie into her highchair, which nets a high pitched wail from the child.  David stops dead in his tracks.  Ellie clearly has her father wrapped around her teeny tiny little finger.

 

“Oh, Ellie Pie,” David says, leaning over to stroke her face.  “I’ve got to get to a meeting, honey.” 

 

Ellie continues to wail.  "Waaa ... Da...DaDa ... Waaa."

 

David's face spreads into a wide grin.  "Did my little genius just say 'Dada'?"

 

Sunny smiles and shakes her head.  She loves when a new parent thinks their kid is talking for the first time.  “You run along, David,” Sunny says.  “Miss Ellie and I have plans for the day.”

 

“She's in this phase,” David says, swooping Ellie back into his arms, which immediately calms the child.  “She wants me to hold her all the time,” David explains.  “And only me.  She's not this way with Maddie.  She was not this way last week.” 

 

"And she probably won't be this way next week."

 

David's face washes with a ‘that's-what-I-am-afraid-of’  look. 

 

“She’ll always be Daddy’s girl though,” Sunny adds as a consolation.  Sunny has already given her opinion on the subject, but is not going to push an agenda.  Some people just need to learn for themselves.

 

“She's just growing up so fast and I don't want to miss anything - but I wouldn't mind her growing out of this phase a little faster."  Of course David loves every minute of this latest development to the point of encouraging it.  “Do you know how hard it is to shave with one hand?” David bounces Ellie on his hip, as he tries to button his shirt with his free hand.  She grabs the tie that is hanging loosely around his neck and immediately puts it in her mouth.  David pulls the tie free.

 

Without saying a word, Sunny takes the tie from David and tries to clean it off.  “Before you know it she will be off to school, or dating or in college or traveling the world, and you will be standing there with your thumb up your ass wondering where the time went.”

 

David laughs.  “Quite an image, isn't it Sweet Pea?"  He nuzzles Ellie and kisses her cheek which elicits a sweet baby coo.  “But I don’t intend on missing one minute of you growing up.”

 

"The best laid plans," Sunny says under her breath.  “You're missing your meeting, right now.”  Sunny comes over and trades Ellie for the tie.  There is still drool on the tie, but it is clean enough.  Ellie starts to fuss.  “Maddie has already called for you twice.  You are to meet her at the client’s office.  She said you would know.”

 

“I know the place.”  He puts his face very close to Ellie’s.  “Love you, but I have to go to work, OK?  I've got to keep my little bunny in all the carrots she can eat.”  He kisses her head. 

 

Ellie reaches for him.  Sunny steps back which causes Ellie to fuss more loudly.  The phone rings and David grabs it. 

 

“Hi Maddie,” he says before he is sure who it is.  “I’m late.  I know.  Your daughter can’t keep her hands off of me; I wonder who she gets that from. … Funny, don't quit your day job. … I’m on my way.”  David hangs up.  With one final kiss on his little girl's head, he bolts for the door.  “Thanks Sunny.  See you later.”

 

Ellie is stunned by David’s abrupt departure.   The front door slams loudly and Ellie starts to wail. 

 

Sunny tries to soothe her.  “Someone is in a phase, Ellie, but I don’t think it is you.  Come on, little one.  How about a nice bath to calm down and get those carrots off your face?”

 

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People assume that time is a strict progression of cause to effect ...

But actually, from a non-linear, non-subjective viewpoint,

It's more like a big ball of wibbly-wobbly

... timey-wimey ... stuff.  -- The Tenth Doctor, Doctor Who

 

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Scene 2

INT: Parking Garage in the building containing the offices of Morlock, Van Winkle and Scrooge

 

David jumps from his car which has barely stopped, and heads for the elevator.  He is still singing whatever song was on the radio.

 

Ain't if funny how time slips away

Funny how time slips away

Ain't it funny

Keep on going tick tock tick tock on the wall

Funny how time slips away

 

He hits the button on the elevator a few times and looks up at the floor number.  It doesn't seem to be moving.  He checks his watch.  "Maddie is gonna kill me."  He looks around for the stairwell, which he finds on the other side of a large blue box the size of a telephone booth.  He opens the door to the stairwell, but decides that thirty-five floors is too much and will not save him any time.  He goes back around the blue box and pushes the button again for the elevator. 

 

The elevator doors open.  David rushes in as another man is rushing out.  They collide and each falls on their respective butts.  David is the first to get up. 

 

"I'm sorry, buddy," he professes, as he helps the man up. 

 

"Doctor," the man responds.  The elevator door closes, shutting David on the wrong side.

 

"Huh? Wait!  Oh come on!"  David exclaims.  He slams his hand into the door to drive his irritation home.  "Sorry.  I'm just really late."

 

"I've never been late ... or early," the man claims, bouncing on his toes gleefully.  "Always arrive in time ... and space."

 

"Good for you." David rolls his eyes.  "The Lord of Time, the rest of us need a time machine."

 

"Got one."  The man hitches a thumb over his shoulder toward the blue box.

 

"Huh?"  David looks back at the elevator and hits the button again. 

 

"Maybe I can help you."

 

"Help me?  Why do you want to help me?" David asks. 

 

"It's what I do.  I'm the doctor."

 

"Doctor of what?" 

 

"Just the doctor."

 

David is now convinced the guy is a crackpot. "If you can make this elevator move, that would be helpful," David says, just to shut the guy up.  "Or reset the clocks by forty minutes."

 

"Forty minutes?  Hardly worth the effort."  The man, the doctor, touches the elevator button with something that makes a funny whirring noise and the doors open. 

 

David looks at him for a brief moment, wondering if this wackadoo had anything to do with it, and decides not.  "Whaddaya know?"  David steps in and hits the button for the thirty-fifth floor.  "See ya."

 

As the doors are closing, the man starts to say something to David that feels like a warning.  "Be careful.  Time flies if you don't ---."  But the doors close and David doesn't get the message.  He isn't listening anyway. 

 

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Men's courses will foreshadow certain ends, to which, if persevered in,

they must lead.  But if the courses be departed from, the ends will change.

-- Scrooge, The Christmas Carol, Charles Dickens

 

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Scene 3

INT: Office of Morlock, Van Winkle and Scrooge Investments

 

David is shown into a very upscale, very large office.  The view looks west over downtown Los Angeles over to Santa Monica.  The ocean is clear and sparkling beyond, with not a cloud in the sky.  In the three corners of the room sits one of each of the partners' desks.  The first is thick and heavy, like it is made out of stone - very uncomfortable.  The next is rustic and simple turn of the century - the nineteenth century.  It doesn't look used, but the couch next to it has clearly seen the butt end of someone on a regular basis.  The last one is a high wood desk with an angled top.  It's surrounded by books and papers; clearly the only working desk in the room.

 

In the fourth corner is a seating area with a leather couch and a marble coffee table, facing three leather club chairs.  Maddie is seated on the couch with the three partners in the chairs.  She jumps up at the sight of David, clearly grateful that he has finally arrived. 

 

"David!" she bursts out.  "It's about time."

 

"Sorry, I was on daughter duty this AM."  He smiles at the men.

 

"Children are our future," the three say in unison.

 

"And heaven help us," David cracks wise.

 

"Let me introduce you to my partner, David Addison.  David, this is Mr. Morlock."

 

David shakes hands with a very grey man: grey skin, grey eyes, grey hair.  His grey suit, shirt, tie and shoes do nothing to enhance his all-around greyness.  Morlock squints as he looks David up and down.  "Pleasure," is all David says.  Morlock says nothing and slips on some sunglasses, as if the bright light in the room is too much for him.

 

"And this," Maddie goes on quickly, "Is Mr. Van Winkle."

 

'Van Wrinkle?' David thinks. That's a little too on the nose.  The man looks like he rolled out of bed, with a long scraggly beard, unkempt hair and a suit that hasn't seen the business end of an iron in twenty years.  He does look well rested though.  Van Winkle stifles a yawn as he shakes David's hand.  He also says nothing. 

 

"I am Scrooge," the last man says gruffly, not attempting to shake David's hand.  "Can we get back to it?"  Scrooge is a harsh man, all business, but there is a twinkle in his eye; he knows a secret.  He's dressed in a black suit with a long coat and the brass buckles on his shoes are very ... shiny, if a bit dated.  "Time is money and the future awaits."

 

"They say that too."  David nods for them to continue, giving a sheepish smile to Maddie.  It is not received well.  "Where were you?"

 

They all sit.  David takes the cushion next to Maddie and puts his hand behind her back to give her an affectionate rub.  He is sorrier now that he was late than he was before.  She looks aggravated, but not at him as much as she normally would be.  That will come later, if he knows Maddie at all - and he knows her intimately.  That thought makes his smile broaden.

 

"As I was telling Ms Hayes, we are investors: Futures," Scrooge states.

 

"Futures?" David is familiar with idea that there is Futures Investing but is a little fuzzy on the nuances.

 

"We invest for the future," Van Winkle corrects.

 

"In the future," Morlock states.  "A specific future."

 

"We invest our money with the expectation that it will work to make us more money."

 

"I like it."  David is trying to lighten the mood, but the mood is not to be lightened.  "Where do I sign?"

 

"Sometimes it's not that simple," Morlock states grimly.  "Sometimes our money is wasted, lost, gone - never to be seen again.  History!"

 

"I'm familiar with that outcome." Maddie glances at David quickly, hoping to send him a message that will get them out of there. 

 

“And sometimes we get very lucky,” Scrooge says.

 

"It's the risk you take as a venture capitalist," Van Winkle explains sleepily.  "And what is expected if you give your money to someone else to use."  Van Winkle leans back and stretches a good morning stretch. 

 

"We don’t work for our money," Scrooge snaps.  "We make our money work for us."

 

“Sounds like a good gig. No work and pay.”  He smiles at Maddie.

 

"How can Blue Moon help you?" Maddie asks. 

 

"We want to retain your services to investigate companies that we're considering as an investment," Scrooge states.

 

“You will be well compensated,” Van Winkle adds. 

 

“Now or in the future?” David again looks at Maddie, whose expression says ‘we-are-not-taking-this-case-so-don't-humor-them’. 

 

“Think of it like a participation deal,” Morlock says dryly.  “Like the big Hollywood stars get.  If there is money on the back end, everyone gets paid.”

 

"Investigate?"  Maddie tries to keep them on task.  "Like a background check?"

 

"More like a foreground check,” Van Winkle says.  “We want you to tell us the viability of the company five, ten, fifteen ..."

 

"Twenty years into the future," Scrooge finishes.  "Tell us if the reward is worth the risk.  We want you to find us the next AT&T, Ford Motors, or Dot Com that will revolutionize the world ... and we want you to find it before everyone else does."

