“No. I just don’t understand the fancy suit.”
Dave looked at him, obviously confused. “Are you all right, Marty?” he asked.
“Yeah. Are you guys all right?”
“Sure. Never better.” Noticing Marty’s envelope, he reached out his hand. “Here,” he said. “Let me take that—I’ll mail it from the office.”
Marty released the envelope and sat at the table. A bowl of fresh strawberries was waiting for him.
“I still don’t get it,” he muttered. “Strawberries…eggs Benedict. We never used to eat that kind of stuff. It was just cereal and toast with a paper towel for napkins. What’s going on?”
Halfway through his strawberries, he heard his parents’ voices from the hallway. Their conversation was light and happy-sounding, the two of them just having come in from outside.
“Where were they, anyway?” Marty asked.
“Same as always,” Dave replied. “Tennis at the club.”
“Tennis? Dad and Mom don’t play tennis.”
“Then at explains why they’ve been club doubles champions for six years,” Linda said archly.
“I can’t believe it.”
“Where have you been?” Linda demanded.
Marty was seriously considering telling her when his folks walked in the room. Their appearance was quite a shock to Marty. Both looked tanned and healthy in their tennis outfits, but the transformation was far deeper than that. George McFly radiated confidence and self-esteem while Lorraine was thin and dynamic-looking.
Marty’s jaw fell.
“What’s the matter, son?” George McFly asked.
“Mom! Dad!” he said. “You look—great!”
“Why, thank you, Marty,” Lorraine smiled.
“What can he want?” Linda said. “He’s already got everything.”
His parents eyed him quizzically.
“I don’t want anything,” Marty said. “It’s a great present, just seeing how terrific you look.”
“Wow,” Dave laughed.
His mother put her hand on Marty’s shoulder. “Well,” she said. “Tonight’s the big night, isn’t it?”
Marty looked at her blankly.
“Isn’t tonight your big date with Jennifer Parker?” Lorraine asked. “She’s such a nice girl. I really like her a lot.” Marty could hardly believe this was his mother talking, even taking the physical transformation into account. Could this be the same woman who continually bad-mouthed Jennifer? Obviously not.
“Pardon me, Ma?” he muttered.
“You’re going up to the lake tonight, aren’t you? Just the two of you. Haven’t you been planning it for two weeks?”
“Mom, we went through this last night,” Marty replied. “How can I go if Dad’s car is wrecked?”
“Wrecked?” Dad said.
“He’s been like this all morning,” Dave explained. “It’s like he went to bed and woke up in a different house with strange people.”