Karen D. Badger - Yesterday Once More

by Karen D. Badger

  Tears flowed from Jordan’s eyes. “She died on the farm, Kale. She died on my farm.”

  Kale lifted Jordan’s chin and looked into her tear-stained face. “Are you all right?”

  Jordan met Kale’s eyes. “I’m okay.” She looked back at Maggie’s holograph. “She’s more than beautiful. She’s breathtaking. It’s such a pity she died so young. I wonder if she had a partner.”

  Kale frowned. “Partner... as in female? How do you know she was gay?”

  “Let’s put on a pot of coffee and chat for a while. I have something to tell you.”

  Jordan continued to look at the holograph of Maggie while Kale made coffee. He sat down at the table as he waited for it to brew. “What is it you have to tell me?”

  “There’s something odd going on in this house.”

  “What do you mean, odd?”

  “Do you remember when we talked about my nightmares, and you joked that maybe a ghost was trying to contact me?”

  Kale sat back and looked at Jordan with wide eyes. “I was joking. You didn’t take me seriously, did you?”

  “At the time, no. But now I’m not so sure.”

  “Come on. You’re kidding, right?”

  “No, I’m not. I don’t think it’s a coincidence that I’ve had this particular dream in this particular house, and I don’t think finding the diaries is a coincidence either.”

  Kale’s brow furrowed. “What are you getting at?”

  “I think Maggie is trying to contact me.”

  “Oh, for Christ’s sake. Do you hear yourself? Maggie died a hundred years ago.”

  “Then how else can you explain this? The diaries? The dreams? You’re going to think I’m nuts, but I really think this is some type of paranormal experience.”

  Kale nodded “You are absolutely correct. I think you’re nuts!”

  “Hear me out. I did some research on paranormal experiences. There are dream experts who believe the mind experiences different levels of consciousness, that it can receive input from different spiritual realms. I think Maggie is asking for my help. I think she’s putting visions in my mind before I read about them in the diaries to convince me they’re real—and that she’s real.”

  An uncomfortable silence fell between them. It was interrupted by a faint beep signaling that the coffee had finished brewing. Kale rose, poured two cups, and returned to the table. He placed one cup in front of Jordan and sipped from the other. After a few moments, Kale placed his hand on Jordan’s arm. “Let’s say that you’re right. Let’s say that Maggie is trying to contact you. You’ve lived in this house all your life. Why now?”

  Jordan looked at Kale, a faint mist clouding her eyes. “Don’t you get it? She isn’t just contacting me now. I’ve had the same dream ever since my accident at age sixteen.”

  Kale sighed deeply. “If you’ve had the dream for years, why are you only making the connection now?”

  “I didn’t realize Maggie was behind it until now. I think the fact that we were both involved in equestrian accidents has somehow linked us through time. Each dream has become increasingly real, so real that I can’t believe they’re just dreams. I don’t remember them being this vivid when I was a child.”

  “Did you say dreams, as in more than one?”

  Jordan nodded. “I had another dream a few nights ago. You asked me how I knew Maggie was gay. I know because she told me so herself.”

  Kale was visibly agitated. “You’re starting to scare me. How could she have told you she was gay?”

  “Remember when you worked on the machine all night because you couldn’t sleep? I went to bed and drifted off. Next thing I knew, the door flew open and in came Maggie, in a rage because some kid at school had called her a lezbo. She went on and on for several minutes, ranting and raving until she suddenly threw herself down on the bed right next to me. Kale, I could feel her touching me! I swear on my life, I could feel it. Anyway, she continued to jabber away and finally came to the conclusion that she was indeed attracted to women.”

  “Jordan, I’m sure that dream was prompted by something you read in the diaries.”

  “No. No, it wasn’t. The next morning, I read the second diary, one I hadn’t started reading yet. The first entry was an exact description of the scene with Maggie the previous night. Don’t you see? I had the dream before I read about it in the diary.”

  Kale ran his hand through his hair. “You’re really scaring me. There has to be a good explanation for all of this.”

  “There is. I’m telling you, Maggie is trying to contact me.”

  Jordan touched his arm. “There’s a third reason I believe Maggie is trying to contact me now. You see...” Jordan’s voice trailed off as she searched for the right words.

