Karen D. Badger - Yesterday Once More

by Karen D. Badger

  “Yes ma’am.” She leaned in and kissed Maggie on the cheek. “I’ll be back shortly. Then maybe you’ll let me sample your cookies.” Jordan winked at Maggie and headed to her bedroom. She stripped off her dirty clothes and threw them into the hamper.

  Jordan pulled the shower curtain back and stepped into the water, soaking her body. She stood there for several long moments, basking in the feel of the needle-like spray massaging her worn muscles. She took a step out of the water and washed the sweat and grime from her body. After she rinsed the soap from her limbs, she soaked her head, lathering honeysuckle shampoo into her hair.

  Jordan remained under the spray for a long time with her eyes closed and her hands braced on the sides of the shower as the water rinsed the soap from her hair. She felt a presence behind her. She willed her eyes to remain closed as she felt hands slide across her hips and abdomen while a soft, supple body molded itself against her from behind. One hand slipped downward, finding a home below her navel, while the other hand pressed firmly on her abdomen. She was a willing captive of this creature as she softly moaned her pleasure.

  Jordan turned around, took Maggie’s face firmly between her hands, and devoured the redhead’s mouth. “I love you,” she whispered.

  Maggie gasped for breath as she broke the kiss. She turned her head so that Jordan could have access to her neck. She realized Jordan had turned the tables on her as she closed her eyes and savored the feel of Jordan’s lips sliding down her neck.

  Jordan lowered herself to her knees, leaving a trail of kisses from the hollow of Maggie’s neck to the triangle of curly red hair above Maggie’s treasure. Maggie pressed herself against the shower wall and braced her hands on Jordan’s shoulders as Jordan’s tongue slipped into her curls and massaged her already swollen bud.

  “Oh, my God,” Maggie gasped as her abdomen convulsed of its own accord. “Jordan... harder, baby... please.”

  Jordan obliged as she captured Maggie’s engorged clit between her lips and rhythmically sucked, flicking the end of it with her tongue.

  Maggie was wild with desire as the tension mounted deep within her core. Jordan slid two fingers into her lover’s center and repeatedly thrusted upward as Maggie returned the motion with downward lunges. Maggie tightened around Jordan’s fingers as her orgasm began to crest.

  Suddenly, Maggie’s nails dug deep into Jordan’s shoulders as her body first stiffened, then began to convulse uncontrollably. “I’m coming! Baby, I’m coming! Don’t stop,” she cried out as orgasm weakened her knees and forced her to lean heavily on Jordan for support. Jordan wrapped her free arm around Maggie’s waist as she pinned Maggie against the shower wall. She pressed her cheek against Maggie’s abdomen and held her there until the spasms subsided and Maggie was able to regain her senses. Jordan released her hold on Maggie, lightly taking the quivering woman into her arms. The two women clung to each other for several moments before pulling apart. Jordan kissed her tenderly then leaned her forehead against Maggie’s. “I adore you,” she whispered.

  Maggie smiled. “You are a beautiful lover. That was wonderful.”

  A buzzer sounded in the kitchen. Maggie looked at Jordan, her face tinged with regret. “That would be the oven timer. Sorry, baby, but if I don’t take the casserole out of the oven, we’ll be eating burnt cardboard for dinner.” Maggie stepped out of the shower and wrapped a large towel around her. She grinned at Jordan and then stood on tiptoe to place a kiss on her lips. “I’ll make it up to you tonight, lover,” she promised.

  Jordan watched as Maggie spun around and left the bathroom. She then reached for her towel and completely covered her face to mute the scream of frustration she felt rise in her throat. She forced herself to take long deep breaths to calm her nerves. Finally, she realized she couldn’t spend the rest of the day in the shower. She toweled herself dry. Moments later, she donned clean clothing and sat on the edge of the bed as she combed the tangles out of her wet hair. Her mind was never far from Maggie. Jordan moaned and threw herself back onto the bed.

  “Jordan, wake up. Dinner’s ready. Come on, hon, time to get up.”

  Jordan fought off sleep as she forced her eyes open. “Andi?”