 

"We like getting in on the ground floor - or below," says Morlock.

 

"We want to find an idea that just needs our money to get realized," Van Winkle explains with his sing song voice.  "We want to shape the future."

 

"We want to be rich ... and we are willing to share our wealth with people who help us."

 

"Sounds like a plan."  David is beginning to appreciate Maddie's need for a quick exit.  "And we would love to help you, but gosh darn it - our crystal ball is on the fritz."

 

"This is no joking matter, Mr. Addison."

 

"I can see that you're serious," David says.  "But as licensed investigators we specialize in the past and present.  Of course I did just meet a guy with a time machine, maybe he can help you."

 

The partners share a look.  Morlock turns a grey eye on David.  "We contacted Blue Moon because we understood you have some very unconventional --"

 

“Unorthodox --” Scrooge adds.

 

"Out-of-the-box type of investigating," Van Winkle finishes. 

 

David puffs; he likes that image of himself.  Maddie’s glance quickly de-puffs him.  “Thank you, but --.”

 

"Don't you think the future is important, Mr. Addison?" Scrooge asks in a stern and warning tone.

 

"Very, but I don't pretend to know what the future will bring." 

 

"And you don't think you should plan for it?"

 

“There is only so much I can do about tomorrow.”

 

"The future is now, Mr. Addison."

 

"See, I have never understood that,” David says.  “If the future is now, it would be called something else … like the present."

 

“The future depends on what you do today, Mr. Addison.”

 

“Who said that, Shakespeare?”

 

“I believe it was Ghandi.”

 

"The past is prologue, Mr. Addison," Scrooge scolds.  “That was Shakespeare.”

 

"Ghandi and Shakespeare aside,” Maddie snaps.  She's done with the interview and wants to get out as quickly as possible.  “I think what my partner is trying to say, is that we are not ... that our forte is not ... our investment portfolio is..."

 

"We buy lottery tickets to finance our daughter's college fund," David explains. 

 

"We're not quite that short sighted," Maddie corrects.  "But we are not risk takers with our money, nor would we be comfortable advising you to take a risk with yours."

 

“We'll not hold you responsible for the final decision,” Van Winkle says.  “All we are asking is for your recommendation.”

 

David stands up and helps Maddie to her feet.  “For once, I'm going to have to agree with my partner, and we don’t even have to step outside to discuss it.  It would be very easy to take your money and do some digging and give you some recommendations, but that is really not our thing.  I think you might want to get some kid, fresh out of college who has some business savvy … a young Warren Buffet, for example.”

 

“We chose you, Mr. Addison,” Morlock states coldly.

 

“And we are grateful for your interest,” David says leading Maddie to the door.  “Really we are.  Honored.  Flattered even.  But this is not really our … "

 

"Ball of wax?"

 

"Cup of tea?"

 

"Bailiwick?

"...thing.  We go in for lost dogs, missing relatives, murder … that sort of thing.” 

 

The partners follow them to the door.

 

“We'd like you to reconsider,” Morlock presses.

 

“Just take a day … a day to consider what the future holds,” Van Winkle encourages.

 

“And what you can do to capitalize on tomorrow,” Scrooge drives home the point.

 

David nods and gives a polite wave and ushers Maddie out of the room, closing the door behind them. 

 

The men share a look.  “He’ll be back.”

 

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The best way to predict your future is to create it. -- Abraham Lincoln

 

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Scene 4

INT: Parking Garage in the building containing the offices of Morlock, Van Winkle and Scrooge

 

Maddie steps out of the elevator, determined to get to her car as quickly as she can. 

 

“All’s I’m saying, Maddie,” David pursues her.  “Is that this could be an easy gig – you know, as long as we get the money upfront.”

 

“David, when was the last time you had a great idea about a future business?"

 

"I have them all the time."

 

"Yeah, Another Mother For Lease?"

 

"AMFL was an idea before its time."

 

"So pitch it to the boys upstairs and see what kind of reaction you get."

 

"Maddie ...come on."

 

"When was the last time you looked farther into the future than your next bowling night?”

 

“Since I met you.”  He reaches for her and stops her march toward the Lexus. 

 

Her look softens.  “Maybe they're not wrong," she concedes.  "Maybe we do need to look to the future … and more than just about money."  She studies him for a long moment.  "Or maybe we shouldn't."  She continues to the car at a much more moderate pace.

 

"Shouldn't?"

 

"Shouldn't"

 

"Why not?"

 

"Might not like what we see."

 

“Maddie!”

 

“David.”

 

He catches up to her and turns her around towards him again.  "Maddie, talk to me."

 

“I like where we are … and I don't want to ruin that by focusing on tomorrow, but --.”

 

“But what?”

 

“I don’t want the future to come up and bite me in the ass either.”  

 

“Is that what you think will happen?”

 

"I don't know, David.  I don’t know what will happen.”

 

“But you're afraid you won’t be ready for whatever it is.”

 

“I’m not afraid ... It's not something I think about.  You can you understand that?”

 

“Yeah ... sure ... I suppose."  He pulls her toward him.  “Look, I don’t want to screw this up either ... I am really trying to not to."

 

"I know.  And you're doing great."

 

"And you think that we should stay focused on what's right in front of us."

 

"Well."  She tucks herself into his arms and nuzzles his neck.  “You were pretty focused on what was in front of you last night.”  She sucks his earlobe between her teeth, netting a little squeak out of David. 

 

"Not saying that I won't stay in the here and now, but I can do the there and then too --."

 

“I thought you were a live-for-today-and-let-tomorrow-take-care-of-itself kind of guy.”

 

“I am … I was … Do we have that luxury anymore?  Our little bunny of joy is growing up fast.”

 

“David, if you are suggesting we --.”

 

“I’m not suggesting anything … I’m just saying that … well … I don’t know what I am saying.  I'm saying I’m open to it.”

 

She hugs him hard and gives him a kiss.  “I love you, David.  You are a constant surprise to me and I can take that to the bank.”

 

“Zero percent interest on that return.”

 

“Oh, I think there's a lot of interest.”  She scans him up and down lustily.  “Should we take the afternoon off? "

 

David loses whatever train of thought he was working on.  "Now, that is a future I can get behind.”

 

“I’m sure you could, but still a little shortsighted.”

 

“See, that is my point.  Shortsighted.  Do you want to be doing the same thing we are doing today in five, ten, twenty years?  Aren’t you worried about our future?”

 

Maddie considers.  “I wouldn’t say worried – I'm cognizant.  I have never been frivolous and Lord knows I learned my lesson about trusting other people with my money.”  She shrugs.  “I guess you can say that I have faith.”  She laughs at herself.  “Yeah, faith in me.  Faith in us.  Faith that we are working toward … .”  She trails off.

 

“Towards ... what?”

 

She checks her watch.  “Well, right now I’m working towards a meeting with our CPA to go over the financials … and you have a meeting with Sam Beckett at Apple Computers.” 

 

“Apple?  What a dumb name for a computer.”

 

“I think it has something to do with Newton.  Anyway, I’ve got to go.”  Maddie opens her car door.  “I’ll see you … soon.”

 

“Maddie, it’s not like I don’t have faith – but I just think …”

 

“I know you do ... and sometimes you do it well.  How about we talk about it tonight, OK?  Maybe after Ellie has gone to bed … maybe with a bottle of good wine, some hot soapy water … a few candles – sans clothes.”

 

David smiles at the image she has described.  “Sounds like there will be very few words actually spoken.”

 

“I think we know how to communicate … non-verbally.”

 

“Oh, I have strong faith in that.”  They kiss and Maddie drives away. David is left with a nagging feeling.

 

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I'm gonna take it as it comes -- Joan of Arc

 

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Act II, Scene 1

Elevator at Blue Moon Office Building

 

David is alone in the elevator, moving and grooving to the music in his head and the lyrics slipping out of his mouth. 

 

            Man it's a hot one

            Like seven inches from the midday sun.

            Well I hear you whisper and the words melt everyone. 

            But you stay so cool.

            My munequita, my Spanish Harlem Mona Lisa

            You're my reason for reason, the step in my groove, Yeah  

 

David stops and a confused look crosses his face.  "What the hell was I just singing?" he asks to no one.  He knows the song, he knows the lyrics.  He can literally hear the song playing in his head, but for the life of him he can't place it.  The guitar work is unmistakable - Carlos Santana, but who was that singing?

 

The elevator stops at the lobby level to let some people on.  A man steps in next to David.  He is in his late forties, wearing black Reebock trainers, khaki cargo pants, and a blue bowling shirt that has "Team Viagra" embroidered over what looks like a pill in the shape of a squashed blue diamond.  Underneath the pill is embroidered "Up All Night - Literally."  The man was holding a magazine with the cover story : Y2K Countdown: Will you be in the Dark on January 1 2000? 

 

"January 2000?  They're getting ahead of themselves, dontcha think?" David says to the guy nodding at his magazine. 

 

"Ah, it's all a bunch of hooey," the man dismisses.  The man folds the magazine and slips it into his pocket.  David doesn't notice the date reads:  September 1999. 

 

A young woman who has previously escaped David's notice speaks up.  "That's not what I've heard," she babbles with a hair toss. 

 

David looks over at her.  She is near twenty with more make up than anyone should wear.  She has on a cropped tank top with the Union Jack spread tightly across her chest, and skin tight zebra striped yoga pants that would split apart if she tried to get into the cow face pose.  David notices a string coming up  between her buns and wrapping around her hips like dental floss.  Of course David has seen a thong before but never outside a room with a pole in it. 

 

"The whole world is going to come to a stop at midnight on New Year's Eve," she warns.  "Where will you be? I'll be partying like it is 1999!!!"  She giggles.  "Cause it is."

 

David and the man share the look that men share when faced with pretty and dumb.  Before too much more discussion can happen, the doors open again, and the man and unfortunately, the woman get off.  No harm in looking and if she is going to flaunt it - what's a red blooded American male supposed to do?  Of course as soon as the doors close, the image of the girl flits from David's mind like so much cotton candy. 

 

The music again starts in David's head:

 

            And if you say this life ain't good enough,

            I would give my world to lift you up.

            I could change my life to better suit your mood

            Cause you're so smooth

            And just like the ocean under the moon

            Well that's the same emotion I get from you

            You got the kind of lovin that can be so smooth

            Gimme your heart, make it real

            Or else forget it about it

 

David smiles thinking of his own Lady Smooth, "Oh no ... Let's don't forget about it."