  Kale leaned forward. “What?”

  She looked up at Kale. “Third, the timing is right. We haven’t had the means to help her until now.”

  Kale looked at Jordan for several long moments. He shook his head. “Tell me you’re not thinking what I think you’re thinking.”

  “We have the technology. You have the technology. You said yourself that you were close.”

  Kale jumped to his feet. “No. Are you out of your mind? It’s totally untested. Hell, it doesn’t even work yet. No. Out of the question.” Kale paced back and forth, his hands planted on his hips, clearly agitated.

  “Kale?” Jordan said tentatively.

  “I can’t deal with this right now, Jordan. I’m going to the barn.”

  While Kale worked, Jordan sat in the house and sulked. Her stomach rumbled. She looked at her watch—it was almost 7:00 p.m. Tired of waiting for Kale to come back from the barn, she went to the kitchen and threw together a sandwich. She ate that and a bag of chips in front of the holovision. When she was done, she clicked off the set and rested her head on a cushion. Jordan couldn’t get Maggie out of her mind. Who are you, Maggie Downs? Why are you haunting my dreams and invading my thoughts?

  Suddenly, Jordan’s attention was drawn to the kitchen as an unfamiliar voice rang out. “Maggie? Maggie, where are you?”

  “I’m in the bedroom, Jess. I’ll be right out.”

  Jordan’s head snapped around to the direction of Maggie’s voice. Maggie?

  The door between the kitchen and the living room swung open, admitting a slim young woman with short-cropped, bleached-blonde hair. Maggie emerged from the bedroom. Her beauty took Jordan’s breath away. Her unruly red hair was pulled loosely into a ponytail. She wore cutoff jeans and a tank top with no bra. A rush of heat in Jordan’s chest made her feel lightheaded.

  Maggie smiled brightly. “Hi, Jess.”

  The woman sauntered up and wrapped her arms around Maggie’s waist. “Hey, baby. I missed you after class. Hmm, you smell good.” The woman nuzzled Maggie’s neck. Maggie giggled and pulled away. She walked over to the mirror above the fireplace and began putting on her earrings.

  “I had to leave as soon as class was over to get my parents to the airport on time.”

  Maggie’s visitor groped her from behind. “That’s right. I forgot they were going to Florida today. That means we have the whole house to ourselves.” She turned Maggie around and pressed her against the fireplace.

  Maggie pushed her aggressor away. “Jess, is that all you ever think of? There’s more to life than sex.”

  Jordan watched the scene from the couch, wishing desperately that she could walk over and teach Jess a lesson.

  Jess looked surprised. “There is? You could have fooled me. Come on, Maggie, you know you want this as much as I do.” Jess pressed her against the fireplace once more.

  Maggie pushed Jess harder this time. “I said no. Jess, I don’t know if I’m ready for that yet. I need time.”

  Jess advanced on Maggie again, this time roughly pinning her shoulders to the fireplace. She leaned in so that their faces were nearly touching. “Maggie, you’re a twenty-two-year-old virgin. Get with the program, will you? What you need, little girl, is a good lay.”
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  Maggie stared directly into Jess’s eyes. “Not by you,” she said vehemently.

  An angry mask descended over Jess’s face. She grasped Maggie’s neck and hissed, “You’d better listen to me good, Maggie. You’ve known about your sexuality for what, six years now? Don’t you think it’s about time you acted on it? You’ve been leading me on for nearly a year, and I’m getting tired of waiting.”

  Maggie strained against Jess’s weight. “I’ll only say this one more time—let go of me!”

  “Or what? Face it, Maggie, I’m stronger than you are. Now, I’ll say this one more time. Like it or not, you’re going to give me what I want.”

  Jess released Maggie’s neck only to grasp two handfuls of T-shirt, which she proceeded to rip from Maggie’s body.

  “No! Jess, stop. Please!”

  “Shut up.” Jess raised her right hand and backhanded Maggie across the face. Maggie fell to the floor. Jess straddled her waist, roughly grabbing Maggie’s creamy white breasts.

  “No! Get off me.” Maggie struggled against her attacker, but to no avail.

