THE MOMENT
In 37 years, not even his mother had ever accused Gerald of being smart. But, even the dimmest of souls had a lucky break every now and then. Gerald had found his. He was given a choice and fortunately, it was a rare occasion when the 'right' choice would've been obvious to anyone involved.
Ten minutes later, he was walking down his familiar street with a brand new perspective. His house looked as rundown as ever; but, it made him smile. He knew how to fix it now, he could fix everything. The abandoned car that was supposed to be his at 16 would get the attention it needed. The cracked windows making his A/C work overtime would get changed, and just maybe he would finish his education. He could see opportunity everywhere now and he made his way home with a spring in his step.
"MOM!" he called for her as soon as he was in the door, then another time as he made his way through the narrow hall toward his parent's room. "MOOOOM!" He knocked on her door and there was no answer. He cracked it open just enough to get a look at the room. He was looking for her to explain his new circumstances; but, she wasn't in there. He did get a look at the bedroom where he spent many hours of his childhood. It looked the same as he remembered. He had no idea the last time he had any reason to look in there, but she never really changed her style much over the years.
"I guess I'll just wait till she gets home...," Gerald shrugged. He thought vaguely about school; but, it was already mid-afternoon. He could do something about it tomorrow. For now, he was hungry and made his way to the fridge. Unfortunately, it was devoid of anything appetizing to him. "Pizza it is," he decided. He picked up the phone hanging on the wall next to the fridge and dialed the number from memory.
He called so often that he had a 'usual order' ready to go, but he was still mildly surprised they remembered it. It wasn't enough to set off any alarm bells for him yet; but, he noticed it. He killed half an hour by plopping in the comfortable recliner and watching one of his favorite shows from when he was a kid. With the wisdom he had now, he realized it wasn't a great show anymore. But it still hit some nostalgia for him, and that was good enough. Then, the doorbell rang after about 30 minutes and he hopped up and dashed to the door to see another familiar face.
"Yo Gerald, here's your usual my man," Tommy, seemingly the only delivery driver at the small shop, smiled as he handed the box over. But, Gerald tilted his head.
"You... remember me...?" Gerald asked. Tommy chuckled.
"Yeah?" he nodded with a shrug. "Are you okay?" It was a fair question on any given day. "You've been my buddy since we were kids in school together," he said.
"Damnit, I think I screwed something up. You got a minute?" He asked. Tommy nodded. He always made time for Gerald; but, the tale he told wasn't what he expected. It was a quick summary and he was sure Gerald left out some details; but, if nothing else, he had proof.
"Gerald, my man, I think you could've done it differently," Tommy agreed but gave his friend a reassuring part on the back. "At least your bank account's loaded; but, I don't understand something. Why were you surprised I remembered you?"
"I don't know...," he was embarrassed; but, he was glad it was just Tommy. He would've felt even more ashamed if he'd explained it to his mom that way. His new plan was just to tell her he had won the lottery or something. "It's just the way things were worded, you know? 'Become a millionaire now, or return in time to be a kid with all your memories'," he shrugged. "It sounded like an ultimatum. 'Stay without your memories or go back to being a kid with your memories'. And then, when I still had my memories after I got the money, I thought maybe it only applied to 'memories of me', because these deals are always twisted in obscure ways. "
"What sense does that make?" Tommy laughed as kindly as he could. It helped that if nothing else, Gerald had a good sense of humor.
"I mean, what sense does any of it make? I was kind of in awe at the whole offer, a little too bedazzled to think," he shrugged. "I'm just some normal dude and someone that's basically a god walked up to me and said, 'Pick one'. Ah well, at least I'm rich."
"Not so much in this economy," Tommy chuckled. "Why didn't you pick the other thing? The one that was obviously better?"
"I did pick the one that was obviously better!" Gerald nodded. "Go back in time with my memories? That's useless. I can barely remember last week, and I know I don't need to go through puberty again; I'd rather be rich now."