 

The doors open on the twentieth floor and David dances down the hallway, humming the tune that is stuck in his head, oblivious to all that is going on around him.  An odd chirping sound is heard. 

 

            Da dada da da dadda da daa

 

David realizes that the noise is coming from him.  He reaches into his breast pocket and pulls out a small device that say "Nokia" on it.  It chirps again in his hand.

 

... Da dada da da dadda da daa

 

"What the hell?"

 

"You gonna answer that?", the maintenance guy says.  David looks over at an older guy who appears to be changing light bulbs in the hallway.  The name Sam Beckett is stitched over his pocket. 

 

"Answer it?" David asks.

 

"Yeah, man ... your phone ... you going to answer it? Cause if you ain't, then you should put in on silent and save the rest of us."  Sam pulls an apple from his pocket and takes a bite and offers David some. 

 

... Da dada da da dadda da daa

 

"What an awful noise."

 

... Da dada da da dadda da daa

 

"So get yourself a ringtone, man."

 

"Ringtone?" 

 

"They still sound like shit too, and annoy everyone trying to figure out what it's supposed to be.  My daughter has Paperback Writer , but you couldn't tell that by me.  Just sounds like noise you want to make stop."

 

David turns the phone over in his hand and wonders what the hell he is supposed to do with it. 

 

"I never thought I'd been so busy that I would need one of those."  Sam holds his own Nokia 8210 up.  "But the boss makes me carry one for work.  It's handy, I guess."

 

David still looks confused. "It stopped."  He looks up at Sam.   

 

"Probably gone to voice-mail by now."

 

"Voice-mail?"

 

"What's wrong with you man?  You acting like you ain't never seen one of these before."

 

"Can't say that I have.  Didn't have it this morning when I left the house ... in fact I was wearing a different suit when I left the house."  David checks out his reflection in the window of an office.  He slaps the little paunch of his stomach.  "And I didn't have this either."  

 

"Hey, when I woke up this morning I was twenty-five, had just make love to the sexiest woman I had ever met and had my whole life in front of me.  I was gonna be somebody.  By the time I made it to the bathroom and I lost forty years, that woman was my wife, my life was behind me and I ain't nobody."

 

"Hey --."

 

"But my wife is still the sexiest woman I know, even after thirty-five years of marriage.  It's been work.  We didn't make it to thirty-five years by taking each day as it came.  You gotta look to the future, Mr. Addison.  Set goals.  Make plans.  Lay the groundwork for the future today."

 

The phone chirps again. 

 

"Someone is looking for you, brother." Sam grins.  "Probably that beautiful wife of yours."

 

"Wife?"

 

"Suppose you didn't have one of those when you woke up this morning either."

 

"No, not so much."

 

Sam reaches over and hits the talk button and nods for David to place the phone to his ear.

 

"Hello?"

 

David, where the hell are you?

 

It was Maddie. 

 

"At the office.  Just about to walk in the doors."

 

David, you can be as pissed off at me as you want, but I never expected you to take it out on Ellie.

 

"Ellie?  What are you talking about?"

 

            It is Ellie's big day, David.  She is expecting you.

 

"Big day?  What are you talking --"

 

Bert Viola comes flying around the corner and slams into David and Sam.  The phone falls and David is shoved into the wall.  "Mr. Addison.  I was looking for you."

 

"You found me."  David stoops down to pick up the phone but the call has been dropped. 

 

"Ms. Hayes told me to find you and get you to the school."

 

"School?"

 

"Ellie's play?"

 

"Play?  She's a baby."

 

"You have been talking about it for weeks," Bert presses as he leads him to the elevator.  "She is Jack in Jack and the Beanstalk?"

 

"She's eight months old!" David protest. 

 

"Huh?" Bert is confused.  He ushers David into the elevator. 

 

Sam just shakes his head as he watches the two leave.  "Maybe he got hit on the head."  He goes back to work. 

 

~~~||~~~   ~~~||~~~   ~~~||~~~   ~~~||~~~   ~~~||~~~   ~~~||~~~

 

Our most basic common link is that we all inhabit this planet.  We all breathe the same air. 

We all cherish our children's future.  And we are all moral.  -- John F Kennedy

 

~~~||~~~   ~~~||~~~   ~~~||~~~   ~~~||~~~   ~~~||~~~   ~~~||~~~  

 

Scene 2

EXT - Parking lot at Ellie's School

 

Bert has been talking the whole way but not saying anything that makes sense.  David has stopped asking questions because Bert's answers just confuse him more.  He would get his answers from Maddie. 

 

"There is the great twist at the end that you never see coming," Bert babbles on.  "I won't tell you what it is ... it's fantastic.  You have to see it, Mr. Addison?"

 

"What are you talking about Bert?"  David is very distracted.  They are driving to Ellie's school?  He has been looking out the window and the changes - though subtle - are there.  Cars he has never seen before, including Bert's.

 

"It's called The Sixth Sense and it stars that guy from the Die Hard movies."

 

"I don't do movies, Bert."

 

"You still haven't seen the Blair Witch Project yet, have you?"  Bert frowns.  "Or the Matrix."  He shrugs.  "If you want to go, Agnes and I can watch Ellie.  What's one more in my brood?"

 

"Brood?  You consider Mickey a 'brood'?"

 

"Well, Mickey, Vinnie, Angela … and the twins will be here any day."

 

"Twins?"

 

They pull up and park.  David gets out and looks back at the vehicle.  "What kind of car is this again Bert?"

 

"It's a 2000 Prius, Mr. Addison.  I was able to get it early cause I have an uncle that works for Toyota.  It's a hybrid."

 

"2000?  Hybrid?  Between what and what?"

 

Bert shakes his head.  "Electric and gas.  You've been in this car before, Mr. Addison."

 

"It's ugly as hell."

 

"But I am saving the planet.  Everyone will be driving them soon."

 

"You go, son." 

 

"David!  You made it."  Maddie rushes over to meet him.  "Thank you, Mr. Viola."  Bert wants to stay for the play, but the look from Maddie sends him on his way.

 

David is stunned when he sees Maddie.  Her hair is longer, she is at least ten pounds lighter, but probably more like fifteen or twenty - he is never good at guessing actual poundage.  She looks frazzled but stunning.  "Maddie?  Have you lost weight?"

 

"Yes, David," she says, with great irritation.  "I have been juicing for six weeks now."   

 

"Juicing?"

 

"If you came home once in a while, you might notice more."

 

"Came home?"

 

"You can't keep up this up indefinitely," she scolds.  "We have to talk sometime.  If you want out of this marriage --."

 

"Keep what up?  Out?  Marriage?  No. No.  I didn't know I was in."  David was amused before, with all the oddities that were slamming him in the face, but it's not funny anymore.  "Maddie ... I was home last night."

 

"Well, you weren't sleeping in my bed if you were, but that's not breaking news."  She starts toward the school.  "We are not going to talk about it now.  This is about Ellie."

 

"Daddy!!!!"  A sweet little towhead with bright green eyes comes running at David full speed. 

 

"Ellie?"  He reactively picks her up and pulls her into a hug.

 

"Mama was worried you weren't going to be here in time, but you promised."

 

"I promised," he repeats, with very little conviction.  She hugs him harder and he squeezes her tight.  She was the first thing that felt right in the past hour, but she was not right.  Ellie was a baby.  Just that morning, he was carrying her around and she was drooling on his tie.  She wasn't even walking, much less running, talking or starring in plays.

 

She pushes against him so he will put her down.  "Watch me," she commands, pulling him by the hand toward the auditorium.

 

"We'll be right there, Ellie Pie."

 

"I saved you seats in the front row," she says, still pulling.  "I'm the star."

 

"You're gonna be great, Bunny, but give me just a minute with your Mom, OK?"

 

She strikes a decidedly Maddie pose with her little hands on her little hips, tapping one foot.  "You promised, Daddy-o." 

 

David can't help but smile.  "Two seconds."

 

Ellie taps her wrist at a non-existent watch.  "TWO SECONDS."

 

"Ellie!" the teacher calls from the door.  "Time to get into your costume."

 

"Break a leg, sweetie."  

 

Ellie waves two fingers at David and scampers up to the doorway. 

 

"Wow ... she is something else."  He looks back at Maddie.  "We made that?"

 

"We did."  Maddie can't be mad at David when she sees him with their daughter; a sad look crosses over her face anyway. 

 

David notices right away.  He pulls her into an embrace.  "I love you, Maddie."

 

"You have a funny way of showing it," she chokes out, forcing back her tears.  She pulls out of his arms.  "And by funny, I mean not funny at all."

 

"Maddie look, something is going on ... I don't know what it is ... and you won't believe me when I tell you ... but I was in bed with you last night.  We made love and it was fantastic - as it always is.  And when I left the house this morning, that little girl was eight months old."

 

"What are you talking about, David?"

 

"I don't know but it's true."

 

"David, she is six ... not eight months."

 

"I don't know ... we had that meeting with Morlock, Van Winkle and Scrooge and next thing I know, it is ... what? Five years later?"

 

"Did you hit your head?" she asks.  "Or maybe you're not getting enough sleep."

 

"Maddie, I slept fine last night, better than fine.  I held you in my arms all night."

 

"You haven't done that in ... months ... many, many, many months."

 

"Well thank God you didn't say years."

 

"Look, David, you have been in some weird space for at least nine months.  I chalked it up to your dad dying or a seven-eight-nine year itch thing ... but forgetting the last five years is a new one, even for you.  You need to start taking some responsibility here."

 

"My dad died?"

 

"David, stop.  This is not funny."

 

"Do I look like I'm laughing?" he exclaims.  "What happened to my Dad?"

 

Maddie relents.  "It was a heart attack.  Very sudden."  She shakes her head.  "You know all this.  And you can't keep beating yourself up for not talking to him the year before he died.  The phone works both ways."

 

"I wasn't talking to my Dad? But we are doing so great now - were doing ... are doing ... this doesn't make any sense.  I talked to my dad yesterday."

 

"No, David."  She regroups.  "Look, you're busy ... too busy for your family - me, Ellie, even your father."

 

"I can't believe I'd ever be that busy."

 

"I thought things would change when Sunny left, but it's only gotten worse."

 

"Sunny?  Where did Sunny go?"

 

"Home, David!  Ellie doesn't need a nanny any more - she grew up!"

 

"I still can't believe that."  He nods to where they last saw Ellie.  "I see it - but I don't believe it."

 

"Believe it."  Her eyes flash with anger.

 

"You're mad at me," he says.

 

"I'm always mad at you.  You're always mad at me.  All we do is fight - and not like the old days. We snipe at each other about the stupidest stuff."

