“To the theater, then a midnight supper. Talk to you soon. Bye.” Mel’s voice held an air of excitement to it. She’d been married to Richard for a while and he could still do that to her. I wonder if I could feel that way about someone for ten or twenty years.
Since dinnertime approached, I probably should have gotten up and fixed something. Instead, I sat there and let my thoughts take me back over the years. Thoughts I sometimes didn’t like to remember. Thoughts about how I’d gotten to where I was now.
I’d been so young when Dad died, so full of dreams and ambitions. I’d wanted to go to Egypt see all the artifacts where they really belonged instead of some glass case. Look at the Dead Sea scrolls. Work on some big important project.
April of my freshman year at the University of San Francisco, Mom called me at the dorm, her voice wrought with sadness. He was gone. The man I’d cherished for eighteen years. The man, who meant so much to all of us, crushed in a cave-in. I knew how much Mom depended on him. Somehow, I thought Eric and I could take his place. I thought she needed us; but instead, she shut us out.
When I graduated, I began working at the museum. While attending a fundraiser, one of the board members introduced me to Jack. I took the job to stay close to Mom and gave up my dreams. She died the first winter I worked at Docurestore. While the death certificate said pneumonia, the doctor told us she’d just given up. Her illness really stretched out over two years, not just the final six weeks in the hospital. Grandpa and I spoke daily. We prayed together over the phone. Alone, sitting in her room, I prayed unceasingly for her to be spared. I was in the hospital chapel. The soft candlelight softened the room. Soul-soothing music played in the background. I was on my knees with my head resting on the pew in front of me, when Eric put his hand on my shoulder.
His voice trembled as he spoke, “She’s gone, Addie.” It was the last time I’d been inside a church.
Maybe, I reasoned, I’d never let anyone get close because of my parent’s situation. I didn’t want to devote my whole life to someone, then have them torn away. I didn’t know. I was too stubborn, too independent, now. I could have married Jim if I’d wanted. He certainly asked enough times. But no, good old do-it-yourself Addie Brown wasn’t going to need anyone to help her through life. It was Grandpa who had told me to find my purpose. “There’s a time to every purpose, Addie.” He urged me to find it. “Lasso that star.”
Everything was barreling down on me and I knew it was up to me to change things. I felt empty, unmoored, lost. I’d decided to quit my job; reset my course. I’d been too loyal to Docurestore for too long. I didn’t know why I stayed. I guess I thought Jack needed me, too. I’m good at what I do but he let me walk off the job a month ago without hesitation. Then Grandpa died and I was right back where I’d started.
If I really looked close, I guess I could call myself resentful, even a little mad. If Dad hadn’t been out of the country on some crazy project, then he wouldn’t have been killed. I wouldn’t have thought Mom needed me.
I definitely wouldn’t have stayed in this job. The salary sustained me and I’d managed to buy my little condo. I never could do much with it. My attempts to become a homemaker failed miserably. I considered the only bright spot to be the patio. The California weather allowed me to spend a lot of time there. I wondered if I should sell. Move into the city. I’d thought about working at the museum again. Something for more pay, of course. I could teach restoration in my sleep at the university. I could travel and, on my own, quest for projects.
Then there was Jim. Five years of my life wasted. Another reason I stayed on at my job. He wouldn’t leave San Jose.
Truthfully, I don’t think anyone ever really needed me. I was just there. Well, I don’t need anyone either.
I could feel the inner turmoil begin to boil again as it had so many times during the last two years. I seemed to be at a major intersection in my life. It wasn’t just my job. My whole life had become a rising kettle of uncertainty soup. Add in my ongoing arguments with Eric for spice, the rekindling of my relationships with my cousins for flavor, and Gary Wright as the mystery ingredient. I let my head fall back on the pillow on the reclining patio furniture and closed my eyes as the pot stirred in a vision before me.
I don’t know how many times the phone had rung before I realized it. I jumped up and dashed inside to see a Houston prefix displayed on the caller ID. I took a deep breath and reached for the receiver.