  Andi smiled at Jordan. “I hope you’re hungry. We’ve got a tuna casserole waiting for us.”

  Confused, Jordan raised herself onto her elbows and looked around. “Where’s Maggie?” she asked. Her mind felt cloudy as anxiety settled in her chest.

  Andi frowned. “Maggie?”

  Jordan lay flat on her back again and rubbed her eyes with the heels of the hands. Her heart was beating wildly as she remembered the passionate encounter in the shower. Calm down, Jordan. Take a deep breath. You were obviously dreaming again. She opened her eyes once more. Andi was still standing there, clearly confused. Jordan sought to defuse the situation by grinning broadly. “Did you say dinner was ready? I’m famished.”

  Andi smiled. “Dinner is indeed ready. Kale is dishing it up right now.”

  A voice boomed from the doorway. “Jordan, are you hitting on my girlfriend?”

  Jordan feigned innocence. “Would I do that?”

  Andi interrupted the banter. “All right, you two. Enough of that.”

  Kale grinned. “Dinner’s ready. When should I bring it in?”

  Andi lifted her face to Kale and accepted a quick kiss. “Right after I check the incision. Peter wanted to make sure the dressing is changed every day. Give us a couple of minutes, okay?”

  Kale glanced at Jordan over Andi’s shoulder. “Hey—no fair. You wouldn’t let me look at your butt.”

  “That’s because you’re not a hottie. Only hotties can look at my butt.”

  “I thought you said I was cute?”

  “You might be if you would learn to comb your hair.”

  Andi laughed as Kale looked offended by Jordan’s comment. “We’ll be there in a minute,” she said to him again as she pushed him toward the door. When he was gone, Andi turned and grinned at Jordan. “You are so bad!”

  * * *

  After dinner was finished and the dishes cleared away, Kale carried Jordan to the living room and placed her on the couch in a semi-reclined position. When Jordan was settled comfortably, Kale pulled the Victorian settee closer to the couch, and Andi refilled their wine glasses.

  Jordan asked about the new lab in the barn. “What does it look like?”

  Kale sipped his wine. “The end of the barn that contains the machine has been finished with new synthetic wallboard, new lighting, a raised floor, and a drop ceiling. It’s pretty well-insulated to keep the equipment in a clean, stable environment. The entrance to the barn still opens into the livestock area. None of that has changed.”

  Andi became animated. “Speaking of livestock, Jordan, your horses are absolutely magnificent.”

  Jordan smiled. “Thanks. Do you ride?”

  “I did as a child, but it’s been many years. Kale has agreed to go for a ride with me when it warms up.”

  Jordan looked at Kale, shocked. “You’re going to ride? You swore you’d never get on a horse again when you stiff-legged it back to the barn after that ride with me.”

  Kale shrugged. “Hard to say no to the boss,” he joked.

  Andi patted his leg. “That’s right.” Jordan chuckled. “Is your project inside the new lab, too?” she asked tentatively, not sure if Andi was privy to Kale’s experiment.

  “You mean the time machine?” Andi asked.

  Jordan was surprised. “You told her about it?”

  Kale grinned. “Actually, she guessed. Apparently, Andi has had an interest in time travel for a long time.”

  Andi interrupted the conversation. “Hello, I’m in the room, you know!” She turned to Jordan, who was trying hard to hide a smile. “As a matter of fact, I’ve been studying time travel theories for quite a while. I’ve just never had the resources to build a machine of my own. I recognized what Kale’s machine was as soon as I saw it.” Andi turned to look at Kale. “I’d be happy t
o give you a hand with it if you’d like.”

  Kale nodded. “Your degree in physics certainly won’t hurt. If you’d like to help, that would be great.”

  Jordan finished her wine and placed the empty glass on the coffee table. A loud yawn escaped as she reclined once more. “Boy, who would have thought just lying around could be so tiring?”

  Kale sat up. “Are you ready for bed?”

  Jordan yawned again. “Yeah, I guess so.”

  “All right, then.” Kale lifted her from the couch and carried her to her bedroom.

  A short time later, as Jordan fought to keep her eyes open, Kale and Andi both kissed her and wished her a goodnight. By the time Kale pulled the door closed behind them, Jordan was nearly asleep.