 

David is just shaking his head.  "This is not right.  No midlife crisis or itch should have screwed us up - we worked too hard to get to where we are - were - whatever.  FIVE YEARS!"

 

"We are screwed up, David.  That's a fact."

 

"How?"

 

"Well, when you stop paying attention, you get what you get."  She softens her stance when she sees how hurt he looks.  "But it's not irreparable.  We have a daughter to think about."    

 

David is shaking his head.  "The last thing I remember clearly is that we left that meeting with Morlock, Van Winkle and Scrooge and we were talking about making plans for the future, and presto change-o, here I am."

 

"How do you like it so far?"

 

"Not impressed."  He looks over at Maddie and reaches for her hand.  She lets him take it reluctantly.  "We'll fix this Maddie.  I'll fix it.  You said it wasn't ---."

 

"Irreparable," she repeats.  He seems like the old David.  She wants to believe him. 

 

He steps closer to her.  "Let's repair it then."   He strokes her cheek with his free hand and leans in to kiss her.  Maddie is reluctant.  "Come on, Maddie - I'm sorry."

 

She wants to believe him.  She is edging closer to him too.   

 

"Mrs. Addison," a woman calls from the auditorium door which breaks the moment.  "We're about to begin, please take your seats." 

 

"Thank you."  Maddie turns to head up to the school. 

 

David falls in step next to her.  "You took my name?  We're married and you took my name?"

 

"Don't be ridiculous, David.  It's easier to just go along with it sometimes."

 

"But you married me, right?"  Maddie gives him a sidelong glance.  "Maddie."

 

"David."

 

"Maddie, come on ... help a guy out who just lost five years."

 

"You don't remember our wedding night or the morning after?"

 

"No! ...  Was it great?"

 

"Interesting."

 

~~~||~~~   ~~~||~~~   ~~~||~~~   ~~~||~~~   ~~~||~~~   ~~~||~~~

 

You may ask yourself well, how did I get here?

Letting the days go by. -- "Once in a Lifetime" by The Talking Heads

 

~~~||~~~   ~~~||~~~   ~~~||~~~   ~~~||~~~   ~~~||~~~   ~~~||~~~  

 

Scene 3

INT: Office of Morlock, Van Winkle and Scrooge Investments

 

David stays for the play and takes his ladies out to lunch, but he needs answers.  It started with the investors from Morlock, Van Winkle and Scrooge.  So that's the first place to go for answers.

 

David knocks and walks into the office without waiting for permission. 

 

"What the hell is going on?" he demands to know.

 

"Mr. Addison?  What are you doing back here?  Did you forget something?" Van Winkle says as he gets up off his couch stretching.  The newspaper he was reading slips on to the floor.  The headline reads CLINTON IMPEACHED. 

 

"I was here this morning, right?"

 

Morlock looks irritated.  "As you are every Friday morning, though for the life of me, I don't know why."

 

"Every Friday?"

 

"We have been meeting here every Friday morning for the past five years," adds Scrooge.

 

"Five and a half," Van Winkle corrects.

 

"No," David protests.  "I just met you guys this morning ... we didn't take your job."

 

"You were reluctant at first, but you saw the value in our request," Morlock says gruffly. 

 

"And you have been getting paid well for your troubles."

 

"What did you do to me?"

 

"Do?  We didn't DO anything to you, Mr. Addison."  Morlock stands up and walks to the window. 

 

"You've been doing some fine work for us, Mr. Addison."  Scrooge flips through the paperwork looking for something.  When he finds it he hands it over to David.  "You see, Enron was a great investment.  We have doubled our money and it seems to be going nowhere but up." 

 

David takes the folder but has no idea what he's looking at.  "I have never heard of Enron.  I don't know what this is."

 

"I still think there is something wrong with that company," Van Winkle says.  "I think we should get our money out now.  It's a house of cards."

 

"Don't be ridiculous," Scrooge says.  "They are solid as a rock."

 

"I can't remember the last five years," David shouts. 

 

"Did you hit your head?" Morlock asks.

 

"My head is fine."  David is exasperated.

 

Van Winkle walks over and wraps an arm around David and turns him toward the door.  "Why don't you just take the afternoon off?  You have been working very hard these days.  Go home, take your pretty wife to lunch, maybe go away for the weekend.  You deserve it.  The bonus we just gave you ought to pay for a pretty nice little getaway."  He taps David's breast pocket.  David pulls out a check and is shocked at the six digit payday they just got.   "We'll see you next Friday. 

 

David walks out still staring at the check in his hand.  "Curiouser and Curiouser." 

 

~~~||~~~   ~~~||~~~   ~~~||~~~   ~~~||~~~   ~~~||~~~   ~~~||~~~

 

What's the future?  It's a blank sheet of paper, and we draw lines on it,

but sometimes our hand is held and the lines we draw

aren't the lines we wanted.  -- John Marsden, The Dead of Night

 

~~~||~~~   ~~~||~~~   ~~~||~~~   ~~~||~~~   ~~~||~~~   ~~~||~~~  

 

 

Act III, Scene 1

EXT - Hayes Addison Residence - Early Afternoon

 

David pulls his car into the driveway and snaps off the radio.  He has been pushing buttons the whole way home and can’t find anything tolerable, much less anything he recognizes.  A fleeting thought crosses his mind about how and when he got his car.  He had taken a cab from the restaurant to the offices of Morlock, Van Winkle and Scrooge because he had left his car at the office.  He didn't go back to the office before going home.  Interesting.  He is excited about the bonus, which he hasn't told Maddie about; hell, he didn't know about it when he last talked to Maddie.  He reaches into his pocket but the check is gone.  He gets out of the car and checks all his pockets, but there is no check to be found.  Then he notices that his suit is one he has never seen before:  Armani, black.  Nice; very nice; very, very nice.  But he was wearing blue that morning and grey just an hour ago.  'Oh no,' David thinks.  This can't be good. 

 

The front door opens and a woman steps out.  David doesn't recognize her. 

 

"Hi David," she says brightly.  "I just came to check on the patient."

 

"Patient?" 

 

"She is doing fine and should be back on her feet in a day or two."

 

"On her feet?" 

 

"Are you feeling OK, David?"

 

"No.  No, I'm not."

 

"Can I help you? I didn't just study pediatrics to become a doctor, you know."

 

"Doctor?  Pediatrics?"

 

"Dr. Beckett.  Sam Beckett?  David, are you OK?"

 

The name sounds familiar.  Wasn't Sam Beckett the maintenance guy at the office?  No, he was the guy David was supposed to meet from Apple Computers. 

 

"Maybe you should get out of this hot sun," Dr. Beckett suggests. 

 

"I know this is going to sound like a dumb question, but why are you here?"

 

"I'm checking on Ellie.  She fell off her horse last week and broke her leg."

 

"WHAT!"  He moves toward the house.

 

"She is going to be fine,” she says calmly.  “It was a clean break and she will be up and around and riding before you know it."

 

David slumps back against the car.  It is a brand new BMW M3.  The sticker is still in the window.  2004.

 

"Two thousand and four?"

 

"What's the matter," the doctor asks. 

 

"I just lost five years in the blink of an eye."

 

"Feels that way when we get older, doesn't it?"

 

"No, I mean literally.  I blinked and it was five years later.  Second time today - two blinks and ten years are gone like that."  He snaps his fingers.

 

"Make an appointment with your doctor.”  She reaches into her bag and pulls out an apple.  “Maybe you hit your head."  She hands it to him.  "And you need to start eating better."

 

"My head is fine!" David shouts. 

 

"David?"

 

He looks up and Maddie is standing in the door way: his touchstone, his reality, his life.  The five years has aged her, but she is still as beautiful as ever. 

 

"David, Ellie is asking for you." 

 

~~~||~~~   ~~~||~~~   ~~~||~~~   ~~~||~~~   ~~~||~~~   ~~~||~~~

 

“The Future ain’t what it used to be.” -- Yogi Berra

 

~~~||~~~   ~~~||~~~   ~~~||~~~   ~~~||~~~   ~~~||~~~   ~~~||~~~

 

Scene 2

INT - Hayes Addison Home

 

David walks in tentatively.  He notices right away that the house is different on the inside.  It was different on the outside too but that escaped his notice, as did the address. 

 

"We live here?", he asks. 

 

"For that last two years," Maddie answers, a little confused.  "What's going on, David?"

 

"I don't know."  All he wants is to hold her and hope that this turns out to be a terrible dream.  "Are we OK?"

 

"We are fine."

 

"Fine?  As in OK or fine as in FINE?"

 

"What is going on with you?"

 

"Maddie, I just lost another five years.  That is ten in the past few hours – well, few hours to me."

 

"You're not pulling this thing again, are you?"

 

"I'm not pulling anything - I woke up this morning and Ellie was a baby.  By lunch time she was six, and now she is ... what?  Ten?  Eleven?  Twelve?"

 

"She's eleven and she wants to see you."

 

"She fell off her horse?  What horse?"

 

"David, you can't say stuff like this to her.  It will confuse her."

 

"I'm confused."  He takes her hand.  "Maddie, you've got to help me here."

 

Maddie takes pity on him and pulls him into an embrace.  "I love you, David.  I'll help you anyway I can."

 

He holds her tightly.  "I am missing too much ... I'll be damned if I am going to let those Virtual Writers SORAS my butt into the future just so we can catch up to real time."

 

"Diane would never let that happen."

 

"It's got to be Lizzie - she does crap like this to us.  Remember the lyric one?"

 

"Forget about Lizzie and the rest of them."  She leads him over to the couch and they sit.  "David, what do you remember?  Start from this morning."

 

David relates his experiences of the day to Maddie, not leaving anything out. 

 

"Do you agree this has something to do with the Morlock group?" David asks.

 

"I don't see how, but it does seem to stem from there." 

 

He looks around.  "I need a drink."

 

"You don't drink anymore," she told him.  "You quit about four years ago."

 

"Why?"

 

"You said it stopped you from thinking clearly."

 

"And how is that a bad thing?"  He rubs his hand across his head, which is now shaved, and looks to see if Maddie will make a comment.  "What else did I miss?"

 

Maddie proceeds to tell him about the events that changed the world and the USA over the past five years.  There is no way to soften the blow, so she just rattles it off: the attacks on the U.S. on 9/11 in 2001, the invasion of Afghanistan and Iraq in 2001 and 2003 respectively; the formation of the Department of Homeland Security in 2002, the Patriot Act, the anthrax threats, the heightened security at airports and borders. 

 

"We are a country hurt, angry, scared and fighting to protect ourselves against any further attacks and maintain some semblance of our way of life."

