The Emancipation of Veronica McAllister_A Middle Falls Time Travel Story

by Shawn Inmon

Things proceeded apace in this third pass through the late 1950s for Veronica McAllister. She and Danny did go to Prom together. The theme that year was Middle Falls – A Garden Paradise. Because both she and Danny had jobs that kept their schedules full, Prom turned out to be their first date, and both were a little nervous. Danny picked her up at home. It wasn’t the social occasion that it had been when Christopher had come to dinner, but it was still a rite of passage. Danny nervously pinned her corsage on the dress her mother had made, and Wallace took pictures with his Viscount Coronet camera.

  They both had a good time at Prom, hanging out with Danny’s friends, because Ruthie hadn’t been asked. Of course, they didn’t have too good a time. Doris McAllister had volunteered to chaperone the affair. It didn’t take long for three wayward boys to discover there would be no shenanigans on her watch. One sly attempt at spiking the punch had landed three of them in Prom jail.

  The time between Prom and graduation was a blur. Still, Danny and Veronica found a few stray evenings to spend together. It was a challenge because of her job at Artie’s and his baseball games and working at his parents’ store. Veronica found Danny to be many things that Christopher had not been. Even though he was an athlete, he was gentle and kind. He was also so honest, she learned not to ask him a question if she didn’t want to know the answer. He was also quiet, stolid, and a little unimaginative. Like all of humanity, he was a mixed bag.

  There were clouds on the horizon for the young lovers-to-be, as well. Danny had been accepted into the University of Portland, where he planned to study business. Portland was only a few hours north of Middle Falls, but it was much too far for him to drive every day. That meant he would be staying on campus. Veronica, meanwhile had been accepted at Middle Falls Community College and would be staying at home.

  That left them two options—to break up before they got started, or attempt a long-distance romance.

  One evening in the dog days of late August, they went for a drive. Veronica packed fried chicken and potato salad into a picnic basket and they found a quiet spot near a small country church outside of town. She spread a checked tablecloth and got the food and two bottles of Dr. Pepper out.

  “Hitting the hard stuff, huh?” Danny said when he saw the pop.

  “This is the downside to dating an athlete—no beer on dates.”

  Danny raised his eyebrows. “Would you rather have a beer?”

  “No, silly boy. Just teasing you. If I was left alone for a week in a beer factory, I would still wander around and look for the pop machine.”

  “Ronnie. I need to talk to you about something. I leave for college in a few weeks. I’ll still be coming home on some weekends, and on holidays, though.”

  “Right,” Veronica said, handing him a paper plate with chicken and potato salad with a plastic fork stuck in it.

  “I know it’s hard, but I don’t want to see anyone else when I’m away at school. I like you, and I don’t want to lose you.”

  “You are the sweetest boy, Danny Coleman. I like you, too. It’s easy to get swept up in things and get overwhelmed with it while we’re here, so close to each other.”

  Veronica dished up her own plate, then set it down in front of her. She looked at Danny and reached out to stroke his hand.

  “But, when you get away from Middle Falls, I think things might be different. You are the most honest person I’ve ever met. I know you wouldn’t do the wrong thing, but I don’t want to put you in that position. The truth is, I think we might have a future together. But, I think we’ll mess it up if we try to do it straight through. I think sometime over the next few years, you’ll meet someone up there. It will seem so tempting to go out with them, but you won’t. That’s the kind of person you are. But, it will make you resent me, eventually, and then we’ll have a fight one weekend when you’re home, and we’ll break up.”

  Danny opened his mouth to object, but Veronica held up a hand. “Just a minute, then I’ll listen to whatever you want to tell me, okay?”

  Danny nodded.

  “I don’t want us to break up, now or then, but I don’t want you to feel frustrated and unhappy, either. So, just know this. While you’re away, I want you to do whatever feels best to you. If you want to wait for me, that’s great. If you don’t, though, that’s great, too. No guilt either way. In four years, you’ll be done with college, and you’ll come home to run the store. When you do, let’s get together and have dinner to celebrate. During dinner, we can talk about our future if you want. Does that sound fair?”

