He finally relaxed, sounding happy. “Yes,
ma’am!”
I hung up, my heart pounding.
Fifteen years ago, I got the same phone call.
I turned Chris down, because I had to work
late.
That night, the cops called. There had been a
car accident near the hospital. A father and
son were killed.
The officer handed me a little wooden box.
“We found this in the passenger seat. I’m
sorry for your loss.”
I pressed the button, and the lid popped
open. On top was a card. written in a childish
く
open. On top was a card, written in a childish
scrawl: “Happy Thanksgiving, Mom! Dad’s
cookies are delicious! Enjoy!”
The cookies were still warm. But the person
who made them was gone.
My husband and son… died on their way to
the hospital to spend the holiday with me.
The grief was unbearable. I was shattered.
I wanted to end it all, to jump into the ocean.
And then, a cold, robotic voice spoke up.
It said: Marrying Jake will bring your husband
and son back to life.
I found a sliver of hope in the darkness. But
fifteen years went by, and nothing changed.
Then Alex invented the time machine, and I
knew it was time for me to finally reunite with
my family.
I opened the door to the apartment I hadn’t
seen in fifteen years, my eyes blurry. I crept
into the living room, afraid of shattering this
dream.
In the kitchen, I saw two figures, focused on
the oven.
“Dad, are they ready yet? I’m hungry.”
“Five more minutes. Just wait. Maybe Mom
will be home soon.”
Yeah, I was home. Most important, they were
here, and I wasn’t alone anymore.
I really had gotten them back.
My grip loosened, and my purse hit the floor.
They both turned around.
Chris scooped up my son from the stool and
walked toward me, holding his hand.
“Hey, Dr. Karen’s home.”
“Yeah, I’m home,” I said, fighting back tears. I
knelt down and hugged my son. “What did
Chris make you?”
He pouted. “Dad only made me four
chocolate chip ones, and all the rest are
snickerdoodle ones for Mom.”
Chris sighed.
<
“You’re telling on me after I just cheered you
- up. You know Karen works hard all the
time. I just made a bunch she likes.”
My heart soared, and I tugged on the hem of
Chris‘ shirt. “Thanks, Chris.”
“Ding!” The oven timer went off, and Chris
went into the kitchen.
“You must be tired. I made tea for you.”
My family was together, happy and well.
There was no longer an empty void below,
and the sounds of children’s laughter could
be heard everywhere.
In my hands, I had a cup of lukewarm tea. On
the soft cushion beside me, my son was
<
myself. Chris handed me a tissue. “Who made
my Karen cry?”
I looked up at Chris through my tear–filled
eyes, his shaggy hair falling across his
forehead, a warm light in his eyes.
I said the most cliché thing I could think of.
“Chris, I missed you so much.”
His ears visibly turned pink.
He held me tighter, whispering in my ear,
“Funny, me too.”
Back in 2008, I cherished every day. Those
fifteen years felt like a bad dream, fading with
each passing moment.
More than half a year had passed since our
<
return, and today was my son’s birthday. I
took him to the science fair he’d been looking
forward to.
In the hall for the winner of the student group,
a homemade rocket captivated my son. I told
him to wait for me where he was, while I went
to get him ice cream.
While I was waiting for the ice cream, the
noise of the hall started to grow.
“Unbelievable, there are two kids fighting!”
“It’s just someone being unilaterally abused.
You can tell the two of them are clearly very
different.”
Amid the noise, I heard my son’s voice: “What
are you doing stealing my things?”
く
I rushed back, pushing my way through the
crowd, and I saw my son lying on the ground.
He was underneath an older kid, who was
pulling on his backpack.
Obviously, my son couldn’t win, but he was
holding on tight to a shoulder strap of the
bag.
“Alex!” I rushed over, anxiously picking up my
son. He let go of the bag. The other kid was
caught off guard and ended up falling down.
My son’s face was red, and I knew he
must’ve been holding on tight.
When he saw me, he was finally unable to
hold back his tears.
“Mom, he’s trying to steal my backpack! It’s
L
the one you got me!”
I examined my son to make sure that he
wasn’t injured, and I finally breathed a sigh of
relief, gently patting his back.
“It’s okay, I can get you another one.”