  Andi and Kale straightened up the living room and carried the wine glasses to the kitchen. As Andi loaded the last glass into the sonic cleanser, she said, “Who is Maggie?”

  Chapter 14

  Kale was caught off guard. He looked around nervously. “She told you about Maggie?”

  Andi leaned against the cabinet and crossed her arms over her chest. “Actually, no. When I woke her for dinner, she looked around groggily and asked where Maggie was.”

  Kale frowned. “Humph. I wonder if she realizes she did that.”

  “Who is she, Kale?”

  Kale rested his hands on his hips and took a deep breath. “It’s complicated, and I’m not sure I understand it myself.”

  “Maybe I can help you to understand.”

  Kale held Andi’s gaze for several moments, unsure about whether he should share Jordan’s private world with his new love.

  “Is Maggie her girlfriend?” she asked.

  “Yes... and no,” Kale replied hesitantly.

  Andi frowned. “Yes and no? What do you mean?”

  Kale rubbed his face with both hands and sighed. “Okay. I’ll tell you about Maggie, but you have to promise not to judge Jordan. Like I said, I don’t quite understand this myself, but I’m willing to give her the benefit of a doubt. Let’s go for a walk while we talk.”

  Kale slipped his jacket on and then helped Andi with her coat. Once outside, he offered his arm as they walked side by side in the brisk dusk.

  “This is a beautiful farm. A person could get used to living here.”

  Kale looked around as the full moon cast muted shadows across the barnyard. “Yes it is. Jordan was fortunate to have grown up here. Vermont is a beautiful state. So beautiful it makes living through the long winters worth it.” Kale fell silent as they continued their walk.

  Andi looked at Kale, noting the creases on his forehead. He was obviously deep in thought. “Tell me about Maggie.”

  Kale stopped and looked at Andi. He signed deeply. “What I’m about to tell you is kind of off-the-wall.”

  Andi blew on her hands to keep them warm. Kale reached for them and tucked them inside his jacket. Then he wrapped his arms around her, pulling her close to him. “Better?”

  Andi smiled. “Very much so, thank you. You can trust me. I promise to keep an open mind, okay?”

  Kale nodded. “All right, here goes.” He looked at Andi. “Maggie is a ghost.”

  Andi’s head snapped back. “A ghost? You’re kidding, right?”

  “I wish I was. Maggie is the author of the diaries Jordan has been reading.”

  Andi took a moment to digest what Kale was telling her. “You mean the diaries she found between the walls?”

  “Yes. They were written about one hundred years ago.”

  “So, she’s become infatuated with the woman who wrote them. I don’t find that so hard to believe. Haven’t you ever had a crush on someone unattainable, like a movie star or someone like that?”

  “Yeah, I guess we’ve all had that kind of crush, but this is so much more than that.”

  “In what way?"

  Kale took a step back and began to pace. “This is where it gets weird.”

  Andi watched him pace and stepped back to give him the space he appeared to need.

  “Jordan claims that Maggie has contacted her.”

  Andi cocked her head to one side. “Really? How?”

  “Through dreams—or visions, as she calls them now. Funny thing is, I believe her.”

  Andi stopped Kale from pacing by standing in his path. She reached up and took his face between her hands. The look on her face spoke clearly of her seriousness. “Sweetheart, you’re obviously worrying yourself sick over this. You don’t have to share this with me if you’re uncomfortable doing that.”

  Sweetheart? Kale blinked rapidly. “No, it’s all right. I really do need to share this with someone. Keeping it a secret from Peter has been hard enough. I can’t imagine keeping it from you—especially if you’re going to be around here for a while.”

  Andi smiled. “I don’t plan to go anywhere, so why don’t you start from the beginning?”

  * * *

  Andi wiped a tear from her eye. “My God. That is so sad. She was far too young to have died, and so tragically. I don’t blame Jordan for being upset.”

  “She was overwhelmed with grief. She cried about it for days.”

  “I think Jordan has a very tender heart. Lost opportunity is one of the saddest things in the world. I can see why it would be difficult for Jordan.”

