“Yesterday” is From Short Stories, Volume II by H.D. Ingles
On Friday morning, Conway Armstead sat at the breakfast table, said, “Good morning” to his wife, and ate breakfast.
After eating, Conway told the maid to tell his driver that he was ready to leave for his office. He kissed his wife on her cheek and said, “After pulling off that big deal yesterday, the office is going to expect a little celebration. I’ll be late so don’t worry about dinner. I’ll eat with a couple of my executives.”
His wife, Anastasia, Ann for short, forced a smile and said, “I’ll be fine. Don’t worry about me, Darling.”
Conway arrived home about eleven that evening. He had consumed a few drinks but he was not drunk.
When Conway walked into his living room, he saw his wife. On the table in front of her, he noticed an empty champagne bottle. He smiled and said, “An entire bottle? That’s unusual for you. Were you celebrating something?”
Ann looked at her husband and said, “I’m a bit high. I just decided to celebrate your great success.” Ann was a bit wobbly as she stood and said, “I need to go to bed.”
Conway replied, “I’ll sit and have one more. I’ll be up with you in a few minutes.”
Saturday Morning
Late Saturday morning, Conway went down for breakfast. Ann wasn’t there. He said to the maid, “Has my wife already eaten?”
“Yes, sir. And then she went shopping.”
That was a rather unusual thing for his wife to do; leaving and saying nothing to him. He said nothing to the maid because what he thought was none of the maid’s business. He ate his breakfast and then had more coffee and a few cigarettes.
He mumbled to himself, “That woman is angry about something. What the hell is it?” Whenever something big happens at the office, Conway always gives a little party for his staff and takes them to lunch. He always takes his executives out for a few drinks and then dinner and a couple more drinks. Ann had to know that he wasn’t with another woman; he had never done that. “What the hell is wrong? What did I do?”
Conway decided to take a walk and try to figure out how to get back into good graces with his wife. It was a very difficult problem because he didn’t know what was wrong.
There was a beautiful little park not far from his home, so Conway decided to walk there. Once at the park, he sat on a bench, which was under an old oak tree. He lit a cigarette and said, “Hell!”
While Conway was smoking his third cigarette, a well-dressed man approached him and said, “Conway, so nice to see you enjoying this gorgeous day.”
Who in the hell do you think you are?
Conway looked at the man for several seconds before saying, “I apologize but I can’t recall your name.” He smiled and said, “To be honest, I don’t even recognize you.”
The man sat on the bench and said, “No reason you should. We’ve never met.”
“Sir, I don’t mean to be rude but I don’t discuss business on Saturday walks in the park. Feel free to make an appointment with my secretary.”
“Oh, Conway, no. I have no intention of discussing your work or of asking for anything. I am visiting you to help you with your personal life.”
Conway was becoming agitated and said, “My personal life? Who in the hell do you think you are?”
“Well, my name is Angelo and I’m here to help you.”
“Look, Angelo, I don’t know you. I don’t want to know you. I have no idea of what you are after but, if it’s blackmail, forget it. You cannot have anything against me. I have nothing to hide.”
You Misunderstand Me
“Conway, you completely misunderstand me. You may not believe me but I truly want to help you.” Angelo smiled and said, “I know you. I know all about you. I, of all people, know that you could not be blackmailed. You have an admirable record in the list of Heaven.”
“What the hell are you talking about?”
Angelo said, “Well, for example, when you were eight years old, you kept three other boys from beating up on a younger boy. When you were fifteen, you saved a young woman from drowning. When you were sixteen, you gave a hungry old man your last three dollars so he could buy something to eat. In business, you are always honest and have admirable integrity.”
“How in the deuce do you know what I did as a teenager?”
Angelo replied, “Oh, Conway, I know more. Much more. If I told you how I know, you wouldn’t believe me.” He hesitated and continued, “But that is all history. I am here because of your wife. Anastasia is a strikingly beautiful woman.”
Conway was getting angry again. “My wife is a gorgeous woman. I love her deeply. If you try to harm her, I will kill you. If you don’t believe me, I have the means to end your life with no chance of being accused.”
Go Away
“Again you misunderstand, Conway. Your wife is a fine woman and I could never bring myself to harm her in any way.”
Conway said, “Look, you, I have no idea why we are having this conversation. Go away. If you approach me again, the police will be informed.”
Angelo said, “My desire is to help you with your wife. You had such a wonderful relationship at first and for years after. But, the last few years, you have neglected her and not given her what she needs most. I know that you have no idea why your wife is angry with you today. You should know but you don’t.”
