Echoes of Tomorrow (5 page)

CHAPTER THREE

Elise decided during the drive that it would be wise to keep Reed away from modern day restaurants until he had more time to adapt.  She figured he'd had enough to digest for the day, but without thinking she pulled her cellular phone out of her purse and ordered a large pizza to go.  By the time she tucked the phone away, Reed had that now-familiar stare on his face.
She sighed and slumped in her seat at her own stupidity.  The concept of telephones as sort of "telegraphs with voices" didn't go over too well, so she promised a demonstration when they got home.

By the time they reached the restaurant the pizza was hot and ready to go.  She pulled to the drive-up window, gave her name, and asked for a cold six-pack of Diet Coke and a bag of chips.  Reed held the huge flat box while she stacked the Cokes and chips on top.  In seconds they were back on the highway.

They cruised along the river road for a while.  Elise chose a small park that was usually deserted as the site for their lunch.

Tires crunched on the gravel as they eased into the parking lot and came to a stop several yards from a picnic table situated under a huge live oak. Spanish moss dripped from the branches and dappled sunlight fell in patches all around.

She climbed out of the car and ran around to the other side to help Reed unfold his body.  A slight tug-o-war with the pizza box ensued when he insisted he could manage.  But with one leg out of the car, the other with his knee nearly to his chin, and doing a balancing act with the pizza, he finally gave in and handed the food over so he could grab the roof of the car and pull himself out.  He stood in the wedge of the door and studied the area he had just vacated, as if trying to figure out how he had gotten his entire body in there to begin with.

Elise opened the pizza box and pulled two cans of soda from the six-pack.   She settled herself on the top of a table overlooking the river and patted the area next to her.  Reed gave a considering eye to her choice of seats, then lowered his body to straddle the bench instead.

The masculine position shot little jolts of electricity through her as she admired her time-traveling lunch partner.  She couldn't believe she was sitting here with him.  She could picture him astride a spirited horse, planter's hat pulled low over his eyes to shield him from the sun, while he roamed the fields of his plantation.  His leather boots would stretch over those powerful calves to his knees and the billowing shirt would be open at the collar...

"This smells wonderful. What type of food is it?"  Reed's face was the picture of ecstasy.

She jerked herself back to the present and shook her head.  "It's called pizza.  It's sort of an Italian meat, vegetable and cheese pie.  It's probably the most popular food in America.”

She pulled off a slice, stringing out until the cheese until it snapped, then offered it to him.  He held the wedge in the palms of his hands, his brows dipped into a questioning
vee
.

"Oh.  You eat it like this."  She grinned and strung out a slice for herself.  "It's very important now," she instructed with a straight face, "you always eat the pointed end first.  Otherwise it doesn't taste the same." 

Reed took a bite with one eyebrow quirked, as if  trying to figure out how that could possibly make it taste different.

His face changed to a look of pleasant surprise.  "This is absolutely delicious." he declared.  "What did you say the ingredients are?"

Elise popped the tops of two sodas and handed him one.  "Oh, pepperoni, onions, tomatoes, olives, green peppers."  She stopped and took a long drink from her Coke and went on.  "Of course, you can put anything you want..."

Reed had eyed the opening in his Coke can, then imitated Elise by tipping it up and taking several long swallows.  A mist of soda came spraying out of his mouth in a strangled cough.  He jumped to his feet, gasping for breath.

Elise sat frozen. 

Reed croaked, "What in the name of God is this?  For God's sake, Elise, the stuff came out my nose!"

Oh no!  She felt those giggles rising up again and she knew she couldn't control them.  She bit the inside of her mouth and bowed her head, biting harder as the urge grew.  Her shoulders started to shake, and the harder she bit the harder she wanted to giggle.  She gave up the effort and let it out, laying back on the table and holding her side, laughing until it was out of her system.

"Oh, Reed!" she gasped, "I never dreamed!  I guess it may take some getting used to, at that.  It's a carbonated drink.  They use carbonated water.  That's what caused the...well, didn't you drink champagne back in your time?"

Reed had never been so embarrassed in his life.

"Of course I have had champagne, but not in a series of large gulps!"  Reed looked down at Elise, still reclining on the tabletop.  One foot dangled over the side from her fit of laughter.  He was struck, not for the first time, by how attractive she was.  She smiled up at him, her golden brown hair tousled, half of it swaying off the table.  Velvety green eyes danced with mischief, and he felt even more embarrassed by his coughing fit.

"Besides, you cannot convince me that you compare this beverage to champagne!"

"Oh, no!  No way. Just that they're both carbonated, or bubbly.  I've never thought about it, but I guess there
is
sort of a knack to drinking soda without having that happen."  This last comment ended with a suspicious quiver in her voice as Elise elbowed her way to a sitting position.

"The only other time I've had a reaction like that was when I downed my first shot of whiskey," Reed grumbled, trying to reestablish a semblance of masculinity instead of that of the village idiot.

"You know," she began, clearly attempting to placate him, "I'm really amazed at how well you've dealt with your situation.  I can't begin to imagine what I'd do if I found myself even a few years in the future, not to mention one that doesn't resemble what I came from.  I'd probably be a basket case, pinging off the walls.  But you're...well, you're handling it really well."  She shook her head and gazed up at him with a look of wonder.

Reed was glad to know he wasn't "pinging," whatever that was.  He felt a little better and reached over to snap off another slice of pizza, which was easier to do now that it had cooled a bit.  He took a few bites before speaking.

"From what I have witnessed of you, Elise, you would arrive at any place in time and settle in without help from anyone.  I am just thankful I have you to help me through this, and most importantly, that you believe me.  I am trying desperately to believe it myself."

