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I rub a hand across my jaw to hide a smile. I sense that he’s quite interested in this Jo girl. Regret fills me again at the way I left Giselle at the Mandarin. Perhaps by now, she would have told me about her sister and any other siblings she has, and I would have possibly told her about Ashlyn and Gwen.
“She can be very persuasive.”
He laughs. A rich sound. “She sure can. This way, please.”
As we stroll across the seemingly never-ending corridors, I notice that the building could benefit from a complete renovation. Robert exchanges brief greetings with his colleagues along the way. Finally, we arrive at an office.
“I arranged for the bust to be moved here so you can take a look,” he explains as he lets us into the sparsely furnished office.
The sculpture is in the middle of the room on a wooden pedestal. It’s about two feet tall, made out of stone, and looks heavy. I approach it with curiosity. I’m hoping everything will go well, not just for the museum, but for Giselle too. She has worked so hard to make this happen.
“Oh, my God!” Giselle exclaims beside me upon seeing the stone sculpture. “It is indeedThe Old Man of Copán.”
I give her a quizzical look. “Were you expecting anything different?”
She nods without looking in my direction, her attention fixated on the sculpture. “I was half-skeptical that it might not be an original. But look, there is a tenon element on the back of the stone. It served to fix the sculpture into a vertical masonry face.”
The glint in her eyes, when she glances at me before staring at the sculpture again, is heartwarming. Seeing her obvious excitement is catching. It’s hard to equate this bubbly, happy woman to the icy one who took an Uber here with me. I love the change, though.
Reluctantly, I shift my gaze from her flushed face to the famous head. Examining it, I’m surprised to see that it seems to be in excellent condition. I remember seeing a painting of the sculpture some years ago, and I nod at the striking resemblance. The old man has water lilies tied to his forehead, drooping cheekbones, and a scanty-toothed mouth so prominent that I feel transported to the era when he existed.
Giselle turns to me just then with her eyes still sparkling with joy. “Isn’t this amazing? I can’t help imagining the rudimentary tools used to carve it.”
For an instant, I’m taken back to the Met when we first met and were discussing Degas and the other artists. As if she remembers too, her eyes dim a little, and my gaze falls to her lips before rising to her eyes again. Time stands still as we stare at each other.
The clearing of a throat and shifting of feet interrupts the highly charged moment. I whirl around to look at Robert. Entranced by Giselle and her excitement, I completely forgot about his presence. He gives me a knowing smirk and a nod before looking away.
I grin and turn to a flushed Giselle. “I understand how you feel. It’s a shame what happened to their civilization.”
“It is, indeed.”
“What happened?” Robert interrupts.
“Let’s just say overpopulation, drought, and military interference brought about their collapse,” I tell him succinctly.
Giselle goes on to explain the three points I gave and how the Copán archaeological site was discovered by Diego Garcia, how UNESCO declared it a World Heritage Site in 1980, and some other distinct things about the era.
Robert listens with rapt attention while I marvel at Giselle’s beauty, radiating from her knowledge of the Mayans and her love for art.
“Thanks for the information. Jo warned me that you would talk my ears sore.”
Giselle blushes and beams.
“But I enjoyed every bit of the information. Thanks,” he adds with a broad smile.
“You’re welcome.”
“Are you satisfied with it?” He nods at the sculpture, glancing at us.
She nods. “Yes. I cannot thank you and your team enough for rescuing this priceless historical piece from the thieves. Last I’d heard, it was among the other structures excavated from the Copán site and exhibited at the Copán Sculpture Museum in Western Honduras.”
“Yes. There was a breach, and some artifacts were stolen. Hopefully, we’ll recover the others as well.”
“Hopefully,” I insert. “So, what’s next?”
He scratches his forehead. “We’ve informed the Honduran government about the recovery. So, you’ll need to coordinate with them. As long as they give their approval, there should be no issues in having the artifact exhibited at the Met.”
“That would be lovely,” Giselle says. “We intend to have the exhibit,Lives of the Gods,for a couple of months. I’m certain people will come from far and wide to see it, especially those who can’t make it to Honduras.”