  “She’s more than upset, she’s obsessed. I’m worried about her mental state. Worse yet, I’m worried about how Peter will view her mental state.”

  “How so?”

  “She’s in love with a dead woman. If Peter finds out, he might think she’s not stable enough for the implant. I don’t want that to happen to Jordan. She needs to be out of that chair and on the path to a normal, healthy life. She’ll never be able to fulfill her dreams if she isn’t.”

  Andi was silent for a moment. “You said you believe Maggie has contacted Jordan through her dreams. Why do you believe that?”

  Kale sat beside Andi on the couch, leaning forward so that his forearms were resting on his knees. He looked at Andi. “The first dream came after Jordan and I found that article and obituary.” He nodded to indicate the article and holograph. “In that dream, Jordan woke up and the house was all different, with different furnishings, and she was in her chair, something that had never happened in past dreams.”

  “She was never in her chair in previous dreams?”

  “No, she was always walking. Anyway, she saw Maggie in the dream. Maggie as a teenager. Like I said, we both thought nothing of it, except for the presence of the hover-chair. I think we attributed the dream to information Jordan had gleaned from the diaries. Then, the second dream changed everything. At that point, the dreams were no longer dreams, but visions to Jordan.” Kale stopped to reflect on how he was going to explain the subsequent dreams to Andi.

  “Visions often imply predictions, and predictions imply future events. How could she predict the future of someone who lived in the past?”

  Kale looked at Andi. “My thoughts exactly—at the time, anyway. Jordan called them visions because she saw events in a dream prior to reading about them in the diaries. In the next two dreams, she explained in vivid detail what had happened, then showed me the diary entries she had read after she had already had the dreams. The diary entries matched her dreams exactly. How could she have possibly known what would happen in the diary if there wasn’t some sort of psychic connection between her and Maggie?”

  Andi sat back, thinking about what Kale had told her. For long moments, neither of them spoke. Finally, Andi broke the silence. “Are you sure they were dreams, or visions, or whatever you want to call them?” Kale looked at her, confused. “Is it possible that she was actually there when the event happened?”

  Kale looked at Andi as though she didn’t understand what he had been telling her. “Andi, she was here all the time, in the year 2105. In her bed. How could she have been both here in the present and there one hundred years in the past—at the same time?”

  “Did Jordan actually have any inter
action with Maggie in the dreams?”

  Kale thought for a moment about what Jordan had told him. “In the first two dreams there didn’t appear to be any. Maggie didn’t acknowledge her at all in the first dream—the one in which Maggie was a teenager. In the second dream, Jordan implied there was some interaction on her part, but no response from Maggie. In the third dream, Jordan claims to have interrupted a sexual attack on Maggie by Maggie’s then-girlfriend.” Kale stopped and threw his hands into the air. “Can you see how crazy this is?”

  “To the casual observer, maybe, but I’m not so sure. Have there been any other dreams? Specifically ones where interactions have occurred?” Andi asked.

  “One more. While Jordan was in the hospital, she dreamt that she awoke in Maggie’s bed one morning, fully intact—no hover-chair or anything. She says she found a note, specifically addressed to her, which Maggie left before going for a morning horse ride.” Kale suddenly stopped talking and gasped.

  The change in Kale’s demeanor startled Andi. “What is it?”

  “The letter! Wait right here. I’ll be back in a second.” Kale left Andi sitting in the living room while he ran into the kitchen and retrieved his jacket. Andi watched him closely as he reached into the inner pocket and pulled out a worn, folded piece of paper.

  “What is it?” Andi asked.

  Kale unfolded the paper. “I found this in the back pocket of the jeans Jordan was wearing the day she was admitted to the hospital.”

  Andi took the paper from Kale’s shaking hands and carefully opened it.

  When she finished reading the letter, she looked at Kale through the veil of tears that had filled her eyes. “Oh, my God! Is this the note Maggie left for Jordan?”

  Kale shook his head. “I don’t know. It certainly looks very old, but if it is the letter, it would have been written long before Jordan was even born. This doesn’t make sense. How would Jordan have gotten this note?”