Rewind

Rewind

By Pat McManus

An annoying smoke alarm with a dying battery BEEPS in the distance as Paige, 34, climbs the steps carrying the laundry. She walks by the kitchen where her boyfriend’s daughter, Maddy, age 13, eats ice cream. Paige clenches her teeth, “I just ordered pizza!”

Her four year old son, Cole, who can do no wrong, comes in. “I want ice cream!”

“Honey, I just ordered pizza.”

“But Maddy has ice cream!”

Fuming, Paige demands, “Get your brother some ice cream!”

Maddy gets up reluctantly, “Just cause you’re marrying my dad doesn’t mean I’m your built in baby sitter!”

“Now, Maddy!” As Paige walks towards her bedroom, her phone rings. She answers it as she dumps her clothes onto the bed. “Ma, let me call you back, I’m about to lose it!” As she starts folding the clothes, she realizes they’re still wet. This just escalates her mood, then she hears the BEEP again from the alarm. Ready to explode, she grabs the clothes and throws them back into the basket.

A thundering crash is heard from the kitchen. She drops the clothes and runs towards the kitchen while she hears Maddy scream, “It wasn’t my fault!”

She enters the kitchen with urgency to see Cole on the counter with shattered bowls he attempted to reach all over the floor.

She runs to him and grabs him from the counter and puts him down in the living room away from the glass.

Maddy yells, “I was getting the ice cream!”

Teeth clenched, “Just take him outside so I can clean this up!”

BEEP again.

Maddy grabs Cole, “Let’s go play soccer.”

As she picks up the large shards, Petey, her boyfriend, walks in wearing a suit, and leans over to give her a kiss but senses her anger and decides to just help pick up the pieces. “What happened?”

BEEP is heard again, “Ahhh… I forgot to change the battery... Sorry.”

“I asked your daughter to help my son get ice cream and this is what happened!”

“I’ll clean it.” Then… BEEP. Paige glares at him… “Just… change …the …battery.”

Petey enters now in a t-shirt and jeans as Paige throws the rest of the glass away. “Did you wrap Don’s cigars?”

“They’re on the table.”

“Don’t get mad but, I know I said I’d have dinner then go out at ten for Don’s birthday, but Don bought this old Nova for four grand and some guy, right in Sparta, is giving him twenty four thousand for it! He’s making twenty thousand dollars!”

Paige, saddened, “Why don’t you do that?”

He gathers his wallet and keys, “I am a pharmaceutical rep, I don’t know anything about cars.”

“Twenty thousand dollars! That’s exactly what we need for our wedding!” Paige screams in his face! “Let me get my little black book.” She opens a drawer and rips it open to the first page. “Oh, let’s see… page one… my wedding dress!” She puts the empty page in his face… “It’s blank!” She turns the next page and “My wedding date... Blank!” She turns the next page… “My engagement ring… Blank!” She turns to the next page… “My venue... Blank! I have nothing in my wedding book, nothing!”

He grabs her hand, “I told you, I get my thirty thousand commission in October and you’ll get everything you want.”

She opens to the back of the book. “Here’s my dream wedding! My wedding dress, eight hundred dollars! It won’t be there forever!” She flips to the next page, “My wedding date… August 29th!” She flips to the next page, “Here is my engagement ring… four thousand dollars… not very much.” She flips to the next page, “My venue is on the Schooner boat that we agreed on! August 29th is the last date for the season! Fifteen thousand dollars for fifty friends, open bar and a violinist. Twenty thousand for a full wedding! That’s nothing!”

“I know, but I thought I was getting my bonus in July not October.”

“Then borrow the money from Don! He’s getting exactly what we need!”

“I can’t. I asked him to borrow money for your ring and he said he never lends money to friends.”

She rips her hand away, “I know your wife took all your money in the divorce but I’m not asking for much! I want twenty thousand dollars for our wedding! I left my mother… my friends... I pulled Cole out of school… For what? For ice cold winters here in New Jersey?!”

Cole comes running in, “Mama, I kicked the ball a trillion miles!”

She leans down, “Good for you, baby!”

Petey looks at Maddy who walks in, exhausted. “It’s so hot out!”

“Can you just get some water and go back outside, please.”

“I forgot, I’m an unpaid babysitter. C’mon, Cole.” Maddy grabs two waters from the fridge. “Let’s kick it to the moon!”

“Until my nursing license transfers over to here, I get to deal with your snotty daughter every day. That’s so fun!”

He tries to pull her close, “What do you want me to do? And she’s not snotty, she’s just sad.”

“The last Schooner date for the season is August 29th! It’s August 5th! I’m not waiting ‘til next year to get married!”

“Don’s gonna be here soon.”

She breathes in thinking, then exhales, “You’re taking him to get the money, right?”

Petey nods.

“Then take him out and get him black-out drunk. I’ll get an Uber to the bar and take you home. Put the money in the glove compartment and I’ll take it. Tell him you were so drunk you don’t know where the money is... Done.”

Paige grabs vodka, orange juice and cranberry juice.

Petey looks at her, “Are you nuts?!”

