― Molly Bryant
I had intended to spend a quiet evening with Dan Porter at The Wheat Sheaf Tavern, enjoying a few drafts and catching up with him, but all that changed when Clair Lockwood and her friend, Trina walked in.
I have to admit, the whole situation seemed contrived and surreal as if orchestrated by Fate. I was reminded of a line from the old Thirties' song, You came to me from out of nowhere. For a moment, I actually believed I was meeting Dolores Wiltshire reincarnated.
It was magical but I couldn't indulge the fantasy.
For now, I had to focus on the present and simply enjoy spending a pleasant evening with an enchantress and getting to know her, without, of course, revealing to Dan Porter the real basis of how we met.
When Clair and Trina returned to the table there were the usual introductions and small talk about the tavern and Toronto night life and comments about the best places to greet and meet. But I was surprised and a bit fascinated by Trina's account of how she and Clair actually met.
It turns out Trina Winslow is actually a fairly well-known actress in her own right and she and Clair connected through an on-line website devoted exclusively to Dolores Wiltshire
"It was serendipity I suppose," Trina smiled, "I discovered another actress who was as obsessed as I about Dolores and eager to know everything about her."
Dan's eyes lit up with interest. "Why do you think the two of you were so passionately drawn to a dead 1920's actress?"
Trina shrugged, "It's not uncommon for actresses to have a role model they want to emulate, but with me, it was much more profound than that. All my life I've had recurring dreams about this beautiful friend and it wasn't until I was seventeen and saw one of Dolores' films I recognized who she was."
The table went quiet and Dan and I stared at each other in surprise.
"You must think I'm crazy," she muttered.
"I don't think you're crazy at all," Dan insisted. "A little while back I wrote a series of articles for The Star about various people who sincerely believed they were reincarnated and had memories of a previous life. Bill Hay, my editor, was impressed by the tremendous interest and reader response the series generated. He's been at me ever since to reprise the series with new material."
Trina seemed relieved by Dan's response. "I'm so glad you didn't dismiss it out of hand the way some people do―apart from Clair, most people to whom I mention it are either skeptical or think the whole business is some kind of false memory. But I can take you to streets around here and tell you things I couldn't possibly know unless I experienced them."
"You mean you and Dolores lived here a century ago?"
"We grew up on Tecumseh Street―it's walking distance from here. I can show you the houses."
Dan was thoroughly captivated by the prospect. "Why don't we do that right now? We'll only be gone for about an hour. What do you say?'
Trina looked at Clair who simply chuckled, "Go ahead you two and have fun. It'll give Clay and me time to get acquainted"
Dan gulped his draft and grabbed his coat. "It'll be an adventure," he yelped.
Trina was beaming with joy. It seemed they both had something in common.
We watched them go, hand in hand, threading their way through crowded tables to the exit.
"They look happy," I remarked to Clair.
"I'm glad," she said, "Trina doesn't readily take to people the way she did with Dan. Maybe they have more in common than they think."
"I hope so, Dan's a quality person, He and Trina seem a good match."
"Who knows? They might be soul mates, " Clair mused, "sort of like Trina and me―we're working together on this film with me playing Dolores and she playing the role of my best friend."
I shook my head and smiled in amazement. "Sounds like art imitating life."
"You have no idea," Clair whispered, "when we finally met in person there was this immediate resonance, like two guitar strings perfectly attuned to each other and vibrating in sympathy."
"That's a beautiful way to describe it. Had you ever experienced that before?"
Her eyes grew huge and dark.
"No, never," she murmured softly... "well, never until recently."
"Oh?" I asked curiously, "and where and when was that?"
"The first time we both met at Front Guard Studios and I recognized you from our previous life."
I began to tremble as a strange thunder rolled through me. A curtain was pulled back and I recognized her from my own dreams.