Chapter Eleven
I hesitated and then let the phone machine pick up. I didn’t know what to say to him. I couldn’t get used to the prickles in my stomach and felt like I couldn’t breathe.
“Addie. It’s Gary Wright. I was in hopes I’d catch you home. I had something to tell…”
Oh well, why not? “Mr. Wright. Sorry, I was outside on the patio. You were saying.” Quick, what do I say next? I could actually tell him I was sorry I’d hung up on him. No, too fast. I need something safe. Weather. I could talk about the weather.
“How’s Houston? It’s seventy-four degrees out here. Rather cloudy But nice.” Stupid.
“I think it was about seventy-four degrees here today too but I didn’t call about the weather.”
He didn’t sound irritated. What do I say now? Talk about the flowers. “The flowers are beautiful. They must have cost you a small fortune. I was upset with you but you shouldn’t have sent them.” I could hear myself babbling. He probably thinks I’m a total, brainless idiot.
“Ms. Brown. I offended you and I’m sorry. I was too forward asking to come along on your adventure. The flowers were meant as a peace offering.”
“Apology accepted. I would also like to apologize to you. I was rather rude in our conversation and that isn’t like me.”
“No problem, I am sure I caught you off guard.”
“Please, let’s start over. I would like you to call me Addie.” There, I’d said it. I’d opened the door half an inch. The ball lay in his court. “Actually, Mr. Wright, I talked it over with my cousin and we may need your help after all.”
“Do you want to hear about the cave, then?” His voice hesitant, as he added, “And you can call me Gary.”
“Sure.” I didn’t have anything to lose.
“It isn’t just any cave. It has a subterranean well. Nature has created a sauna, if you can call it that, but the Indians used it for a sweat lodge.”
Now he had my attention. “How do you know so much about all this?”
“I majored in archaeology when I was in school, with a minor in Native American History. The information fascinates me.”
He fascinated me. What was I getting myself into? I’d agreed to let him come with us. Maybe I shouldn’t have made it so easy for him to tag along.
I shook off the thought and centered my thinking on what he said. I could almost hear myself talking about artifacts. He had the same thrill in his voice. Now, he appealed to me on a new level–intelligence. As Susan’s voice rang in my ears, with “amazing, violet-blue eyes.”
“Anyway. The cave is dangerous. The floor is crumbling into the spring making it unstable. Some of the locals even believe it is a sacred.” He stopped his last sentence almost too abruptly and made me wonder if maybe he’d tried to scare us off.
“Are you trying to frighten us away?”
“I only want to help you. Please, I know a lot about the area. When I was in college, I used to go on digs near there. My mom even sent me an old newspaper article about two men from Oklahoma looking for gold.”
He knew about the gold. I wish I could shake this suspicion he knew more than he should but he’d proven himself to be genuinely interested. I hated to admit it but I was interested in him, too.
“We’re going down there Labor Day weekend. If you are still interested, we’ll make arrangements to have you take us to Barnesville then.”
“That’s great. That’s exactly why I called this evening. I have an assignment in San Francisco the week before Labor Day. I’d like to see
you when I’m there.” His velvety voice settled somewhere in the limbic system of my brain.
Perspiration rose on my lip. I felt weak. I sat down in the bamboo chair next to the oriental black lacquer desk in the living room. Is this it? Is this what Mel feels around Richard? I’d never felt like this before. Jim certainly never made me dizzy.
“I could come into the city, I guess, early in the week before I leave.” The words slipped out before I intended. I couldn’t take them back.
“Mind if I call you now and then before my trip?”
Mind? He could call me every day and I certainly wouldn’t mind. “No. That would be fine.” I could hear myself talk but I certainly wasn’t thinking. I’d clicked on autopilot.
“Talk to you soon, then.”
“Sure. Soon.” I let the receiver slide back into the cradle. I must just be hungry. That was it. That’s why I felt faint. He’d come to the west coast; we’d go to dinner. That will be it. What had I done?