 

"Well it's no wonder I want to forget all that."  David leans back against the couch and wipes his hands over his face.  "This is all so surreal."

 

"Very real," she says sadly. 

 

"I really need a drink," David says.  "So nothing good happened in the world in the last five years?

 

"Good?" Maddie considers for a moment.  "Well, Arnold Schwarzenegger was elected Governor of California."

 

David laughs.  "You're joking."

 

"Not at all."

 

"The Governator  - that is just wrong."

 

"He's not doing a half bad job - not that I voted for him, but --."

 

"What about ... us ... Blue Moon?"

 

"Blue Moon has been very busy since the attacks.  Walk in traffic has quadrupled.  People want us to investigate everyone they have ever met of Muslim descent."

 

"And we take those cases?"

 

"No, of course not - but we have been contracted by many companies to help beef up their security.  Our staff has also quadrupled.  We have taken over two other offices on the same floor.  O'Neill and Jurgensen have taken jobs with Homeland Security.  They developed into top rate detectives over the past ten years."

 

"Really?  O'Neill?  Jurgensen?  Who'd have thunk it?"

 

"Agnes and Bert are pretty much running the day to day operations.  We are spending most of the time investigating.  Well, I am."

 

"What am I doing?"

 

She looks at him intently.  "You are still pretty focused on the work you are doing for Morlock, Van Winkle and Scrooge."

 

"Those guys -- this is all their fault."  David shakes his head.  "What about us?"

 

"Us?"

 

"Yeah, you and me. Last time apparently I was ... you know ... not really ..."

 

"You weren't paying attention."

 

"I don't remember any of this -- this is nuts."

 

"We are fine, David."

 

"You keep using that word, but ... are we sleeping together?"

 

"Of course."

 

"Are we ...?  You know ... not sleeping when we're sleeping together?"

 

She grins.  "Of course, David, with the help of our little blue friend."

 

"Excuse me?" 

 

She leans over and presses her hand on his thigh.  "Viagra," she whispers.

 

"What's Viagra?" he whispers back.

 

"A drug ... a pill ... it's used to help men with ..." She runs her hand down his chest playing with the buttons on his shirt.  "Well, not to put too fine a point on it - no pun intended -."

 

"What's Viagra, Maddie?"

 

" ... men with ... you know ..."  She shrugs.

 

"Men with what?"

 

She leans in and puts her lips very close to his ear and whispers, "Erectile dysfunction."

 

"Erectile what?"  He sits back and looks at her.  "Are you telling me I can't get it up in ten years?  How old am I?"

 

"You're over fifty, David and we only use it occasionally."  She leans toward him and puts her hand back on his thigh.  "You say it makes you feel like you're eighteen again."  She nuzzles his neck and nips at his earlobe.  "It's been very good for us.  I would say it got us back on track."

 

"Not sure I like the idea of you drugging me so you can have your way with me ... I feel so used."

 

"You didn't seem to mind last night," she coos.  David frowns at her.  "It's just because you are so stressed working for Morlock, Van Winkle and Scrooge."

 

"Those guys, they are behind this.  This is not me, Maddie.  This is not where we were supposed to be."

 

"Where were we supposed to be?"

 

"I don't know, but not here." 

 

            Hello, I love you won't your tell me your name ...

 

"What the hell?"

 

"That's your phone, David."  Maddie reaches into his coat pocket and pulls out a Motorola Razr.  She flips it open and sees the caller ID says MORLOCK.  "You should take this."  She hands the phone to David and gets up.  "I'll check on Ellie."  She gets to the door and looks back at him.  "Don't be too long ... we can experiment."

 

"Experiment?"  He likes the sound of that - but he is going to show her that he can still do it without being in a drug induced haze.  "How do I work this thing?"

 

"Green to talk," she says. 

 

~~~||~~~   ~~~||~~~   ~~~||~~~   ~~~||~~~   ~~~||~~~   ~~~||~~~

 

The only limit to our realization of tomorrow will be our doubts of today.

Let us move forward with strong and active faith.  -- Franklin D. Roosevelt

 

~~~||~~~   ~~~||~~~   ~~~||~~~   ~~~||~~~   ~~~||~~~   ~~~||~~~

 

Scene  3

INT - Hayes Addison Kitchen

 

David has been on the phone with Morlock for less than five minutes when he is done with the conversation.  From what he gathers, Enron had tanked a few years ago - and tanked big time.  The group got their money out in time, but are waiting for David to make his next big recommendation. 

 

"I'm not sure what we are paying you for, Mr. Addison." 

 

"Neither am I."

 

"I deserve a better answer from you than that, Mr. Addison." Morlock takes a breath.  "The economy is in the toilet, but Morlock, Van Winkle and Scrooge are keeping your lights on ... and then some."

 

"You think I should be grateful?  How the hell am I supposed to be grateful when I have just lost the last ten years of my life - ten years that by all rights should have been the best ten - and that is saying something?"

 

"You blame us for that?"

 

"If the shoe fits ..."

 

"We are sorry for any issues you are having in your personal life, but we are paying you to do a job."

 

"Then I quit."

 

"You don't want to do that, Mr. Addison," Morlock warned.  "Take the weekend Mr. Addison.  We will see you at our usual Monday appointment."

 

"I thought we met on Fridays."

 

"Not for years."

 

David drops the phone to his side.  He has no idea what he is supposed to do with it to hang up the call.  He snaps it shut with finality.  That seemed to work.  It's time to check on Ellie.

 

 

~~~||~~~   ~~~||~~~   ~~~||~~~   ~~~||~~~   ~~~||~~~   ~~~||~~~

 

If we open a quarrel between past and present,

We shall find that we have lost the future.  -- Winston Churchill

 

~~~||~~~   ~~~||~~~   ~~~||~~~   ~~~||~~~   ~~~||~~~   ~~~||~~~

 

Act IV, Scene 1

INT - Hayes Addison Residence

 

David walks back into the living room, still confused about his conversation with Morlock and getting increasingly more frustrated. 

 

"Dad, what are you doing here?"

 

He looks up and is face to face with a blonde haired, green eyed teenager that looks like Maddie, but with a crooked grin that David has seen in the mirror more than a hundred times.

 

"Ellie?"  David looks at her from foot to head:  short purple suede boots, a too short denim skirt, an off the shoulder t-shirt with bright colors and sequins.  She has bangles at her wrists and more than a dozen necklaces around her neck.  He is afraid to look more closely at her ears for fear that the large hoops are only the beginning. 

 

"Dad!" she says again for dramatic effect.  "What're you doing here?"

 

"I live here?" he offers. 

 

"No, not so much."

 

"Where are you going dressed like that?"

 

"I have a date."  She poses for him. 

 

It is amazing how much she looks like Maddie when she was the same age.  It occurs to David he has no idea how old she is.  "A date! How old are you?"

 

"Sixteen."

 

"Sixteen?  Two seconds ago you were eleven!"

 

"Not for what ... like five years.  Do the math."

 

"For the love of Mike, not again."  David realizes that he has had another time jump.  At least they are consistent - five year intervals.

 

"Not again -- what?" 

 

He looks her up and down.  "You are not going out of the house looking like that."

 

"Dad, we have been over this and over this ... you don't get to pick my clothes."

 

"Those aren't clothes, Ellie.  That's a costume.  It ain't Halloween - is it?"

 

The doorbell rings and Ellie jumps to answer it.  David is hard on her heels.  "I'll get it, you ... you go up stairs and put some clothes on."

 

"Daddy, Daddy, Daddy " Ellie protests.

 

"Ellie, Ellie, Ellie ... GO."

 

"Took me hours to put this outfit together."

 

"Great, that will give me some time with your boyfriend."

 

"He's not my boyfriend, it's just a date."

 

"Go, upstairs.  NOW!"   

 

"FINE!" She stomps up the stairs.

 

"FINE."  He calls back to her. 

 

"GOOD!"

 

"Good." He says with a grin.

 

Then the door slams hard. 

 

His grin spreads into a broad smile.  "That apple didn't fall far from the tree."

 

~~~||~~~   ~~~||~~~   ~~~||~~~   ~~~||~~~   ~~~||~~~   ~~~||~~~

 

Trying to predict the future is like trying to drive down a country road

at night with no lights while looking out the back window.  - Peter F Drucker

 

~~~||~~~   ~~~||~~~   ~~~||~~~   ~~~||~~~   ~~~||~~~   ~~~||~~~

 

Scene 2

EXT Hayes (Addison) Driveway

 

When she is safely upstairs, David opens the door.  Outside is a very good looking young (but not that young) African American youth.  He is wearing a black fedora, black leather blazer, white t-shirt, baggy black jeans and black high tops.  Let us not forget the bling - two heavy chains around his neck that hang to his navel, one bearing a heavy cross. There is a pair of thick chain bracelets around one wrist.  In his ears are large diamond studs - though maybe they are cubic zirconia.  The kid clearly doesn't hear the door open.  He is in the driveway; singing and dancing (read: posing and spinning).

 

They're all part of the list

Things that I miss

Things like your funny little laugh or the way you smile or the way we kiss

What I notice is this

I come up with

Something new every single time that I sit and reminisce.

 

He spins around and is facing David.  He stops his dance and stands straight up. 

 

"Who are you supposed to be?" David asks gruffly. 

 

"Ne-Yo," the kid answers.  "I mean, I was singing Part of the List by Ne-Yo." 

 

"Right."  David is less than impressed. 

 

"You are Mr. Addison, Ellie's father."  He steps toward David and puts his hand out.  "I am Samuel.  Samuel Beckett."

 

David recognizes the name right away and tries to be amused.  But if this person is planning on dating his daughter, then it's going to take a lot more than some weird coincidence to win David over.  David reluctantly takes the kid's hand.  "How old are you?" 

 

"Seventeen, almost eighteen."

 

"What are you doing with my daughter, no girls your own age?"

 

"Ellie, your daughter, sir, is a remarkable woman."

 

"Woman?  She's sixteen years old."  David steps towards Samuel which causes Samuel to step back.  "How did you two meet?"

 

"Facebook."

 

"Face who?"

 

"We had mutual friends and we met on Facebook.  We have a lot in common, sir, including our love of music, which she credits you for."

 

"Me?"

 

"Yes, sir.  We have chatted for hours about you and your influence in her life."

 

"Chatted?"  David knows the kid is shining him on, but he is doing a good job.

 

"Yes, sir.  Online." 

 

"On what line?"

 

"The internet, sir?"

 

"The inter-what?"  David stands up to his full height.  "Hold de phone! ... hold de phone! -- no daughter of mine is going on the internet meeting ... well ... anyone."