  Jordan watched in horror as she transferred herself to the hover-chair. Several times, she tried to move her chair forward, but for some reason, it wouldn’t move.

  “No! Leave her alone,” Jordan screamed as Maggie continued to struggle. Jordan’s efforts to move her chair forward were futile. In one final, desperate attempt to get to Maggie, she pushed herself out of the chair and landed in a heap on the floor. Using her arms to drag herself to the fireplace, Jordan got close enough to grab Jess’s calf muscle. With strength born of desperation, she dug her nails in as hard as she could. Jess howled out in pain and rolled off her victim.

  Jess lay on her side, gripping her calf with both hands and moaning in pain. Maggie scrambled to her feet and picked up the fireplace poker. She held the weapon in front of her like a sword.

  “Get out of my house right now, Jess, and don’t ever come back again. Do you understand?” Anger radiated from her as she waved the poker back and forth. Maggie lifted the poker and slammed it down on Jess’s injured calf. “I said get out. Now!”

  Jess howled in pain. “Fuck! You hit me, bitch. You fucking hit me.”

  Maggie shifted her weight from foot to foot as she waved the poker. “I mean it, Jess. Now get out before I do it again.”

  Jess crawled to the nearest chair and used it as leverage to climb to her feet. With a final venomous look at Maggie, she limped from the room. Maggie stood rooted to the spot as she listened to the sound of the door closing and the squealing of car tires. When she was satisfied that Jess was gone, she calmly put the poker back into its holder and pulled the tattered pieces of her shirt together. Then she turned around and slowly walked down the hall to her bedroom.

  Jordan watched the scene from the floor. She was concerned about the emotional state Maggie was in, but thankful that she had been able to influence the outcome. As she watched Maggie walk away, she pushed herself into a seated position and dragged herself back to her chair. Exhausted, Jordan laid her head down to rest.

  * * *

  Kale sat back and studied the diagram on the screen. Satisfied that he had a workable design, he saved the file and then shut down the computer. Before calling it a night, he circled the machine once more and admired the upgrade he’d installed. It just might work.

  Kale opened the kitchen door and called out. “Jordan?”

  There was no answer. He ran to the living room and found Jordan lying on the floor, unconscious. “Oh, my God. Jordan!”

  Chapter 8

  Kale knelt by Jordan’s side. He rolled her onto her back and gently patted her cheek. “Jordan, Jordan, wake up.”

  Jordan’s eyes fluttered open. “What... Kale, what is it?”

  “You’re on the floor. Are you all right? Did you fall from your chair?”

  Jordan grabbed Kale’s arms and pulled herself into a seated position. She looked around in confusion. Slowly, she recalled the events of the evening. “Kale... Maggie... she was attacked. The chair wouldn’t move. I... I climbed out of my chair to help her.”

  Kale sat back on his heels and looked at her. “Maggie?” he said in disbelief. “Jordan, I’m worried about you.”

  “She was here. I swear to you.” Jordan was disoriented. She looked around the room for Maggie.

  Kale rose to his feet. “Okay, wait a minute. We need to get you off the floor.” In one movement, he lifted Jordan from the floor and gently placed her on the couch. Then he sat down beside her. “I think you need to get some help. You’ve become obsessed with this dead woman. I’m really worried about you.”

  “No. It’s real. I swear to you, it’s real.”

  “Jordan...”

  Jordan placed her hand on Kale’s arm. “Stop. Please. Let me prove it to you.”

  Kale looked skeptical. Jordan retrieved all the volumes of Maggie’s diaries from the end table. She shuffled through the books until she located the one she was currently reading and handed it to Kale. “Okay, before you open that, let me tell you about this last vision. I was sitting here reading the diary you’re holding, and my eyes started to droop, so I decided to quit for the night. I closed the book, placed it on the end table, and I laid my head on the pillow. Seconds later, this woman comes into the house and calls out for Maggie. The woman was obviously a lesbian—”

  “How do you know?”

  “She was very butch. Anyway, she came into the house looking for Maggie. Maggie came out of her room and the woman—Maggie called her Jess—this woman started to grope Maggie, trying to convince her to have sex. Maggie said no, but Jess wasn’t taking no for an answer. She started manhandling Maggie. She pushed her against the fireplace and started ripping her clothes off. Maggie struggled, but Jess wrestled her to the floor and pinned her there.”

