SCENE 3
Candlelight sparkled in the eyes of Victoria Winters as she had dinner with Jeff Clark that evening. They had spent quite a bit of time together over the past week. Victoria enjoyed being with him, but she still had been unable to get him to talk about his past. Of course, she still hadn't told him about where she met Peter Bradford. She sipped her white wine and decided she would have to be up-front with him soon. Jeff had caught her looking strangely at him too often lately. But he was always saying or doing something that reminded her of Peter.
"So what do you think, Vicki?" Jeff's question dragged her back to reality.
She shook her head to clear it. "I'm sorry, Peter, what did you say?"
Jeff put down his fork. "Vicki, you've been a million miles away all evening. And, if it wasn't bad enough that you weren't here with me, you have been off with another man."
Confused, she asked, "What are you talking about?"
"Vicki," he looked at her expectantly. When it became obvious she didn't know what she had said, he told her, "You called me 'Peter.'"
Vicki's eyes widened. "Oh, Jeff, I'm so sorry. I didn't mean…" He put his hand on hers to stop her.
"It's all right. Really it is. This Peter Bradford must have been someone very special to you."
"He was," she said in a small voice, looking down to avoid Jeff's eyes.
"Well, then," he reached over and lifted her chin so she was looking at him. "I'm glad I can remind you of him." He smiled at her, and was heartened when she smiled back. Jeff settled back into his seat. "So tell me about this Peter Bradford. You seem to think about him quite a bit, but you never talk about him."
Vicki started to say something, then stopped. She just didn't know where to begin. The whole story seemed so outrageous. If it hadn't happened to her, she wasn't sure she would believe it. How could she expect him to?
Noticing her hesitation, Jeff tried to reassure her. "You don't have to tell me if you don't want to." But he was unable to keep the hurt out of his voice.
Vicki turned to him quickly. "No, it's not that. I want to tell you." She gave him an embarrassed look. "I just don't know if you'll believe me."
He laughed softly. "I would believe anything you told me, Vicki."
She inhaled deeply. "Don't say that until you've heard the story." Vicki told him everything she could remember about her journey to the year 1790 and her relationship with Peter Bradford.
Once she finished, she told him, "My memory is still hazy about a lot of things that happened to me in the past. But the one thing I remember most clearly is my love for Peter, and his promise to return to me."
Jeff rubbed his neck. "Well, you were right. It certainly is a fantastic story."
Vicki slumped. "I knew you wouldn't believe me."
"Now, I didn't say that. I certainly believe there are things beyond our understanding, and maybe you experienced one of them. I don't know. But I believe in you."
She smiled, but she had a hopeful look in her eye. "You sound like Peter. Again."
An easy grin came to Jeff's face, until he made the connection. "Wait a minute. Vicki, do you think I'm Peter Bradford?"
"I don't know, but I believe it may be possible. You are so similar, and not just your appearance. Your manner, the things you say, even the way you treat me are so like him." Jeff shook his head, but Vicki continued, "If I can travel 200 years into the past, why isn't it possible that Peter could travel into the future?"
"I like you, Victoria Winters. A lot. I feel very connected to you somehow. But if I were Peter Bradford, why would I keep it from you? If I loved you enough to transcend time, wouldn't I find you immediately to be with you?"
Her face fell. "I hadn't thought of that. You're right, of course. You just remind me so much of him, I just wanted it to be true."
"I'm sorry I'm not the man you once loved." He took her hand. "But maybe, in time, I can become the man you love now."
Vicki began to say something, but a waiter interrupted. "Excuse me, sir, are you Mr. Jeff Clark?"
Surprised, he pulled his hand back from Victoria. "Yes. Is there a problem?"
"You have a phone call, Mr. Clark. You can take it at the host station."
"Excuse me, Vicki." Jeff wiped his hands on his napkin, then put it on the table as he stood and followed the waiter. The phone was in an alcove near the entrance to the restaurant, which afforded Jeff some privacy to take the call. He was glad of that. There was only one person who could be calling him, and he wasn't happy about it. He picked up the receiver. "Hello?"
"Jeff?" came the voice he knew would be there. "It's Dr. Lang. I need you to come to Eagle Hill Cemetery immediately. We have work to do."
Jeff took a deep breath to summon up his courage, then said the bravest word he ever spoke. "No."
There was silence on the other end for a moment, then Lang's voice came again, low and dangerous. "What did you say to me, Clark?"
He licked his lips that had gone dry with fear. Lang had a lot of power over him in the past, and now he wanted- no, he needed- to break that hold. "I said 'no'. I'm having a wonderful dinner with Miss Winters," he lowered his voice before continuing, "and I am not leaving her to go grave-robbing for you."
"I told you to stay away from her. If you keep on seeing her, you know I'll be forced to tell her about your past."
Jeff became furious, and played his trump card. "You do what you have to do. But if Vicki hears about my past from you, I'll go to the police about your ghoulish experiment. I'm sure they'd be interested in your nocturnal visits to the local cemeteries."
"Now calm down, Jeff." Lang's voice was steady, but his change in manner told Jeff he had shaken him. "We can work this out, I'm sure. I suppose Miss Winters doesn't really need to know about your past." He hesitated for a moment. "But Jeff, it's important that you come here now. I need your help with this."
Having made Lang back down from his threats bolstered Jeff's resolve. "No. I'm through with you for good. You can find someone else to do your dirty work. I quit." He hung up the phone before Lang had a chance to respond.
Returning to the table, he saw the waiter had already left their check. "Vicki," he said as he sat back down, "would you mind picking up the bill tonight?"
Vicki tilted her head, looking at him quizzically as she reached for her purse. "Not it all. Who was on the phone?"
He sighed. "That was Dr. Lang. He-" Jeff didn't want to lie to her, but maybe the incomplete truth would be enough. "-wanted me to come to work. Anyway, we got into an argument about it, and I quit my job."
Vicki's eyes grew wide. "You quit? Oh, Jeff, I'm sorry."
He hushed her. "It's okay, really. Believe me, I wasn't happy working for Dr. Lang. Unfortunately, there are some drawbacks. The first is that money will be tight for me until I can find other work. The second is that I live at Lang's house. Or I guess I should say 'lived'. So now I don't have a place to stay."
Vicki was concerned. "Maybe I can help."
Jeff looked at her. "Well, the job can wait, but I don't know where I'm going to sleep tonight. You wouldn't know a good, clean, cheap apartment I could rent this late at night, would you?"
Vicki became thoughtful as a bell rang in her memory. "Maybe I do." Now it was Jeff's turn to look surprised. "A friend of mine told me her father has a spare room over the bar he owns. I bet you could work something out with them."
"Well, I don't have any other prospects, except going back to Lang's, which I definitely don't want to do, so it sounds good to me. Let's go see your friend. What's the name of my hopefully soon-to-be landlord?"
"Evans. Sam and Maggie Evans."