 

"She's on it every day - everyone is."

 

"I'm going to put a stop to that - right here, right now."  He wraps his arm around Samuel's shoulders and leads him away from the house.  "Look, I don't know you ... you don't know me ... but that is my little girl.  If you even think that I --."

 

"I respect your daughter, Mr. Addison," he says trying not to be intimidated.  "When she is with me, she is safe."

 

"Is she safe from you?"

 

"Ellie knows her own mind, sir.  She can take care of herself."

 

"Just like her mother," David comments.  "Has Maddie met you?"

 

"Ms. Hayes?  Yes, sir."

     

"And where are you taking Ellie?"

 

"There's an art exhibit at LACMA."

 

"Art exhibit?  Seriously.  You expect me to buy that."

 

"Yes, sir.  The Heroes and Villains: The Battle for Good in India's Comics.  It is fascinating.  The use of archetype --"

 

"You are going to look at a bunch of comic books," David concludes.

 

"Well, yes sir."

 

"Stop calling me sir, you make me feel old." David sits down on the steps and wipes his hands across his face.  He starts rubbing his temples. 

 

"Are you OK, sir - Mr. Addison?"

 

"Headache."

 

"Did you hit your head?"

 

"No!" he snaps.  "Why is everyone asking me that?"  He stands up.  "It's been a pretty weird day, Samuel.  The last thing I thought I would be doing this morning was meeting the kid my daughter is dating."

 

"I know it is not my place, but she misses you."

 

"I've missed her," David says cryptically.  “I’ve missed a lot of her.”

 

A car pulls in the driveway and Maddie gets out.  "Hi Samuel."  She turns a wary eye on David.  "David?  Did you tell me you were going to be here?  I thought we agreed ---"

 

David looks at Samuel and then back at Maddie.  "Can we talk?"

 

Ellie comes bounding out of the door.  She has changed, but not for the better in David's mind.  "Hi, Mom.  Bye, Mom. We'll be home by seven."

 

"Ok," she turns to Samuel.  "Would you like to join us for dinner?"

 

"Yes, ma'am.  Thank you."

 

"You two have fun," Maddie says.

 

"We will.”  Ellie turns to David.  “Bye, Dad."

 

David stands up, feeling helpless.  He reaches into his pocket and pulls out a twenty dollar bill, then adds another one to it.  He palms them to Ellie.  "You need to get home; you call me or take a cab."

 

"Dad!" she whines.

 

"I'm serious."

 

"Ok.  Ok."  She hugs him.  "Good to see you, Dad."

 

"Wait a minute," Samuel calls.  He holds his iPhone up and takes a picture.  He smiles at his results.  "Nice."  He turns the face of the phone to Ellie and David. 

 

"What the hell?"  David is confused.  "Is that a camera?"

 

"Well, there is a camera app."

 

"What the hell is an app?"

 

“It’s an iPhone by Apple.”

 

“Apple?”  There seems to be a theme running with the Sam Beckett’s and apples.  Hmmmm.

 

"David, let them go," Maddie says.  "We can talk inside."

 

David watches as Samuel opens the door for Ellie and waits like a gentleman before he closes the door.  David is overcome with how much he has missed.  He just wishes he knew why. 

 

~~~||~~~   ~~~||~~~   ~~~||~~~   ~~~||~~~   ~~~||~~~   ~~~||~~~

 

“In the future everyone will be famous for fifteen minutes.”  - Andy Warhol

 

~~~||~~~   ~~~||~~~   ~~~||~~~   ~~~||~~~   ~~~||~~~   ~~~||~~~

 

Scene 3

INT - Hayes (Addison) Living Room

 

"You look like you could use a drink," Maddie says. 

 

"You got that right, but I thought I quit."

 

"You take a glass of red now and then." Maddie pours them each a glass of wine and she sits down next to him on the couch.  "You lost some more time, didn't you?"

 

He nods and raises his glass to her.  "Do I want to know what has happened in the world in the last five years?"

 

"Well, we have an African American president and Hilary Clinton is the Secretary of State.  The housing bubble finally burst and the house is worth about a third less than it was.  Thankfully we had a lot of equity so we aren't underwater - close but not underwater.  Ellie's college fund took a huge hit as did our 401(k)s.  The business is hanging in, but it's tight.  We've had to lay off about twenty-five operatives."

 

"Twenty-five?  I didn't know we had more than six."

 

"Yeah, the last fifteen years have been pretty steady growth for us - well except for the last few.  Thank God for Morlock, Van Winkle and Scrooge.  They alone are keeping our lights on and the payroll paid."

 

"Yeah, them."  David turns to look at her.  "And Ellie?"

 

"She is her father's daughter."

 

"Is that good or bad?"

 

"Yes," Maddie laughs.  "She is smart and funny and basically a really good kid.  Of course she is sixteen now and the teenage years are getting a little tougher."

 

"You let her date?"

 

"We let her date ... but it is not like real dating.  They go to events - like this art exhibit or the movies but Samuel always brings her home early.  If they keep going, something will happen between them, but I think we have taught her well enough to respect herself and not enter into a relationship that she can't handle."

 

"That sounds like you.  Good for us."  He looks at her.  "Am I a good father?"

 

"Yes, David.  You have never let anything prevent you from being there for Ellie."

 

"She made it sound like I haven't been around much."

 

"She's sixteen and she is mad at you for moving out."

 

"Yeah, I am pretty mad at myself for that too."  He studies her for a moment.  "You seem surprisingly OK with this lost-another-five-years thing.  Guess I am up to fifteen years so far."   

 

"I'm going to be fifty-eight this year and ... well ... I just can't let this stuff bother me anymore."

 

"Wow ... fifty-eight ... you look great."  He leans away from her to really take her in.  "Really great." 

 

"Few more aches and pains ... harder to get up in the morning ... harder to sleep all night."

 

He stands up to look at himself in the mirror.  He is impressed with his figure but the lines around his eyes are a little disconcerting.  He sits down next to her and takes her hand.  She stiffens for a moment and then relaxes.  "What is going on with us?"

 

"Just another rocky time - we have survived them in the past.  We'll survive this one too ... probably."

 

"But I moved out?  Was that your idea or mine?"

 

"We both agreed it was a good idea - for now."

 

"I'm sorry, Maddie - I mean I don't know what I've done, but I'm sorry."

 

"We got here together, David.  Nothing is unfixable, nothing has been unforgivable."

 

"So what happened?"

 

"Day to day happens and when you don't make time for certain things, certain people, you don’t set goals and work for them - you grow apart.  We grew apart."

 

"Are you OK with this?"

 

"No, I'm miserable.  I miss you.  I miss us."  She leans back on the couch.  "But I see you every day.  We still work together."  She takes a sip of wine.  "Do you want to know the worst part?"

 

"Tell me."

 

"We don't fight any more."   She laughs a little.  "Who would've ever thought that I would miss the fighting, the bickering, the bantering, the back and forth with no end?"

 

"I would have hoped that you missed the making up."

 

"I miss that too," she says.

 

David slides over next to her and wraps his arm around her and pulls her close.  "I love you, Maddie.  I have always loved you - and it was never my intention to let time ruin us.  I don't know if that means anything to you anymore."

 

"It means a lot."

 

"If I could go back and do it all again, I would do it differently."

 

"You don't even know what you did this time?"

 

"Doesn't matter - I would do it right.  I would take nothing for granted.  I would keep an eye on where we were going and not lose sight of anything that we had.  I missed so much, Maddie.  Nearly all of Ellie's firsts - first word, first step, first date apparently.  I don't want to miss another first."  

 

He leans in slowly and tentatively, gauging her reaction.  If she showed any sign of reluctance or disinterest, he would stop.  She didn't.  He follows through and kisses her tenderly and lovingly.

 

"Mmmm," she said.  "I remember that."

 

"I remember that like it was this morning," he says and kisses her again.   He stands up and takes her free hand and leads her upstairs.  "I don't want to miss another second with you either."

 

~~~||~~~   ~~~||~~~   ~~~||~~~   ~~~||~~~   ~~~||~~~   ~~~||~~~

 

It's amazing how fast later comes when you buy now! --Milton Berle

 

~~~||~~~   ~~~||~~~   ~~~||~~~   ~~~||~~~   ~~~||~~~   ~~~||~~~

 

Act V, Scene 1

INT - Hayes Addison Bedroom

 

Maddie lies comfortably in David's arms.  He is awake and stroking her back as she sleeps.  Making love with Maddie isn't always like the first time - which isn't necessarily a bad thing - but it is always fantastic, even so many years later.  David is thinking about how it happened that he missed so much and how he is going to get it back.  Maybe it is some form of amnesia and it will all come rushing back to him. Or maybe it is just some odd dream and he can wake up at any moment.  Maybe it is something he ate.  He didn't remember eating anything since breakfast - fifteen years ago.  He should be famished.  He takes his free hand and rubs his head looking for bumps, giving into the idea that maybe he did hit his head.  Whatever it is, it has to be over.  He can't lose any more time. 

 

The door slams downstairs and Maddie shoots up. 

 

"MOM!!! DAD!!! Are you here?"

 

Maddie quickly gets up and puts a robe on.  "What is she doing home?"  She calls down the stairs.  "Hi, honey.  We'll be right down."

 

"She said she would be home by seven," David says getting up to pull on his boxers. 

 

"When did she say that?  Did she call today and you didn't tell me?"

 

"No, she told us when she left with Samuel."

 

"What are you talking about?"

 

"What are you talking about?"

 

"Ellie should be at school.  She's got finals next week.  She wasn't coming home until the following weekend."

 

"Finals? Next weekend? Coming home from where?"

 

"Stanford?"

 

David sits down on the bed and looks at his watch.  "What year is it, Maddie?" 

 

"What year it is?  What's wrong with you?"  A look of dread crosses her face.  "Not again, David," she warns.  "Don't do this to me again."

 

"Just tell me the year."

 

"It is 2014."

 

"Damn it!" he says.  "Just lost another five years."  He looks up at Maddie.  "Please tell me we were in bed for all of it."

 

"MOM!  DAD!!"

 

"COMING."  Maddie shakes her head.  "Not this again, David.  Get dressed and we'll talk about it later."

 

David is finally broken.  He has lost 20 years of his life in the space of a few hours.  How will he ever get that back?  It seems his life is totally out of his control and spinning faster than he can keep up with it.

 

"DAVID!"  Maddie calls from downstairs.  "Would you please come down here?"  Her tone is not good.

