“Yes, thank you, Rashid.”
We unload the luggage, and I handle check-in while Georgia and Lois try to keep Ella from climbing on the lobby furniture. The little girl is energetic after being confined on the plane, ready to explore everything. It’s taking both women to keep her entertained, and I can feel my lips pulling into a frown.
Perhaps we should have brought two nannies for Ella. I can’t afford to have my head archaeologist distracted.
“We have three suites on the top floor, as requested,” the desk clerk says in perfect English, handing me key cards. “The other members of your party have not yet arrived.”
“They’re coming tomorrow morning,” I confirm. “Thank you.”
I turn to find Georgia wrestling Ella away from a decorative fountain.
“Ella, no. We don’t touch. We just look.”
Ella grunts with insistence, reaching for the water with determined little hands.
“Here.” I hand Georgia two key cards. “You and Lois are in adjoining suites. I’m across the hall. We’ll meet in the restaurant in an hour for dinner?”
Georgia looks up at me, and I notice the flecks of gold in her brown eyes. I hadn’t noticed before, or maybe I deliberately didn’t let myself notice. They’re warm, intelligent, striking.
“An hour sounds good,” she says. “That’ll give me time to get her settled.”
“Right. Good.” I step back, creating distance. “I’ll see you then.”
I head to my suite and don’t look back, even though some part of me wants to.
Once inside, I drop my bag and walk straight to the window. My room overlooks the city, and I can see lights beginning to bloom across the landscape as evening deepens. South of here, beyond the buildings and the bustle, is the desert. The dig site. The answers I’m looking for.
Please let this work,I think, though I’m not sure who I’m asking.Please let there be something there.
I think of my father’s dismissive laugh. My grandmother’s stories. The weight of expectation and hope and fear all tangled together in my chest.
This has to work.
I don’t know what I’ll do if it doesn’t.
CHAPTER 5
GEORGIA
After unpacking the essentials and changing Ella into fresh clothes, I can’t resist the lure of the hotel courtyard I spotted from our window. The fountain I stopped Ella from touching in the lobby has an even more beautiful twin outside, this one surrounded by lush plants.
“Come on, baby girl. Let’s go exploring.”
I pick Ella up and head downstairs, leaving Lois to rest. The older woman looks exhausted after the flight, and I insisted she take a nap before dinner.
The courtyard is magical. Turquoise tiles line the fountain, and date palms shade the whole area. The evening call to prayer echoes from somewhere in the distance, haunting and beautiful.
“Wa-wa!” Ella points at the fountain with delight.
“Yes, water. Pretty water.” I set her down carefully, keeping a firm grip on her hand as we approach.
I’ve wanted to visit Jumayah my whole life, but work just never brought me here, and neither did downtime. But now I’m here.Leading an excavation in the very region Henry spent his last years obsessing over.
The weight of it settles over me, but I don’t feel suffocated by it. Instead, I feel uplifted by the importance of the project.
Ella pulls toward the fountain, and I let her get close enough to see the water dancing over the tiles but not close enough to climb in. A few other hotel guests are scattered around the courtyard. There’s a couple having tea, a businessman on his phone, a family with children who eye Ella curiously.
And there’s me. I’ve left my safe little cottage, my quiet life, my comfortable routine that I’ve been in for over a year. I’ve brought my daughter halfway around the world to camp in the desert and dig in the dirt.