  Kale interrupted Jordan’s description. “Let me guess. This is where you come in.”

  Jordan grew animated. “Yes, it is. I tried to move my chair toward them, but for some reason, it wouldn’t move. Maggie was obviously in distress and needed help, and Jess was stronger than she was. I tried several times to reach her, but I couldn’t. Finally I gave up on the chair and climbed down to the floor. I dragged myself over to them, and when I was within reach, I grabbed Jess’s leg and dug in with my nails as hard as I could. When Jess couldn’t stand it anymore, she yelled out and released her grip on Maggie, who was able to free herself. Jess lay on the floor holding her injured leg while Maggie got up and grabbed the fireplace poker. After one good whack to Jess’s leg, she convinced Jess to leave. Then Maggie went to her bedroom. That’s all I remember.”

  Kale looked skeptical. “How is that explanation supposed to convince me you aren’t losing your marbles?”

  Jordan pointed to the book in Kale’s hands. “Open the diary. What’s the date on the entry where the bookmark falls?”

  Kale looked at the diary. “July 9, 2008.”

  Jordan did the calculations in her head. “So that means Maggie was twenty at the time she wrote that particular entry, right?”

  Kale nodded.

  “Okay, now scan through the books until you find the year 2010.”

  Kale threw his hands up. “For crying out loud, Jordan, what exactly are you trying to prove here?”

  Jordan inhaled deeply to contain her frustration. “In the vision, Jess said that Maggie was a twenty-two-year-old virgin. If she was twenty-two, it would have been the year 2010. The bookmark is on an entry dated 2008. Don’t you see? I haven’t gotten to the year 2010 yet.”

  Kale closed the diary and threw it onto the table in obvious frustration. “Listen to me. All this proves is that you haven’t read past the year 2008. You said yourself that you became drowsy while reading. You could have easily fallen asleep and dreamed the attack.”

  “Bullshit. Why don’t you believe me? Remember the last dream? Remember there was an entry in the diary that described the dream in detail? I didn’t read that entry until after my d
ream. Give me some credit here. I’m not some crazed whacko obsessed with a dead woman!”

  Kale looked concerned. “Jordan...”

  She interrupted him, tears shimmering in her eyes. “Please, keep an open mind... for me.”

  Kale looked at the diary, took a deep breath, and smiled at Jordan. “All right, I’ll give you the benefit of the doubt. I’ll read the diary tonight. Okay?”

  Jordan smiled, wiping the moisture from her eyes with the back of her hand. “Thanks.”

  Kale leaned in and kissed her forehead, then lifted her chin with his fingertips. “You’re welcome. Now it’s time for both of us to call it a night. I’ll see you in the morning.”

  “Good night.” Jordan watched Kale retreat to his bedroom. Then she transferred herself to her chair and headed to her own room.

  * * *

  Jordan was awakened by a movement at her side. Convinced it was Maggie, she lay as still as possible and feigned sleep. Suddenly, she found herself wrapped in strong, male arms. She opened her eyes to look at Kale. “Is something wrong?”

  Kale met Jordan’s gaze but remained silent for a long moment.

  “Kale, you’re scaring me. Is something wrong? Why are you in my bed?”

  “I owe you an apology.”

  “An apology? Why?”

  Kale switched on the lamp on her bedside table.

  “Listen to this.” Kale held the diary between them so Jordan could follow along as he read.

  August 10, 2010. My day really sucked. It started out okay. I went to class and then drove Mom and Dad to the airport. They flew to Florida today to make sure their condo is in order before moving down there for the winter. I had just gotten home and changed my clothes when Jess arrived. The second she realized I had the house to myself, she was all over me. She ridiculed me for being a twenty-two-year-old virgin. She thinks it’s odd that I’ve known about my sexuality for six years now but have yet to have sex with a woman. Hello? Just because I knew at age sixteen that I liked girls doesn’t mean I want to jump into bed with every lesbian I meet. I just haven’t found the right one yet. Giving myself to someone is a sacred thing for me. It has to be the right someone, and Jess just isn’t it.