 

~~~||~~~   ~~~||~~~   ~~~||~~~   ~~~||~~~   ~~~||~~~   ~~~||~~~

 

"Change is the law of life.  And those who look only to the past

or present are certain to miss the future."  -- John F Kennedy

 

~~~||~~~   ~~~||~~~   ~~~||~~~   ~~~||~~~   ~~~||~~~   ~~~||~~~

 

Scene 2

INT - Hayes Addsion Living Room

 

Maddie is downstairs with Ellie when David enters the room.  David still sees the teenager that he just met and the little baby he held in his arms in the young woman that stands before him. 

 

"Ellie has made a decision," Maddie says with great annoyance. 

 

"Has she?"  David slumps down into the chair.  "I like my women decisive."

 

"I'm quitting school and Scott and I are going to backpack around Europe, Asia and Australia for the next year or two."

 

Maddie is seething. 

 

"Sure, why not?" David leans back and yawns. 

 

"DAVID!" 

 

"Maddie."

 

"She is a year away from graduating.  Six months if she takes some summer school classes.  Why can't she wait?"

 

The fight has gone out of David.  He has missed too much. He has nothing to drawn on for this fight.  He missed twenty years with these women.  He doesn't even know his role in the family any more.   "Ellie, why can't you wait?"

 

"Because Scott wants to leave now- and school will always be there."  She sits down on the floor cross legged.  "Besides this trip will be more education than I have gotten in the last three years."

 

David looks at Maddie.  "Jeez Maddie, we could have saved ourselves a ton of money if we just sent her off to Europe."

 

"I paid for my education too, Dad.  Shouldn't I be the one to decide when and how I want to learn?"

 

"Fine."

 

"FINE?" Maddie screeches back.  "DAVID!"

 

"Maddie!"  He looks back at Ellie.  "Who is Scott?"

 

"Scott!  Scott!  The love of my life.  My soul mate."

 

"Oh, Scott."  He looks at Maddie.  "She is going with Scott."

 

"David, are you going to let this happen?"

 

"What makes you think I have any control over this at all?  Hell, I went upstairs with you a few hours ago it was 2009.  Now it is 2014 and I'm afraid to go to the bathroom.  When I come back, she will be married with a kid on the way."

 

"Daddy!"  Ellie doesn't understand what he is saying, but as long as they are fighting with each other, she is safe.

 

"And how did you lose those five years David?  How did you lose the last twenty years?  Or the next twenty?"

 

"Careless, I guess."

 

"Careless?" Maddie screeches.  "That's all you have to say for losing the last twenty years of your life?  Twenty years of OUR life?  It was a lot more than careless.  It was arrogant and presumptuous." 

 

"Presumptuous?"

 

"You assume that there will always be a tomorrow, that there will always be a way to make up for lost time, but there is no way for making up for what you lost - what we lost.  You still think everything can be fixed with a declaration of love, and sex."

 

"Why are you so mad?"

 

"How do you think I feel, David?  I have been with you for going on thirty years - married for a good portion of that and you don't remember anything.  How is that a life shared?  How is that growing old with the person you love?  I'm alone, David.  More alone now than when you were here before you forgot you were here."

 

"What?"

 

"You know what I mean."

 

"No, I really don't."  He sits up.  "Are you mad at me or Ellie?"

 

"Both of you.  Neither of you want to work to secure your future."

 

"Mom, I will come back and finish school.  I promise."

 

"What about your classes this semester?"  Maddie presses.  "What about your finals next week?"

 

"I'll take them when I get back."

 

"Why the big rush to go?" David asks.  "Why not wait a week, until after finals?"

 

"Because Scott --."

 

"Why can't Scott wait?  Why is he is such a rush to get out of the country?  Are the cops looking for him?"

 

"No - I don't know - we just talked about this last night and made the plans."

 

"Just last night -- you talked about it for what - three hours?"

 

Ellie looks a little sheepish.  "Yeah ... three or four."

 

"Well, four whole hours ... that seems like enough time to give up ... how many years of college?"

 

"Short sighted," Maddie states.  "Just like your father." 

 

"HEY!"  David jumps back in.  "I may have been a ‘live for today and let tomorrow take care of itself’ kind of guy, but I have no idea how I got here"

 

"Careless?" Ellie offers. 

 

"Touche." 

 

Ellie's phone rings and she grabs it and runs into the other room.   "Hi Scott ... no they are not happy."

 

Maddie is seething. 

 

"I'm sorry, Maddie."

 

"You say that every time.  Apologies are just not going to cut it anymore."

 

"Every time?"

 

"You apologize for losing time ... say you will do something to not let it happen again or find the time we missed and we start again.  Five years go by and without warning, it all gets wiped away again.  I won't go through it again, David."

 

"What are you saying?"

 

"I don't know what I'm saying, but I am saying I can't go through it again.  I need us to have a past, a present and a future."  She wipes at her eyes.  "Call me selfish."

 

Maddie goes upstairs and it is clear that David is not invited.  He can tell the by the decibel of her door slam.

 

"Where did Mom go?" Ellie asks when she comes back.

 

"She is ... taking a bath," he said. 

 

"Wow, she must really be upset."

 

"She has good reason to be."

 

"Why, cause I'm dropping out of school?"

 

"I think it has more to do with how careless you're being with your future."

 

"School will always be there."

 

"So will Europe, Asia and Australia."  David sits up.  "Ellie, I know what it is like to be young and free."  He looks toward the stairs quickly.  "And I know what it is like to be in love, so in love that you would do anything - change your life, sell your soul - just to be with that person.  But I also know that finishing what you start is a hell of a lot easier and more rewarding that quitting and going back." 

 

"Are you telling me you aren't going to let me go?"

 

"You're an adult, Ellie - I can't believe I am saying this - just this morning you were a baby drooling into your carrots."

 

"Ew ... Dad."

 

"You're an adult and can make your own choices."  He shrugs.  "I think you can make a better one than quitting school and flying off to Europe with this boy."

 

"I thought you liked Scott."

 

"Frankly, Ellie - I couldn't tell you if I do or I don't.  But Scott is not my concern.  You are."

 

 "Jeez Dad.  When did you get to be so old?"

 

"Just today," he says sadly.

 

Ellie locks herself in her room and David is left alone.  He sinks back down into the chair at a loss for what to do.  He hears a muffled ring coming from somewhere in the room.  He gets up to search for it and finds it coming from the pocket of a coat that had been tossed across the back of the couch.  He pulls it out and sees VAN WINKLE written across the face of it, with an option to ANSWER.  That is it.  David wants some answers and Morlock, Van Winkle and Scrooge are just the stooges that are going to give them to him - but not on the phone.

 

He hit the button to take the call.  "I'll be there in twenty minutes."  He ends the call before Van Winkle can respond.

 

~~~||~~~   ~~~||~~~   ~~~||~~~   ~~~||~~~   ~~~||~~~   ~~~||~~~

 

“The greatest discovery of all time is that a person can

change his future by merely changing his attitude.” -- Oprah Winfrey

 

~~~||~~~   ~~~||~~~   ~~~||~~~   ~~~||~~~   ~~~||~~~   ~~~||~~~

 

Scene 3

INT: Parking Garage in the building containing the offices of Morlock, Van Winkle and Scrooge

 

David gets out of his car, still confused about what he is expecting the Morlock group to say to him.  He gets into the elevator and hits the button.  The blue box that was there that morning - well twenty years ago that morning - is gone.  A very young sexy woman comes running up.  She is wearing a t-shirt with a white apple on it with a bite taken out. 

 

 “Hey, Mr. Addison,” she says breathlessly.  “I’m glad I caught you.”

 

“You know me?”

 

“Of course I know you.  I’ve been working for you for three years.”

 

David shakes his head and shrugs. 

 

“Oh Mr. Addison, you are so funny,” she playfully slaps him on the arm.  “Sam … Samantha?”

 

“Beckett? He finishes.  Samantha Beckett?”

 

“That’s right.  See I knew you were just teasing.”

 

“Why are you here?”

 

“You told me to bring this file to you for your meeting with Morlock, Van Winkle and Scrooge.”

 

“File?”

 

“Yes, it is the report on Apple Computers.”

 

“What does it say?”

 

“It says that three years after Jobs’ death, the company is still going strong.”  She giggles.  “Well it says more than that, but that is the most important part.  Mr. Jobs was a visionary and he positioned his company so well and taught them to look to the future that they will continue to be cutting edge.  Pretty impressive for a college drop out.”

 

“Yes, yes it is.”

 

“Is there anything else I can do for you Mr. Addison?”

 

“No, thank you.”

 

The elevator doors open and David gets in.  There is something nagging at him.  Sam Beckett – Sam, Samuel, Samantha.  But there was something else.  Something fruity.

 

~~~||~~~   ~~~||~~~   ~~~||~~~   ~~~||~~~   ~~~||~~~   ~~~||~~~

 

“I don’t try to describe the future.  I try to prevent it.” – Ray Bradbury

 

~~~||~~~   ~~~||~~~   ~~~||~~~   ~~~||~~~   ~~~||~~~   ~~~||~~~

 

 

Scene 4

INT: Offices of Morlock, Van Winkle and Scrooge

 

David walks into the office without being shown in.  Maddie is seated on the couch with the three partners in the chairs.  She jumps up at the sight of David, clearly grateful that he has finally arrived. 

 

"David!" she bursts out.  "It's about time!"

 

"You're damn straight it's about time.  It's about my time.  Our time!

 

"David, what are you talking about?"

 

David looks around.  It looks like it did the first time he entered.  He looks over at Maddie.  She looks exactly like she did that morning.  He looks at his suit – blue – like he put on that morning and there is still drool on his tie from baby Ellie.  He looks at Maddie.  “What year is it?”

 

“Excuse me?”

 

“What year is it?”

 

“You will have to excuse my partner,” Maddie says as she smiles at the men.   "He must have hit his head."

 

“Maddie, the year!”

 

“1994.”

 

David is elated.  He pulls her to standing and hugs her hard.  “Toto, we're home.  There's no place like home.  There's no place like home.”

 

"David!" Maddie pushes out of his arms. 

 

He looks at the men.  “We are not taking your case,” he announces.

 

“But you haven’t heard our request,” Scrooge protests.

 

“Call me psychic.  We are not taking your case.”  He leads Maddie to the door.  He turns back to look at the men who are still seated and a little put out.  “I just want to say one word to you.  Just one word. … Are you listening?"

 

"Plastics?"