  “Sure, I guess. What does that mean for you? Are you going to wait for me?”

  “I can’t tell you, because I don’t know. Maybe. I might. But same thing—no guilt either way, right?”

  “I’d still like to see you when I come home. What about that?”

  “As long as you call me each time you get home, we’ll keep seeing each other.”

  Danny stuck his lower lip out and nodded. “Hard to find anything to argue with.”

  “I know, I got an A in Debate.”

  “Okay. You’ve got a deal. I’ll keep calling you when I get home from school.”

  DANNY WAS AS GOOD AS his word. He called Veronica on each of his weekend visits home all through his freshman year. He came to dinner at the McAllisters, or had Veronica over for dinner with his parents. They ate out at Artie’s, or went to whatever was playing at the Pickwick, or just went for a drive. They were happy, and contented.

  Two months into his sophomore year, Danny came home for a weekend visit.

  He didn’t call Veronica.

  Chapter Twenty-Eight

  Veronica enjoyed her classes at City College. They were interesting enough, but not terribly challenging. About a month after she had last seen Danny, her mom mentioned she had seen him at the gas station. Veronica knew what that meant. Even though she had been preparing for that eventuality, she was still a little down, because she had grown to care about him. She hadn’t exactly been sitting by the phone, waiting for him. She still had her job, but she got lonely from time to time. That loneliness was exacerbated by the fact that, in one way, she truly was alone. There was no one she could ever completely let her guard down with—not even her Mom, or Ruthie.

  Veronica rang in the end of the fifties with Ruthie and her family watching Guy Lombardo play Auld Lang Syne. Doris even let the girls each have a small glass of champagne, even though they weren’t quite twenty-one yet.

  In June, Veronica graduated from Middle Falls City College with an associate’s degree in accounting. After graduation, she went to a celebratory dinner at Burl’s steakhouse, once again with her family and Ruthie. Life was quiet, but as Veronica knew, quiet wasn’t the same as bad.

  In mid-July, 1960, Veronica found a job as a bookkeeper for a family-owned chain of tire shops. Neither the work nor the product were glamorous, but the people were wonderful and the paycheck was steady.

  The full-time job at the tire shop meant she had to finally give her two weeks’ notice to Zimm at Artie’s. As he had been in her previous two lives, he was sorry to see her go.

  As soon as she got enough money saved up, she bought a car and found a small, one-bedroom apartment.

  The first night in her own place, she sat on the second-hand couch in the quiet apartment. She didn’t even have a radio yet, let alone a television set. As she sat, she took stock.

  My own place? Check. Learned a new skill? Yep. Boyfriend? Nope, and none on the horizon. So, then, is this what life is? A perfectly-good, but not exciting job, hanging out with Ruthie on the weekends, and saving up to buy a television to help me pass the time? There’s got to be more to this life than this. I’ve been given a second, and then a third chance. There’s got to be a reason. I have no idea what it is, though. I need to decide what I want.

  As time passed, both customers and the guys who worked at the tire company asked Veronica out. She was too pretty to never be asked, but too remote and unattainable for anything to ever come of it. She
would go on a few dates, find the spark of a wet sponge, and both sides would decide to move on.

  This is starting to feel a lot like my first life. Work, home, work, home.

  Her good work at the tire shop was recognized, and after a year, she was given a promotion and a raise that went with it. She decided to splurge by finally getting rid of the ugly, uncomfortable couch that had been hers since the day she had moved in.

  She called Ruthie. “Want to go pick out a new couch with me?”

  “The excitement of our life never fails to amaze me. The saddest thing is, this will be the highlight of my weekend. Where do you want to go?”

  “There’s only one place in town. Coleman’s.”

  “Hoping to run into Danny?” Ruthie teased.

  She knows how to ring my chimes. “Hoping not to run into Danny, thank you very much. Not much chance of that, though. He’s still away at school. I think we’ll be safe.”