The two sat quietly for a while and watched the river as they finished off the pizza.  Elise tore bits of crust and tossed them to some cardinals nearby.  He'd never before been with a woman who was so dominant and in control, and the whole concept made him uncomfortable.  Yet he also realized that he felt an admiration and attraction for this woman he'd known only a few hours - an admiration he'd never felt for any other woman.  He was surprised that the independence she exhibited made her more attractive to him, not less.  Yes, he thought, the independence, the green eyes, the sense of humor and...those long, smooth legs.  He felt as though something had just clicked into place in his life.

A dull roar started down river and built.  Reed rose with a look of concern.

Elise groaned and mumbled that there was just no getting away from exposing him to the modern world.

She yanked on his sleeve for attention and managed to say, "It's okay," just as a strange boat came roaring around a bend, pulling behind it a man standing on what appeared to be boards. As the boat drew even with the park the driver cut the engine and the man went down.  He swam to the boat and handed up the boards, then hoisted himself up a ladder.

Elise and Reed watched the boat chug its way to the park.  When it stopped at the edge of the river, two couples came out from beneath the canopy of the boat and pulled out a picnic basket.

"GOOD LORD!" Reed exploded.  Elise grabbed his arm, snatched up the sodas and chips and threw the pizza box into a trash can.

"Let's go, Reed.  I'll tell you about it on the way to the car.  Those are called string bikinis.  It's what women wear when they want to get a tan."

    
*******

The drive back to the plantation was relatively uneventful, considering all the possibilities.  Elise was amused at how Reed took great interest in the different types of cars they encountered.  He nearly broke his neck at one point when he jerked around to watch a motorcycle speed past them in the opposite direction.  This was followed by a flood of questions - how does it stay upright, why did the driver have a huge, round helmet over his head, when was it invented?

After a while the conversation lulled and Elise slid a tape  into the tape deck.  Strains of the "Emperor's Waltz" filtered through the car.  Reed leaned his head back onto the pale leather seat and let out a long sigh.

"Finally, something familiar."  He sighed again, and Elise watched him relax for the first time.  "It's nice to know that at least the music hasn't changed."

She opened her mouth to tell him that music had indeed changed but decided he could wait a while for the shock of rock music, blues, and jazz.  She wouldn't even try to explain rap.  He'd had enough to absorb for one day. 

She noticed in her musings that Reed had taken the tape deck and music in stride, without the look of incredulity so many other things had garnered.  He really was very resilient.

As the music moved into her favorite part of the waltz she scrunched down into the seat and leaned her head against the headrest.  She indulged in the same daydream she always did at this point.

"Do you know what I've always wanted to do?" she questioned wistfully, almost to herself.  "I've always dreamed of being in a huge ballroom, wearing a long, flowing gown and waltzing around and around, intoxicated by the music, my partner, the moment..."

Reed remained quiet, and Elise continued to enjoy the little scenario playing out in her mind.  She ached a little for what would be, to her, the perfect romantic evening.  It didn't even cross her mind that she had opened up more of herself to this man than to any other man in her life.  She had never before shared a fantasy. 

Reed wondered at her wistful look.  He couldn't believe she'd never experienced a ball.  After all, Oak Vi
sta boasted a wonderful ballroom  Did she have a particular person in mind she wanted to dance with?

The Jag, as Elise called it, rolled through the avenue of oaks and slipped under the rising shed door at the back of the house.

As they climbed out of the car and headed for the house, he wondered at

why her simple statement had stirred such foreign feelings in him.  He didn't have time to explore the cause though.  As they approached the back door, a strange, intermittent ringing sounded from within.  Elise broke into a run, fumbling for house keys along the way.  Alarmed, Reed ran behind her.  She rammed the key into the lock, turned the knob, and they both stumbled into the kitchen just as the ringing blasted again.

Elise ran to one of those strange boxes and picked up the top half, put it to her ear and said "Hello."  A choppy conversation with it followed while she dropped her keys into her reticule and sank to the kitchen chair.

"Oh, no.  How did you do that?"  She paused.  "Yeah, that'll do it everytime."  Another pause.  "Don't worry, Lettie.  I certainly don't expect you to clean a house with a broken arm.  You just...yes...uh-huh...well, you take as long as you need.  I don't create so much clutter that I can't handle it myself for a few weeks.  Okay...you take care.  Let me know if you need anything.  Okay.  Bye bye."

No sooner had she fit the box together than the thing let out another ring.  Another disjointed speech ensued.  After a few minutes she seemed to decline some kind of offer, then replaced the top of the box back in position.

When she turned back to Reed, she bestowed a hesitant smile.  First, she explained that the phone was similar to what she'd used to call in the pizza.  Then she said, "That was a friend of mine, wanting to get together for dinner, but I told him I had a house guest and we'd have to make it another time."

Him?  She told "him?

He felt a stab of...what?  Jealousy?  Fear at her leaving?  He wasn't sure.  He'd never had occasion to experience either of those emotions before, and he wasn't comfortable with how they made him feel.  Indeed, he was surprised at himself for feeling them at all.

An awkward silence descended between them, then Elise did a little drumroll on the counter with her hands.

"Hey, I bet you'd like to freshen up.  Would you like a shower or bath, Maybe a shave?  I've got extra razors and I think I've got some clothes here that might fit."

"If it would not inconvenience you too much," he said.  Anything to get this awkward moment over with.

Elise showed Reed to the guest bath.  She explained the use of each facility, except those she'd given a red-faced explanation for earlier, then showed him how to turn on both the shower and bath and adjust the temperature.  She pulled out huge fluffy mauve towels, a disposable razor and shaving cream, both of which called for a brief lesson in their uses.  She even found a new toothbrush and toothpaste, prompting more instructions with the toothpaste pump.