The Wish Machine fascinates Bernard. After he is told he can go back to his past and make different decisions, he wants to know what his wife would have done about her movie offer if he had never married her.
I could tell Bernard was fascinated by the Wish Machine. He couldn’t take his eyes from the glass-walled room and the bulk of the Wish Machine inside. In the half light of the afternoon it looked ominous.
“If you have a moment can you tell me what the Wish Machine does?” he asked.
Premature publicity was the last thing I wanted. I didn’t want to be impolite. I liked Mr. Dellarambo. Mrs. Champion/Dellarambo was a nice lady. Also, I was sure that she would tell him sooner or later that she had entered the Wish Machine. Unfortunately, because of blabbermouths like Dr. Aukenschmidt and Mrs.Collyburn, it appeared that half the world already knew about my Wish Machine. I decided to count on his discretion.
“Mr. Dellarambo, I will talk to you on one condition, that is, in return for your promise not to write or talk about my experiments or the Wish Machine until I am ready to tell the world.”
“I promise Dr. Candella,” he said. “Please call me Bernard.”
I believed him. I spent the next hour reviewing my theory and telling him about the Wish Machine.
“The Wish Machine enables the subject who enters its field of energy to see into their past with a clearer eye. Most people, like Harry and others, that have tried the procedure, were happier afterward.”
Bernard smiled in agreement.
“I know Harry was a happy man. When I asked him for 2 pounds of lamb chops he threw in an extra pound free.”
There was a glint in Bernard’s eye. I read his mind. The Wish Machine had captured his imagination.
“I’m pretty happy already, Doctor. Sure there are times in my life I might have done things a little differently.”
“I first laid eyes on Annie, my dear wife, in ChiCandel. She was on stage and I was in the audience. She was gorgeous. After the show I tried to date her but she was too busy for me. I’m sure she had a hundred men after her that were better looking and better prospects than I was. I kept trying and, wonder of wonders, I got a date. The next day she promised to meet me for another date and dinner. I was in love with her from the first moment I saw her.”
“What followed was a whirlwind romance. I took her to California and we were married.”
“Annie never played in a band much after that. We managed OK; life was a struggle at times. I sold insurance. It took a long time to build up my agency. Then I started to write. It took a while but I was finally published. We do okay now but … I’ve always wondered what would have happened if …”
“All my life, Dr. Candella, I have been willing to try new things. Your Wish Machine sounds incredible. May I try it?”
Next episode: Bernard finds Annie in his Wish Machine episode. Bernard has bitter proof that he should have married Ann and Ann should never set foot in Hollywood.
Gene Paleno is an author and illustrator living in Witter Springs.