****
As I drove into the parking lot the next morning, nerd boy stood right where I’d left him. Except for a change in clothing, it appeared he’d stood there all night.
“Hi. Addie!! How are you? Did you have a good evening? I can’t wait until Friday. It’s going to be so much fun.”
Oh! I looked around for someone else to talk to. Maybe I’d just deck him so he’d shut up. “Hey, Mitch. You know I’m no good until I have my first cup of coffee. Jack usually brings it in about eight. Why don’t you and Sherry show up in my office at nine? We’ll get started then.” A few hours of respite from him and Sherry-sugar-lips. Hopefully, it would be enough to decide the course I wanted to take on this project.
When I opened the door, the aroma of the air filled with sweet perfume from the flowers, just as beautiful as they were yesterday, overpowered me. The carnations, my favorite, were holding up the best. I made a mental note to take a few home to preserve. I could dry them myself in silica sand or I could take them over to the lab and have them freeze dried. Now, why would I want to do that? My mind was filled with more questions than I could handle.
Around eight, Jack’s hand, holding a cup of coffee, was all I saw sneak around the doorjamb.
“I’d be afraid to come in here, too, if I were you.” I kidded him. “Where did you get those two kids? Career day?” I could tell by the look on his face that was exactly what he did. He nodded, but didn’t say a word. “Jack, you didn’t.”
“I was desperate. You were gone. Two people quit. I had to get this project out if I was to be the lead myself. I’m so glad you called me. I was scared to death you wouldn’t come back. I really need you here.”
Did I hear him right? He said he needed me. The phrase, that last night, I thought no one would ever use in connection with me. Someone actually needed me.
“Jack, it’s just for the summer. Remember? I wasn’t going to stay forever.”
“What are you going to do with yourself?” I could hear the father voice kick in.
“I don’t know right now. I’m inheriting a little money. You know how I love to travel so that’s an option. Plus, I could teach when I came back or go back to the museum. Right now…I don’t know.”
“There’s going to be a management change here in the fall. I wasn’t going to say anything but I want you to hear this now. Geller is selling the company.” Jack looked at me, expressionless.
We were probably all going to lose our jobs. At least, now, it wouldn’t affect me, not like it would have a couple of months ago. “Jack. What are you going to do? Will you be able to stay on or did he sell it to some faceless corporate company?”
“No. It was bought up by a private. My job will change. The only real difference is Geller will be gone and the Vice President slot will be open.” A slight grin began to catch the corners of Jack’s mouth.
“Who’s the new owner? Anyone we know? Is Findley over in the lab going to get the VP job? He’s been here the longest.” I shot questions at Jack before he could answer.
“I bought Docurestore. You’re the new VP.”
I never felt the cup slide out of my hand. When it landed and slopped out on the clean, brown tile floor, we looked at each other and laughed.
Chapter Twelve
After I cleaned up the coffee and sent Jack on his way, time came to prepare my strategy for the project. I wanted to call the museum, talk with Elizabeth McCran to find out what I’d gotten myself into, and have the documents brought from the safe room. I made a mental note to have maintenance crank down the air conditioning and ask Catherine to give me a key to the archive room.
By eight-thirty, I’d checked off everything on my list except placing the call to Elizabeth. She and I had been friends for a long time after meeting while I worked at the museum. She’d worked her way up through the ranks and now spent her time divided between procurement and management.
I dialed her number and heard her voice, “Liz, it’s Addie. I haven’t talked to you in ages.”
“It is so good to hear from you. I hear Jack lured you back to his den.”
“Word gets out fast doesn’t it? I’ve only been back two days,” I laughed. “That’s where you come in, my dear. What’s this project I’ve been lassoed into?”
“Ah…the Cairo project. Well, to put it into a nutshell, two years ago a tomb was opened about two hundred kilometers north of Cairo, not far from where the Rosetta Stone was found. It was of some little known government official. Since he had no importance, his tomb was never raided leaving everything in near perfect condition. The documents you’ll be working on are tax records and local government transactions.” I could hear a lilt of excitement in Elizabeth’s voice. The findings must have been fairly important for her to get excited.
