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“Passing by?” Hunter asked. “Going where?”
“Wherever the wind takes us. Here apparently.” Nick beamed with pride at how his lack of a plan had turned out.
“Great. I love that.” Hunter’s eyes widened. “I’m a scientist, but I believe in destiny. You must be here for a reason. Let me show you around.”
“Seriously?” Cleo asked, bouncing a bit with excitement. “This is a real archeological dig? When I was little, I told everyone I was going to be a paleontologist.”
“And what did you turn out to be instead?”
“A lawyer,” Cleo reported a bit somberly.
“That’s impressive. I thought about all sorts of careers, but the second you get out here and put your hands in the earth, it’s addictive. This isn’t a high-stakes kind of dig. It’s more of a tourist attraction, but we’ll find some great stuff still. You two should stay. See what you can turn up.”
“We can dig with you?” Nick asked, clapping his hands together one time. “That’s crazy. I didn’t know anything like this existed. You said there are tour groups?”
“They’ll be here in about thirty minutes. So will the food trucks if you’re hungry. When the group gets here, you can chat with the coordinator, and they’ll get you to sign the waiver and pay. But you can hop in with me until then.”
“Not too bad of a wandering into something good,” Nick said, nudging Cleo with his elbow as they followed Hunter beneath one of the tents.
“You had to know about this,” Cleo said, narrowing her eyes at him. “You planned this, didn’t you?”
“I swear on my family,” Nick said, holding up his hand as if he were making a vow. “This is complete serendipity. Now let's go dig up some dinosaurs.”
“Hunter,” Cleo said, hustling to catch up, “is this something you do all the time? With the tour groups?”
“We travel,” Hunter said. “The tours are associated with the Fossil Exchange Center attached to the university. It’s a way to keep funding for this type of work. Like you, Cleo, there are lots of people who thought about this as a profession when they were young. But it’s a competitive field to get into. This gives people a chance to dabble in it for fun.”
“It’s a great idea. I’m glad we stumbled on this,” Nick said. “We appreciate you letting us tag along.”
“I love the idea of driving until you find something you want to do. I couldn’t very well turn you away from something this good. Here put on these gloves and grab that small brush. I’m working on this cephalopod. If you come around this side and gently brush the dirt away, that would be a big help.”
Nick understood that Hunter was only being kind. The job would likely go a hell of a lot better without two novice people bumping around in the tent. But he had to admit this was damn cool. No one he knew in Boston had ever done anything like this. His parents certainly never imagined he, the one who could never stay awake in class, would get to try his hand at something so... so scholarly.
In just one generation, everything had changed for his family. They’d gone from scamming the electric company to keep their lights on longer to hopping on private jets to get anywhere they needed to go. It was strange not to have to worry if his paycheck would last until the next one. If he could cover the oil change his beater car needed and dinner. But as easy as some things had become, he could see the toll wealth and responsibility were taking on his family.
“You swear you didn’t plan this?” Cleo whispered, her eyes desperate for the truth.
“I swear.” Nick brushed the dirt from the area of the stone-looking thing. “I wouldn’t lie about something like this. I had no idea this would be here.”
“Hmm,” Cleo said, her gaze fixed on the job at hand. “I guess the first point goes to you then. You were right. And I haven’t had to reach for my granola bar stash yet.”
“Maybe the food trucks will suck, and you can earn a point back.”
“The food trucks are amazing,” Hunter interjected. “Sorry, you’ll have to hope he screws up in some other way.”
“That’s her favorite pastime.”
Hunter laughed. “My husband and I were just like you two in our first couple years of marriage. It changes over time. Just hang in there.”
“We’re not married,” Cleo said, her brush freezing in the dirt. “We work together. This is basically a business trip.”
“Oh,” Hunter laughed. “Are you in the business of smoldering sexual tension and adorable banter? If so, you are both very good at your job.”
“We aren’t smoldering anything,” Cleo blurted. “He’s infuriating. He never has a plan and always acts like things will just work out.”
“Look where we’re at,” Nick argued. “You’re digging up a... what was this called again?”
“A cephalopod. This areais underlain by fossils of the Lower and Middle Paleozoic Era, ranging from 360 to 485 million years in age.I always feel very grounded by that knowledge. You’re going to have your hands on something that’s been around that long. It’s seen things. It knows we are insignificant tiny little people walking around on a rock flying through space. It keeps things in perspective for me.”