Conway said, “Just who in the hell are you? You know too much about my personal life and I demand to know why and how. And, by the way, my wife has no wants. None at all. Anything she chooses to buy, she buys. She buys it with my blessing because my greatest desire is to keep her happy.”
Before Angelo could respond, Conway said, “Now, who are you?”
“I was trying to avoid telling you but I am your guardian angel.”
Conway exclaimed, “Oh, my God! You not only know too much, you’re a damned nut.”
Angelo smiled and said, “That’s the response I expected. I hate doing silly things but, for you, I will perform a minor miracle.”
“I can hardly wait.”
Show Me
Angelo said, “I am a spirit but you and everybody around us can see me. I can make myself appear only to you. I can make myself appear to nobody.”
“Show me.”
“See that you couple standing over there? I’ll use them to demonstrate my various forms.”
Angelo walked towards the couple and gave them a pleasant, “Good afternoon” and they responded.
Angelo walked for a few yards and then turned around. He walked back to where the couple were standing.
Conway could not completely believe his own eyes. Angelo walked into the couple and right through them. Then, he walked to a tree and walked right through it. After that, he completely disappeared.
Suddenly, Angelo was standing right in front of Conway. He said, “Don’t talk to me or people will think you are some crazy old man talking to himself.” He walked through the bench and said, “I’ll be back in the form you first saw me.” At that, Angelo, again, disappeared.
Conway was nonplussed. He then saw Angelo walking out from a wooded area. He walked to Conway and sat beside him. He smiled and said, “Convinced?”
It required Conway quite a few seconds to recover. He finally said, “This is either the wildest dream I’ve ever had or I’ve gone completely mad.”
Angelo laughed rather loudly and said, “Or I am your guardian angel?”
Conway showed his first smile since the conversation started and said, “I surrender.”
Memories
Angelo said, “At last. Now, I know that you and your wife love each other deeply so we won’t discuss that. I’m sure you remember when you met Anastasia. She was nineteen and had a full-time job in that department store. You were twenty and had a part-time job in the same store. You were struggling to work your way through your last year of college. You must remember that, Conway.”
Conway smiled and said, “I can never forget. I knew her for no more than two weeks and I fell madly in love.”
Angelo said, “You knew her for a little over two months and you married her.”
Conway laughed. “The world was against us. Everybody told us that we were crazy. We lived on a shoestring but damned if we didn’t make it.”
Angelo said, “And your wife always supported your efforts.”
I Couldn’t Have Made It Without Her
“Oh, God, yes. I couldn’t have made it without her. I was confident that I was a good businessman. Some friends called me a fool for passing up a very well paid job for the lower salary I accepted. But Ann understood and she backed me all the way. The job I accepted had great potential and my dear Ann stuck with me.”
Angelo said, “And, when you were thirty, you became the president of the company. When you were thirty-five you owned the company. Now you have more money that most men have in their wildest dreams.”
Conway said, “That’s true, Angelo. Hell, If I slowed down quite a bit, my grandchildren would still be very wealthy.”
Angelo replied, “And now we are approaching reality. We are coming close to the reason why your lovely wife is so upset.”
A quizzical look and, “What do you mean?”
She Doesn’t Have You
“You really don’t understand do you, Conway? You say your wife has everything but she doesn’t. She doesn’t have you.”
“That’s crazy. I love her dearly. I am true to her. Always have been.”
Angelo shook his head. “Anastasia always understood why you drove yourself so hard. She understands that you love your work and have no desire to quit. What she doesn’t understand is why, in the last few years, you have completely shut her out of your life. You told me only a minute ago that you couldn’t have accomplished what you did without her. But now, Conway, Anastasia feels unneeded and unwanted.”
“Unneeded? Unwanted? That’s ridiculous. I love her. Just being near her makes an even bad day better.”
“Does your wife know that?”
“Of course.”
“Are you sure? Even though you are very busy, do you always remember the little things she appreciates so much?”
“Yes. Definitely, yes.”
How Old Were You?
“How old are you, Conway?”
“I’m forty-five.”
“How old were you when you married Anastasia?”
“Twenty.”
Angelo said, “Twenty, that’s interesting.”
Conway shrugged his shoulders and said, “What’s so interesting about …” He stopped himself in mid-sentence.
Angelo said, “That’s right, Conway. Yesterday was your twenty-fifth wedding anniversary. Things such as that are very important to women. If you were short on cash and couldn’t afford a big party, Anastasia wouldn’t have minded at all. But you forgot, Conway. You have forgotten things over the past few years but this one was just too important to her for you to forget.”
Conway lowered his head and placed his hands over his face. “Oh, my God, what have I done?”
“This is where I come in, Conway.”