  An hour later, Veronica had picked Ruthie up at the small house she still shared with her Mom, and they pulled up in front of Coleman’s Furniture. It was a two-story brick building right in the middle of downtown. There were no crazy slogans painted on the windows in bright colors, just nice, solid furniture groupings that would appeal to the nice, solid citizens of Middle Falls. Camelot might be blooming in Washington D.C., but Middle Falls was still stuck in the Eisenhower era.

  They walked in and were slightly overwhelmed at the size of the place.

  “I think it’s bigger on the inside than it is the outside,” Ruthie whispered.

  They wandered past the upper-end living room displays that all featured price tags Veronica couldn’t dream of paying, even with her new raise. Veronica saw a young man dressed in a short-sleeved shirt and a tie. He had a black name badge clipped on his shirt pocket that said, “Todd.” When he saw the two young women wandering, obviously lost, he smiled and approached them.

  “I know, it can be a little overwhelming, can’t it? Almost too many choices, I think.”

  Veronica plucked a price tag on a green couch beside her, and said, “It’s more the prices that are overwhelming. I thought I could afford a new couch, but now I’m not so sure.”

  Todd nodded. “I understand. Coleman’s always likes to put its best foot forward, so these are our best pieces at the front of the showroom. We do have some more modestly-priced couches back this way, if you’d like to follow me.”

  “Modestly-priced couches, for modestly-priced girls,” Ruthie leaned in close and whispered.

  Veronica shot her a look, and they followed Todd as he wound through one set of furniture after another. Designs are changing, but I can’t say it’s for the better. Oh, well, gotta stay up with the times, no matter how tragic the fashion of those times might be.

  Finally, Todd arrived at an area of the store where the ceiling was dropped down a bit, giving a feeling of slight claustrophobia to everything. In the front showroom, everything was lit by the gentle glow of table lamps, but here, it was strictly overhead fluorescents. All the furniture was arranged by type, instead of completely put-together rooms.

  “Ah,” Veronica said. “I think we’ve arrived at my budget. Most important question. Do you deliver?”

  “There’s always free delivery at Coleman’s furniture, yes.”

  “Great. You won’t mind if I live in Eugene, then?”

  Todd’s face fell, but Veronica let him off the hook. “Just teasing, Todd. I live in the Rivercrest apartments, a couple of miles away.”

  Veronica sat down on a tan couch that looked staid and boring, compared to the brighter colors around it. I think I like this one. It won’t be out of fashion as quickly as the rest of these. She looked at the price tag. $49. A little more than I wanted to spend, but I can swing it.

  “That couch is a good choice. It looks even better with you sitting on it.”

  Veronica’s head snapped up. Todd had melted away, and Danny Coleman was standing in his place.

  Chapter Twenty-Nine

  “Hello, Danny.” Veronica shifted in her seat. “I thought you were still off at school.” Veronica’s words were calm, but her heart was beating a trip hammer rhythm in her chest.

  Danny hadn’t changed. He was still tall and lean, with his hair still neatly cut into a short crew cut. He looked a bit older because of the white, short-sleeved shirt and tie he wore while working in the store.

  Danny shook his head. “Dad had a heart attack a few weeks ago, and he isn’t able to work. It looks like he might not be able to come back at all. We’re just glad we’ve still got him with us. But, it left us short-handed, so I came home to help out. If he’s able to come back to work, I’ll go back to Portland and finish up my last semester. If not, it’s not that big a deal. I’ve learned everything I need to learn. I’m only missing the degree, and I don’t really need that.”

  “So sorry to hear about your dad, Danny,” Veronica said, trying to gracefully get up from the couch and failing to do so. “He’s a nice man.”

  Danny nodded, thoughtfully, and reached out a hand to help her up. “I’ve been back for a few weeks. I meant to call you, but ...” he trailed off, unable to finish the sentence.

  Veronica laid a gentle hand on his arm. “Hey, don’t worry about it. No guilt, remember? That’s why we did it this way. You’re a good person, and I never wanted to be a source of bad feelings for you.”

  “I know, I know. You’re right. And still, I feel it. It’s not your fault. You were the absolute best about it, and that makes me feel worse still.”