The project sparked my interest. “How did it wind up here?” Now, I was eager to see the documents and glanced at my watch to see what held up my delivery.
“Geller and John Cahill both happened to be in Cairo when the tomb was found. They struck a deal with the Egyptian officials to let the museum have the first exclusive showing and, in turn, work would be done on the artifacts and documents to preserve them. The artifacts will be cleaned here at the museum with Docurestore taking care of the papyrus.”
“Those two can always turn a deal, can’t they?”
“They’re good at it but Cahill’s going to retire. Geller is taking his place on the Board in September. The opening of the exhibit coincides with the change-over. Geller won’t be around your place much after he takes over the chair position.”
“Well, he isn’t here much now anyway.” I didn’t know if anyone knew Jack had bought the business so I kept my mouth shut. This project turned out to be bigger than I’d thought. If Geller took the chair position on the Museum Board and was selling Docurestore all at the same time, the exhibition would be his premier showing. No wonder Jack seemed nervous.
“You’ve been a lot of help, Liz. The docs should be here any minute now and I’m anxious to see them.”
“Are you working this alone?” Liz sounded a little apprehensive. “There are one hundred and fifty documents to be cleaned before the end of August. That’s a big job.”
“I might as well be. Jack hired two kids straight out of the university. I’ll spend a lot of my time teaching them what to do.”
‘You have your work cut out for you then. Are they any good?”
“I don’t know. Actually, they each have some irritating habits. Sherry can’t say enough good things about me, which makes me think she’s up to something. Then, I have Mitch who, when he isn’t following me around like a puppy, is hinting at a date. He waited for me in the parking lot this morning.”
“Oh, Addie, you’ll do fine.” Liz’s stifled chuckle could still be heard on the phone.
“I may have you come over and put the a little fear into them if need be. I really don’t want this muddled up. I’m afraid it’s going to be a lot of long hours in the next two months.” I heard the cart being
wheeled down the hall toward my open door. “Liz, gotta go, the docs are here.”
As I hung up the phone, I motioned to Matthew, the assistant from the safe room, to lay the documents on the table. They were sealed in airtight bags probably just as they’d been when taken off the site.
I walked around the table and noticed the excellent condition of the papyrus. I must admit, I felt a sense of relief. If there had been much damage, we’d never finish in time. I glanced at the clock. Nine o’clock, and just as if they’d heard my mental cue, my two protégés stood in the doorway.
Mitch eagerly ran to the table and reached for one of the bags.
“Don’t.” I must have snapped at him with more force than I intended. He stepped back and stood behind Sherry.
I knew neither one of them understood the frailty of the documents nor did they understand why it was so important to me everything went back out on the museum floor in better condition than it had come to us in the bags from the dig. It was hard to explain that our work wasn’t exactly repairing the documents as much as it was to stop any further deterioration. I wasn’t but a few years older than the two of them but I had “old” ideas. I always did. Sometimes I think I was born a grownup. I didn’t play with the usual dolls. If you wanted to find me, you needed to look for my dad because I was right by his side. I loved to play with his surveying equipment, thumb through his passport and, often times, beg to go with him when he left to engineer another bridge or building. Everything he did was precise and accurate; it had to be since people’s lives depended on it. I learned that from him and applied it to everything I did. I’d been too hard on Mitch.
“I’m sorry, Mitch. I can’t let you just run in and grab things. I need to have a little ‘class’ first to find out exactly what you two know. This is an important, first-time showing for the Museum. The documents are in near perfect condition. They’re important and fragile. You’re not only going to be preserving history, you’re actually touching something another person held in their hands over two thousand years ago. If you two learn quickly and do a good job, I’ll remember it. If you mess up, I don’t give second chances. You’ll be pushing a broom in the warehouse. Is that clear?”
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