“No…. twenty thousand to him is like twenty dollars to us. He’s worth millions! His wife died. He has no kids, just a lot of money! He gets black-out drunk every weekend and crashes here anyway. We need that money! He doesn’t.”

Petey just stares at her in disbelief.

“He’s 76 years old, Petey! How are you even good friends?”

“He was best friends with my dad and after my dad died, he was like a father to me. He got me my job and has always been here for me. I’m the son he never had!”

“I’m gonna be the wife you never had… If you feel so bad, then I’ll take the money, you just get drunk then in two months, I’ll put the twenty thousand cash back in the same envelope after you get your commission… I’ll dirty it all up and say Cole found it in the bushes… I guess when you came home on your birthday, you must’ve dropped it. And we all live happily ever after.”

The door opens and in walks Don. Petey stands horrified.

“Happy Birthday, Petey!” She welcomes him with a shot.

“Why thanky kindly, Paige. You look as pretty as a sunset.”

“Congrats on your car and happy birthday!”

Paige pours the alcohol into a big mug. “I made you a roadie, birthday boy!”

“That’s why I love you, Paige” Don turns to Petey, who stands annoyed. “We gotta go. I’m meeting him at 6:30. Just follow me over.”

Petey follows him out in complete shock.

“Don’t forget your present, Petey.” She whispers in his ear. “Either get the money from him or somebody else, but if I don’t book the boat by Monday, I’m going back to Florida.”

“Have a great birthday!”

The next morning:

Paige happily makes eggs. She opens up a drawer and moves the pot holder and gleams as she leafs through the twenty thousand dollars in the envelope. She covers it back up as she hears Don groaning on the couch.

She, with a smile on her face, tells Maddy and Cole who sit at the table finishing breakfast, “Why don’t you guys go out and play some soccer and Maddy, you aren’t a built in babysitter, after you help him, I’ll take you guys to the ice rink, o.k.? You’ve been really good to my Cole.”

Maddy jumps up, “Really? O.k. Come on Cole. Let’s kick some balls!”

Petey walks in and Paige nods to him as if to say she has the money.

Don starts coughing and Paige grabs a washcloth, wets it then runs to the couch. “Whatcha need, Donnie? A cold cloth or the puke bucket again?”

“Puke bucket!”

He throws up until he can’t throw up anymore. He breathes in and out. Paige hands him a towel that he uses to wipe his face. “Awww… good Lord! I’m never drinkin’ again!”

Paige gives him a new garbage can to throw up in.

He sits up, “Thanks, darlin’ but I’ve got no more to give.”

He sits up and breathes in and out for a few minutes. “I don’t remember anything from last night.”

Petey just tends to the eggs and bacon.

Paige hands him a cup of coffee. “You were in rare form, Donnie. I got an Uber to get you guys and on the ride home you were saying how you bought everyone beers and that you almost got into a fight and that you weren’t gonna give some guy your money… you were nuts!”

Don jumps up, “My money! Where’s your keys, Pete?”

Paige says with a smirk on her face, “On the table.”

Don darts out the door completely sober from his adrenaline.

Pete looks at Paige, “Did you?”

Smugly, “Of course I did. Calm down. He’ll come in. You’ll try to piece together last night. We’ll eat. He’ll get his money back in two months. It’ll be fine. The eggs are burning.”

Petey takes the eggs off as Don comes barreling back in.

“My money! My money’s gone!”

Trying to look concerned, Paige asks, “Did you look under the seats? Or, maybe it fell out on the driveway when you stumbled in…”

“Someone’s gonna pay if they took my money!”

He runs out, “I’m going back to the bar!”

Pete, dead serious, “When he comes back… say it was a joke. I mean it!”

She smirks and kisses him. “Calm down, the bar’s not even open. Let’s eat…it’s no big deal.”

Suddenly, they hear the truck burn out in the driveway.

“I’m calling him. I’m not doing it. You can go back to Florida.”

He looks for his phone.

Maddy runs in screaming, “Dad, come now!”

Pete’s truck is now at the end of the long, tree lined driveway.

Paige makes her way outside as Don comes running towards her, “I’m so sorry! I’m so sorry!”

Fear consumes her as she pushes him out of the way, “What!? What?!”

She runs as fast as she can, passed Pete’s truck until she spots Maddy and Pete crouched down. She screams an ungodly scream, “NOOOOO! No!”

She rips Maddy away and sees Cole laying there completely devoid of life, with his sneaker off his foot.

She grabs him. “No! No! This can’t be happening! Cole! Mommy’s here! Wake up!” She smacks his face. “Wake up, Cole! Wake up!”

She looks at Don, “What did you do?!”

“He just ran out! I didn’t see him!”

She cradles his lifeless body and yells at Maddy, “You were supposed to watch him!”

Maddy hugs her dad, sobbing, “He went to get the ball!”

“No! No!” Paige in disbelief, screams uncontrollably as she tries to wake him, “Nooooo…No….!” She hugs his body and just moans with utter despair.

Paige blamed Maddy, then Don, then Petey, but never herself. Petey gave Don his money back. Paige found Cole’s sneaker in the bushes… ripped right off him… right where she said she was gonna tell Don she found his money. Petey sent Paige back to Florida. If only they could rewind that day, Cole could play soccer again.