 

"No, Orange," he thinks for a minute.  That's not right.  "Lime?"  He shakes his head.  "Mango, Pomegranate ... Dragon Fruit."  None of those are right.  He looks down at the folder in his hands.  The label says: Lockmore, Winklevoss and Marley, Attorneys at Law.   "Something fruity.”  He links his arm through Maddie’s.  “Let’s go.”

 

~~~||~~~   ~~~||~~~   ~~~||~~~   ~~~||~~~   ~~~||~~~   ~~~||~~~

 

“When it comes to the future, there are three kinds of people: those who let it happen,

those who make it happen, and those who wonder what happened.” – John M Richardson

 

~~~||~~~   ~~~||~~~   ~~~||~~~   ~~~||~~~   ~~~||~~~   ~~~||~~~

 

Epilogue

Hayes Addison Bathroom

 

The room is bathed in candle light and is warm and misty from the hot water in the bathtub.  David hands Maddie a glass of wine and sets his down next to the baby monitor.  He drops her robe to the floor and slips into the tub behind her.

 

"We really need to get you a robe of your own, David."

 

He kisses her neck.  "I like how yours feels." 

 

"You can't be running around naked.  What if Sunny is --."

 

"Is what?  Looking through our windows with binoculars?  Then she gets what she gets."  He pulls her back against his chest which causes the water to slosh.  "So tell me again, who that meeting was with this morning?"

 

"Lockmore, Winklevoss and Marley.  They are lawyers and wanted to put us on retainer to do investigative work on their cases.  Pretty big account that we just refused."

 

"You're going to have to trust me on that one."

 

"I do."  She picks up a big sponge and squeezes the soapy water out on his leg.   "The bath was a great idea." 

 

"It was yours."

 

"Mine?  When?"

 

"The future you."  He takes the sponge from her, dips it in the water and squeezes it out on her shoulder and back.

 

"Right ... a future me." 

 

"In some weird alternate reality."  He leans his head back and closes his eyes grateful to be home and quite literally in the bosom of his family.  He is still rubbing the sponge over Maddie's shoulders.  "Single weirdest day of my life," he says. 

 

"It sounds like it."  Maddie is quiet in David's arms for a moment.  "So what do you think happened?  Did you hit your head?  Was it a dream?"

 

"Don't know.  Don't care.  I'm back."

 

They were quiet for a moment.

 

"David?"

 

"Right here.  Right now."  He smiles and kisses her head.  "What year is it?"

 

"1994."   She brings his hand to her lips.  "How much of what you told me about this ... future, do you think will come true?"

 

"Don't know," he says quickly without opening his eyes.  "Guess I should've written down some lottery numbers so we could check it out."  David hasn't really told her much of what he saw outside of what he experienced between them and some vague comments about Ellie.  The particulars about the future had faded quickly from his mind - something about mobile phones, electric cars and ... something fruity. "I know some things that won't be happening, now that I've been given a heads up."  He pulls her more tightly to him and kisses her neck. 

 

"You think you have the power to change the future."

 

"I do, you do too."  

 

"It's nice to think that we'll be together in twenty years," she says.

 

"Do you have any doubts?"

 

"Always have doubts, David."  She turns a little so she can look at him.  "Never thought that I would grow old with anyone.  Since I was sixteen, I couldn't picture anyone that I would want to spend the rest of my life with."

 

He pulls her back against him.  "That all changed the day you met me."

 

"Well, not the first day." She smiles and kisses him quickly.

"But you do see us together now ... and in the future."

 

"Yes, David.  I'm committed to whatever happens."

 

David shakes his head slightly.  "Whole thing feels like some cautionary tale."

 

"Cautioning you about what?"

 

"Letting the days go by ... not making plans."

 

"Think our hands are full at the moment trying to get Ellie out of diapers and keeping the lights on."

 

"Before you know it, a year will go by, then another, then another."  He considers for a moment.  "Don't get me wrong ... I would like nothing more than to be sitting right here in this tub with you in thirty years ..."

 

"We'd need to install hand rails so we can pull ourselves out."

 

"... But I want other things too."

 

"Wow ... David Addison ... looking to the future ... who'd of thunk that?  Times they are a changin'."

 

"I can do the here and now too."  David leans up and starts kissing her neck and running his wet hands over her soapy body.

 

"Something comforting about that too," she says

 

"I can see your future, blondie cakes."

 

"Oh yeah?"

 

"Yes ... I see you ... naked, prone, breathless ... something else ... there it is ... you're smiling."

 

He starts to kiss her properly which will end the bath, but little baby Ellie has woken up and is fussing from her bed. 

 

"I'll go check on her,” Maddie offers.

 

"I'll do it," David says.  "Wait here for me?"

 

She nods.

 

Within moments David is back with little Ellie in his arms.  "I think Ellie needs a bath too."  He hands the baby to Maddie and again climbs in behind her.  He fiddles with the faucets for a moment, refilling the tub with warm water. 

 

When he finally settles back, Maddie leans against him.  "What about that future you were describing ... prone, breathless, smiling?"

 

"We'll get there ... don't you worry your pretty blonde head about that."  He kisses her.  "You in a hurry?"

 

"Nope ... right now I have everything I want."  Maddie focuses on Ellie and is humming something. 

 

"What's that?" he asks. 

 

"Ever since you told me about your experience today I've had this song running through my head."

 

Maddie sings:

           

If you're lost you can look and you will find me

Time after time

If you fall I will catch you I'll be waiting

Time after time

 

David pulls his girls tightly to him.  "Good ol' Cyndi. Wise beyond her years."

 

They are quiet for a long moment. 

 

David starts to sing, low and slow.

 

I'm gonna love you like nobody's loved you - come rain or come shine.  High as a mountain and deep as a river - come rain or come shine.

 

The song turns into a duet each taking alternate lines.

 

            I guess when I met you it was just one of those things.

 

            But don't ever bet me cause I'm gonna be true ... if you let me.

 

            You're gonna love me like nobody's loved me.

 

            Come rain or come shine.

 

            Happy together, unhappy together --

 

            And won't it be fine?

 

            Days maybe cloudy or sunny.

 

            We're in or were out of the money.

 

They finish the song together,

 

            But I'm with you always, I'm with you rain or shine.

 

They kiss. 

 

"That's my take away from today," he says. 

 

"What?"

 

"I'm with you always?"

 

"You just realized that?"

 

"When you know - I mean really KNOW your future - it means you can make better plans for it."

 

"You have plans?"

 

"I have a few ideas."

 

"You are always full of ideas."

 

"Not talking just about tonight, Maddie."

 

"Oh no?"

 

"No."  He looks over at Ellie who is now sound asleep on Maddie's chest.  "But it's a great place to start."  He takes the baby from Maddie and stands up.  "Let's put our girl to bed and I will tell you what I'm thinking for what's next."

 

"What's next?"

 

"You're gonna love it."

 

~~~||~~~   ~~~||~~~   ~~~||~~~   ~~~||~~~   ~~~||~~~   ~~~||~~~

 

When you make a choice, you change the future.  -- Deepak Chopra

 

~~~||~~~   ~~~||~~~   ~~~||~~~   ~~~||~~~   ~~~||~~~   ~~~||~~~

 

And the music plays us out as we fade to black:

 

Across the morning sky,

All the birds are leaving,

Ah, how can they know it's time for them to go?

Before the winter fire,

We'll still be dreaming.

I do not count the time.

 

Who knows where the time goes?

Who knows where the time goes?

 

Sad deserted shore,

Your fickle friends are leaving,

Ah, but then you know it's time for them to go,

But I will still be here,

I have no thought of leaving.

I do not count the time.

 

And I am not alone,

While my love is near me,

And I know, it will be so, till it's time to go,

So come the storms of winter,

And the birds in spring again

I do not fear the time.

 

Who know how my love grows?

Who knows where the time goes?

 

 

Acknowledgements

 

To the cast and crew of Moonlighting - you maybe have closed your doors years ago, but our love of your work will stay alive for five, ten, twenty more years - at least.  That's the definition of classic. Thank you.

 

I would also like to acknowledge the virtual viewers.  Without you this would be just fun for the five of us.  I'm glad you are there to share this love of Moonlighting with us.  I typically don't post on the boards, but I do - on occasion - lurk.  Your comments are inspiring.  Thank you.

 

To the staff writers of Virtual Moonlighting - Diane, Jen, Connie and Kim - I thank you all for your constant support and cheerleading.  Yet another offering from me that is a little off center but you placed your trust in me, were ever supportive with kind words and great ideas.  Kim thanks for the research and helping this story to come to fruition.    Thank you.

 

Special thanks to Diane, my constant friend for too many years to count.  We don't always agree, but we are always there to support each other.  What more can I ask of a friend, now or in the future?  Thank you.   

 

 

Music and other Cultural References Credits

 

"Funny How Time Slips Away" by Willie Nelson covered by Al Green & Lyle Lovett  -->  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FhZAoKHWkTI

 

"Smooth" By Santana on Supernatural  -->  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f-y2LUh-9AA

 

SORAS  (Soap Opera Rapid Aging Syndrome) -->  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SORAS 

 

"Hello, I Love you" By The Doors --->  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x34wa2jehek

 

"Part of the List" By Ne-Yo on Year of the Gentleman -->  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EfxTsn3fvqw

 

The LACMA art Exhibt -->  http://www.lacma.org/art/exhibition/heroes-and-villains-battle-good-india039s-comics

 

The Wizard of OZ by Frank Baum  -->  http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0032138/

 

"Plastics" from The Graduate --->  http://www.imdb.com/find?q=the+graduate&s=all

 

"Time after Time" by Cyndi Lauper -->  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CVS5rS_da9E

 

"Come Rain or Come Shine" by covered by Ray Charles and Eric Clapton (left over from David's trip to the future) -->  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ejZtkrjQ3jU

 

"Who Knows Where The Time Goes" by Judy Collins -->  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HJeLguRecYc

 

 

Guest Appearances By:

 

The 10th Doctor from the TV Show Doctor Who -->  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doctor_who

 

Morlock from The Time Machine by HG Wells -->  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Time_Machine

 

Rip Van Winkle from the story by the same name by Washington Irving -->  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rip_Van_Winkle

 

Scrooge from A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens -->  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Christmas_Carol

 

Sam Beckett from the TV Show Quantum Leap -->  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quantum_Leap

 

Nod to Ne-Yo for inspiring Ellie's boyfriend -->  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EfxTsn3fvqw

 

 

Quote Sources:

 

http://www.goodreads.com/quotes/tag/future

 

http://thinkexist.com/quotations/future/

 

http://ourfunnyplanet.com/quotes-about-future-by-famous-people/

 

http://www.basicjokes.com/dquotes.php?cid=316

 

http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/keywords/future.html