I used to stare at her picture for hours. Her curly blonde hair that landed at her shoulders, her bright blue eyes and the smile that reached those eyes and made them shine brighter than any ocean I had ever seen. In the picture she was in her forties and absolutely breathtaking.
A part of me had always been secretly in love with her, the way she laughed or the way her perfume smelled when she would dress up. It wasn't until I had gotten older that I really started to understand what those feelings meant.
I also felt guilty, because I was 20 and the woman, I was crushing on wasn't just some random older woman, she was my grandmother. The picture I stared at of her was taken years earlier in the early 1970's when she was in her early 40's. I had seen other pictures of her but this particular one was my favorite for some reason. I used to dream of meeting that woman and kissing that smile and making love to the wonderful woman that she was.
My grandmother has always been a sweet, loving, and caring woman. She and I have always been close, you could go as far as to say I was her favorite grandchild. She lived in the same neighborhood as us so I saw her every single day. Even though she was in her sixties, she was still beautiful. Her breasts sagged a bit due to age but she had an hourglass figure that would make every guy turn their heads. They did turn their heads and would ask her out but even though my grandfather had passed ten years ago, she would turn every guy down. She always said she just wanted to focus on her family.
Sometimes I would be with her when those men asked her out and I would get filled with so much jealousy. I always tried to push it down though because that was my grandmother and I shouldn't feel that way toward her.
I just stuck with staring at that picture of her and would dream about her every night. I figured I would be stuck doing that until I met someone and got over the crush. That was, until an invention came out.
I usually had an 8:00 AM science class in university and there was a little cafe located in the science building and I would go grab a coffee and bagel after class then sit down and study. This day was no different. I sat down with my bagel and coffee and pulled out my books when I noticed a flier on the table. It said, "Have you ever wanted to travel to the past? See ancient Rome or walk with the dinosaurs? Well now you can! Looking for people willing to try our new time machine and see the past like they've never seen it before."
I sat there in shock. Could it be true? Could I really get to live my fantasy of being with my grandmother? I quickly looked at where the this was located and noticed that it was located in the room across from the cafe. I quickly ate my bagel and drank my coffee and walked to the classroom. The door was close so I knocked and an older man came to the door and said, "Hello?"
I showed him the flier I found and told him I wanted to hear more. He quickly ushered me in and sat me down at his desk. He sat down across from me and cleared his throat. "So young man you want to travel back in time? Maybe find something to help with a history paper?"
I chuckled at the humor in the man's voice and said, "No actually, I want to travel to the early 1970's."
The man nodded and said, "Ah the 70s, that was a fun time. I met my wife then. Any reason why the 70's?"
I honestly didn't know what to say, I mean I couldn't tell the truth. So, I just said "Well the music was great and it just seems like fun."
The man nodded and said, "Good enough for me. Alright I have some forms I need you to fill out and I am going to give you plenty of money to support you on your stay. Now, if this works the way it should, time here should not move while you are there so it doesn't matter how long you stay, time will remain the same here. There is a clicker with a button you will use to return anytime you want. When would you like to do this?"
"Oh, I mean anytime, I'm ready now."
"I like your spirit son but you need to go home and pack. Go home pack, eat a nice meal, and meat me here what do you say in the morning?"
I smiled and quickly nodded. I signed the forms and spoke with the man that I learned was a college professor, about 70's music. My parents were always playing that stuff so I pretty much grew up on it.
I could barely sleep that night. I had to have a plan. I looked at the woman, my grandmother, in the picture. My fantasy was going to possibly become a reality and I was so excited.
I walked in the next morning and the man stood up and smiled at me "Hello son, you ready?
"Yes sir" I said. My grandmother lived in the same town her entire life and my mother, her daughter, had literally driven me past her old house once so I knew exactly where I could find my grandmother.
"Good. Now son, you will need money to live on for the time you are there. Believe it or not you are the only one who has come with interest in this experiment. So, do you think a million dollars will be good? That was equivalent to almost 6.5 million back then."