  Veronica laughed a little. “There’s no way around this Judeo-Christian guilt we feel, no matter how adult we try to be, is there?”

  “I guess not. Are you seeing anyone?”

  “A few people, but nothing serious. I’ve been keeping it light.” Not to mention, keeping it boring.

  “I was wondering if you would go out to dinner with me?”

  Veronica tilted her head, considering. “You left your girlfriend back in Portland, then?”

  “No. Didn’t have a girlfriend. I mean, I did for a while, but that ended a few months ago.” Danny sighed, a rueful smile playing across his face. “It didn’t end well.”

  Knowing you, Danny Coleman, that likely means she cheated on you somehow. And now, the small-town girl back home, steady and dependable, looks pretty good.

  Veronica stood toe to toe with Danny. His 6’2” towered over her 5’5. Somehow, he seemed the smaller of the two.

  After another moment’s consideration, Veronica said, “When?”

  A broad smile broke out on Danny’s face. “Is tonight too soon?”

  “No, tonight is fine. I live over in the Rivercrest apartments. B-3. I’ll go out to dinner with you if you’ll throw free delivery in on this couch,” she said, nudging it with her toe.

  “We offer free delivery on everything we sell.”

  “I never said I was a tough negotiator.”

  DANNY PULLED INTO THE Rivercrest Apartments a little before six. He had long since traded in his parents’ wagon for a sleek 1960 Corvette. The car growled as he rolled slowly past the building, looking for B-3. Veronica spotted him from the window and came out to meet him.

  “So, where do you want to go? The world is our oyster. Well, at least, Western Oregon is our oyster. If you want Paris or London, you’re probably with the wrong guy. Want to drive up to Portland? Eugene? Salem? You name it, and off we go.”

  “So many choices. Let’s see. I’ll take,” she paused and looked out the window, letting suspense build, “Artie’s.”

  Denny did a double-take. “No, not really?”

  Veronica nodded emphatically.

  “If you don’t want to leave town, we could go to Verrazano’s Ristorante, or Burl’s Steak House.”

  “Oh, okay, I thought you meant it when you said it was my choice. That’s fine then, you choose.”

  Danny held his hands up in surrender. “I know when I’m beat. All right, Artie’s it is.”

&
nbsp; Ten minutes later, they turned into Artie’s. It was a Saturday night, and the KMFR tower hadn’t fallen yet. Scott Patrick was up high, broadcasting the greatest hits of the early sixties to the steady stream of cruising teenagers.

  I wonder if I could change that bit of history. What if I spent my Halloween night standing guard over the tower. Would I prevent it from getting hit, or would I get smooshed in the process? Questions for another day. For this day, I have to figure out what to do with this sweet, earnest young man.

  Danny ordered for both of them—exceptionally easy to do when there are so few choices on the menu. He splurged and got both of them a chocolate shake to go with their burgers and fries.

  They sat in companionable silence, listening to the Everly Brothers playing on both the car radio and from the loudspeakers outside. Once they had finished their dinner, Danny said, “How about a drive before I take you home? That’s the real reason I wanted to drive somewhere else. I just wanted to spend more time with you.”

  Veronica giggled. “The easiest thing to do is to just tell me that. Of course we can go for a drive. I’m at your mercy.” Another man might take that the wrong way, but not Danny.

  He sat at the edge of the parking lot, waiting to merge into the steady stream of teenagers cruising the loop, laughing and honking. “I feel like I’m so much older than these kids.”

  “You are a premature old man, Danny Coleman.”

  Eventually, they merged and quickly got off the loop, onto other surface streets. Veronica didn’t pay any attention to where they were driving. She laid back and closed her eyes, enjoying the feel of the powerful engine and letting Danny drive. After a few minutes, she looked around and realized Danny had brought them back to the same small country church where Veronica had set him free.

  Danny turned the engine off. He shifted his lanky frame around in the seat so he could look directly at Veronica. “I’ve been coming back out here every time I came home. I think this is where things went south for me. Ronnie, you’re the sweetest, nicest girl I’ve ever met. I know we’ve barely talked for the last few years, but I could never forget about you.”