“What can you do?”
“I am an angel, Conway. I am going to give you something that few men are ever allowed to have.”
“What can you give me?”
“I can give you yesterday.”
“What?”
Angelo said, “We know that both you and your wife are fine people. We know of your generous acts of many years ago. We know that, for over ten years, you have given anonymous scholarships to deserving young students. We know of your deep love and respect for each other. We know that you hurt your wife very much yesterday. And we feel that for all of the good you have done, you deserve redemption.”
Yesterday? What Can You Do?
“I don’t understand. Yesterday? What can you do?”
Angelo said, “I can perform silly little miracles as I just showed you. I can also perform much larger miracles. In just a minute, your driver will be driving you home. It will be very late Thursday evening, just as it was the other evening. You will be tired, as usual. But there will be one big difference. On the way home, you will remember all of your good times together. When you get home you will ask your wife to sit beside you and have a drink with you. You will become affectionate.
Then, at midnight, you will get a rather strong urge. You will begin to feel as if you were twenty again. You will have, shall we say, the stamina of a man of twenty. You will drag Anastasia to bed and be extremely passionate. You will awaken in the morning, still feeling twenty. You will be overcome by the same passion. I know you, so I have no other instructions. You will do what is right.” Angelo laughed and said, “Oh, yes, we have decided to give you the entire weekend of feeling as if you were twenty and you will perform that way. Of course, on Monday it will evaporate and you will be forty-five again. You will still desire love, have strong urges, and feel passion. It will just slow down to a more normal pace for a man of your age.”
“Angelo, I believe you. How can I thank you?”
Finish your life
“There is only one way you can thank me. Finish your life as you have begun it. There is no other way?”
“Why?”
“Because, when you find yourself in your car, today will have never happened. You will have no memory of either today or me. The next thing you will know is that it will be quite late this past Thursday evening. You will never know of our conversation. You will remember all we have discussed but it will all be your memories of your wife and your great love for each other. What you decide to do will be your idea. But I am quite sure that you will dedicate Friday and the entire weekend to your wife. It may also occur to you to transfer a large load of your work to your executive vice-president, who is a very competent man.”
Late Thursday evening, Conway was in his car being driven home. It crossed his mind that he hoped his wife was waiting up for him. He so much wanted to see her.
The Woman I Love So Much
Conway said aloud, “Why in the hell do I spend so little time with the woman I love so much?”
His driver said, “Sir?”
“Oh, nothing. I was just talking to myself about business.”
Then, in a much lower voice, he said, “I’ll call John in the morning and let him handle all the office festivities tomorrow.” He thought for a minute and said, “John can do my job perfectly well. My staff is trustworthy and extremely good at what they do. I’ll take Monday off. Hell, maybe Tuesday. Then I’ll drop some responsibility on the others, take a long vacation, and work a forty hour week.”
Conway began thinking about his anniversary tomorrow. He had been so busy these past few days that he had made no plans. He didn’t even have a present for Ann. He could have asked his secretary to find a gift but he hated doing that. It was so impersonal.
He had made no reservations and had planned nothing. Of course, Ann wasn’t the type who liked huge parties; she always liked personal things. Conway chuckled and said to himself, “What if we played as if we were young again?” He remembered how they used to spend a day at the amusement park with only enough money for two hot dogs and two root beers. Once in a great while, they would splurge and take a ride through the “Tunnel of Love.” They had so much fun on so little money.
Their First Anniversary
Conway remembered their first anniversary. They went to a little Italian place where the spaghetti was excellent and not expensive, and a bottle of Chianti didn’t cost that much. Then Conway smiled and remembered a few rather athletic hours in bed that day and well into the night. And for the next couple of days and nights.
He then had the best idea he had ever had. That was it. That was how he would celebrate his anniversary with his beloved wife. Conway sat back and lit a cigarette. A day at the amusement park with hot dogs and root beer for lunch, and a ride through the “Tunnel of Love.” That evening, a little Italian joint for dinner. A day such as that would thrill Anastasia more than a ten thousand dollar party. He chuckled and thought that they may even squeeze in a toss or two in the hay.
Yes, definitely, that was it. Conway had so much money he couldn’t count it all. Why the hell didn’t he enjoy it? From now on, Conway and Anastasia would have a full life together.
Counting the Minutes
Conway was very excited. Counting the minutes until he saw the woman he loved was much the same as a child counting the days till Christmas.
As Conway was getting out of his car, he said to himself, “I am a very smart man. Why did it take me so long to figure out?”
“Yesterday” by H.D. Ingles
From the book, “Short Stories, Volume II” by H.D. Ingles.
