in this room, but also for the new art found by Dr. Free….”
Tobias’s eyes shifted to the pornographic pictures again, landing on a charcoal drawing of a woman removing veils as she danced. Most of the stuff wasn’t that racy, at least not by comparison to today’s Guess ads, but in the late 1800s, it must have been as hot as tamales.
Tobias shook his head. Under any other circumstances, he would have laughed. Yes, watching the members of the Preservation Society—mostly prim elderly ladies like Margaret with blue-rinsed hair and American flag pins proudly affixed to the lapels of their linen suits—sit around trying to elevate a porn collection to the level of high art would have brought a chuckle.
Except that Tobias’s ten-year lease on this building was over in a month, and these sweet little ladies were truly going to snap his dream clinic out from under him. Having finally realized he lacked heirs, Sloane had become determined to do something to give his life meaning. As near as Tobias could tell, turning forty had been a rude awakening, and now Sloane hoped the Preservation Society could lend his previously dissipated life some credibility.
To add insult to injury, Tobias had once married Margaret Craig’s daughter, Sandy—this was after Carla DiDolche, of course—and while the union had lasted only three disastrous months before it was annulled, Margaret had never forgiven him for leaving her daughter. Now she was relishing taking away the building in which Tobias housed his life’s work. Oh, yeah, he thought now, eyeing her, Margaret definitely carried a grudge. Probably Sandy had told her mother the truth. That even after marrying another woman, Tobias simply couldn’t get his mind off Carla.
Not that Tobias felt any guilt. He’d dated Sandy on the rebound and let her pressure him into marriage. When things hadn’t worked out, she’d quickly remarried a mall developer from North Carolina who’d kept her in high style ever since. Last time she’d visited the Burgh for the holidays, she’d been pregnant with twins.
Shifting uncomfortably in his seat, Tobias tugged the knot at his throat, wishing he could take off his tie. He hated ties. In fact, the only thing more loathsome than ties were the jackets you had to wear with them. Unfortunately, even his best jeans and corduroy blazer couldn’t hold a candle to the suits worn by his competitors. Last night, on the phone, his mother had urged him to go buy some dress slacks. Maybe he should have listened. She’d also mentioned Carla, the way she always did. After seven years, Laura Free still missed the young woman she’d been so sure was going to become her daughter-in-law. She and Sandy hadn’t really hit it off.
Tobias blew out a sigh. What a couple of days! It didn’t help that one of the three male members of the Pittsburgh Preservation Society was Vince Gato, owner of Gambolini and Gato Imports, which was a wine importing business on Liberty Avenue, at the opposite end of the block from DiDolche’s, the family-owned café of which Carla was now the sole proprietor. From what Tobias recalled, the Gatos and DiDolches went way back. They’d known each other since the old country, which meant circa 1850.
Nope. Even after seven years, there was no escaping Carla. She intruded on his thoughts at the most unexpected times. Tobias suddenly realized that Sloane Junior was addressing him and even though Tobias hadn’t actually seen Carla for awhile, he silently cursed her for breaking his concentration. “Yes, Mr. Sloane?”
“Once more,” asked Sloane Junior, “how did you come across the drawings, Dr. Free?”
As if he didn’t know. For some reason, Sloane Junior loved this story. Tobias retold the tale of how, a couple of months ago, when he and a colleague were moving some equipment, he’d inadvertently tripped, hit the side of a mantle in what had previously been Cornelius Sloane’s study—only to have the wall swing inward, just like in an old horror movie, to expose a hidden room.
“What a find!” Margaret exclaimed breathlessly.
“Yes, indeed,” seconded Vince Gato.
“And you were carrying one of those…what was it, Dr. Free?” asked Sloane Junior.
“An electroencephalograph,” Tobias reminded him.
“Ah, yes. An electroencephalograph.”
“Yes,” Tobias added quickly, glad for the opportunity to speak his piece since, as far as he was concerned this meeting had definitely focused too much on the Preservation Society’s concerns. “The electroencephalograph is an incredible piece of equipment. It allows researchers to chart brain activity during sleep by attaching electrodes to the head. And as you know, because of the long-term lease we negotiated in the past, we have been able to make great headway in our research.”
Sloane Junior barely looked interested. “Hmm.”
“It’s really because of you, sir,” Tobias forced himself to repeat, “that we’ve been able to make such great strides in sleep and dream research. And not just in better-known areas such as insomnia, narcolepsy or sleep apnea, but most importantly in the area of guided dream imagery.”
As he spoke, Tobias’s eyes settled on one of the old sepia-toned daguerreotype photographs that graced the walls, this one of turn-of-the-century construction on Liberty Avenue in the block that would eventually house both Gato and Gambolini’s as well as DiDolche’s café. Once more, he pushed away an image of Carla, and yet she always remained in his mind, running under his conscious thoughts like the unseen current in a river. Her image intruded when he least expected it, least wanted it, and, in this case, most resented it. Right now, he needed to concentrate. “We really feel, if given the chance, that the research we do here will change people’s lives.”
“Yes, yes,” said Sloane Junior. “I read the article in Newsweek.”
He sounded so dismissive. Was this dissipated playboy really going to turn a research facility into an art gallery for hundred-year-old porn? As soon as Tobias had stumbled upon the art, the Preservation Society had started angling to open the mansion to the public. “Already—” Tobias forced himself to smile as he continued “—we’ve helped countless people who suffer from nocturnal eating syndrome and REM behavioral disorder.” He implored Sloane Junior with his eyes. Couldn’t the other man see how important this work was? “We’ve done exemplary work with troubled children plagued by nightmares,” he explained. “And now, we’re really making exciting headway with guided dreams, which promises all sorts of therapeutic uses…”
As he spoke, his voice quickened with passion. If he hadn’t been so attached to his work, he’d never have survived the humiliation, not to mention emotional pain, of Carla’s bolting back down the aisle. After that, discounting his brief marriage to Sandy, he’d worked at this clinic around the clock. “We’ve made progress translating electrical impulses into written accounts of what people dream about,” he said. “In other words, we’re identifying patterns that will allow us to examine your brain waves and tell you what you’re dreaming. Someday our researchers will even be able to watch your dreams on a screen….”
One of the Preservationists gave in and voiced curiosity. “You mean, you’ll be able to watch someone’s dreams, like a movie?”
“We hope,” Tobias said just as another lady elbowed the first for showing interest.
Sloane Junior lifted his chin. “Do you really believe you’ll be able to do that?”
Tobias nodded. “Already, by monitoring brain waves, we can make a fair guess as to what you’re dreaming. During guided dream experiments, we’ve discovered we can deliver electronic impulses to disturbed sleepers and change the content of their dreams. We’ve been able to change nightmares into
