Soul and Shadow (9 page)

"
Yes and no. I missed them. But I had my grandparents and Philip. It was an exciting life for a kid. Very educational. I got to see a lot of things and meet unusual people. There was always someone coming to the house. One day, it was a chap with a collection of shrunken heads. He let Phil and I hold them. We were in awe.
"

"
Of shrunken heads?
"

Kent chuckled at my expression.
"
You might not understand the thrill, but we were boys. One Egyptologist brought a live cobra. Gramps wanted to try his hand at snake charming. Luckily, it stayed in its basket. Their bite can kill you within half an hour. I still remember the way the man described it, almost lovingly. He told us that even a tiny bit of venom is incredibly toxic. Thousands of people die from bites every year.
"

"
You can see why the snake charmer was so popular in ancient Egypt,
"
I remarked.

At that moment, Philip appeared in the doorway.
"
Sorry to intrude,
"
he said,
"
but I left my address book in here, and I need it to make a call.
"

"
That
'
s fine,
"
Kent said affably. He made no move to disengage himself from me, and I noted this with pleasure.
"
We were just discussing death by snake bite.
"

"
And people say there
'
s no romance in the world.
"
Philip winked at me.
"
Ah well, mind you don
'
t let him get started on those bloody Etruscans or it will be death by boredom.
"

"
Whereas manufacturing little sinks for people to spit into and chairs to be tortured in is endlessly fascinating,
"
his brother responded sarcastically.

This was obviously familiar banter between them. I raised my hand in a gesture of peace.
"
To each his own,
"
I said.
"
But everyone knows that ancient Egypt is the most interesting topic there is.
"

"
Gram will agree with you, so your numbers carry the day. I accept defeat,
"
Kent declared,
"
and place myself at your mercy.
"
There was a gleam in his eye, and Philip
coughed discreetly.
"
I
'
m off, then. Goodnight, Lily. I
'
m flying home tomorrow. Time and teeth wait for no man. It was a great pleasure to meet you.
"

I rose and shook his hand.
"
Likewise, Philip. Have a good trip.
"

I detected a hint of speculation in his smile. Was he wondering if he
'
d ever see me again? His departure brought home sharply the fact that Kent too must soon be going. I had shoved this realization into a corner in the excitement of getting to know him, but at this moment it seemed to fill the whole room. Even as I returned to his embrace, I felt a knot in the pit of my stomach. What was I going to do when that time arrived?

Chapter Eleven

That thought was still haunting me the next day. I sat in front of my computer, staring at the screen listlessly.
"
What
'
s wrong?
"
Katy asked.
"
Yesterday you were chirping like the first robin of spring, and today you look like the worm he ate.
"

"
Where do you come up with these things?
"
I demanded.
"'
The worm he ate.
'
That
'
s a nice image!
"

"
My writers
'
group thought so too,
"
Katy said.
"
I used it in my story, which, by the way, was greeted very favorably. I could go so far as to say that it enthralled them.
"

"
Of course it did,
"
I said. The story was about a character that strongly resembled Katy
'
s boss, a scholar specializing in Arthurian Studies. The unfortunate fictional woman had many indignities inflicted upon her, depending on how Katy
'
s dealings with her boss went. If Katy did not get her promised raise, the story lady was going to die at the reenactment of a joust. It was a colorful creation, and I always enjoyed reading the latest chapter. But today I could not be distracted by it.

"
Seriously, Lily. What
'
s happened? You said dinner went very well.
"

"
It did,
"
I sighed.
"
That
'
s the problem. It
'
s all so great I never want it to end.
"

"
Well, it hasn
'
t yet, has it?
"
Katy asked.
"
Shouldn
'
t you postpone the pining until you
'
re certain he
'
s out of the picture?
"

"
That
'
s easy for you to say,
"
I replied irritably. Her cavalier attitude was wearing thin.
"
But it
'
s not a game. I care about this man. I mean—
"
I was horrified to hear my voice crack a little bit—
"
I
really
care about him.
"

Katy looked distressed.
"
I didn
'
t mean it that way. I—
"

"
Did you look at the sketches?
"
I asked brusquely. I had brought them in to show her that morning.

"
I put them back on your desk,
"
Katy answered in confusion. But before she could explain further, the red light on my telephone lit up. Dr. Briggs wanted to see me in his office.

"
I
'
ve got to go,
"
I said.
"
I
'
ll talk to you later.
"

Briggs was ensconced behind his desk in a room where every available inch of space was taken up by books, papers, and replicas of Egyptian artifacts. Photographs of various digs and monuments covered the walls. There was a mummy case in one corner, and a scale model of the temple at Karnak perched atop a bookcase in another. The stone paperweight of a sphinx that I had given him for Christmas gazed solemnly at me as I sat down.

"
Lily,
"
he greeted me, with his customary brevity.

"
Dr. Briggs,
"
I replied, and waited. He was the stereotype of the absent-minded professor. It sometimes took him a minute to remember what he wanted to say. He was a handsome man with blond hair fading towards white and blue eyes that always had a distracted look in them. It was only when he turned them on you that you could see the keen intelligence there.

"
Lily,
"
he said again. He reached into a drawer and, to my astonishment, pulled out my sketchpad.
"
This was on top of your desk. All your work?
"

"
Yes,
"
I said in bewilderment.

"
It
'
s very good. Been thinking. Next book. Need illustrations. Interested?
"

I could hardly believe my ears.
"
Are you serious, Dr. Briggs?
"

"
Yes. We work well together. Makes sense.
"

The University Press had published three of the professor
'
s books on ancient Egypt, and they had all garnered critical and public acclaim. To be offered a chance to
participate in that success was phenomenal. There was a ready-made market and a lot of exposure involved, not to mention a percentage of the profits. What a step up.

"
I
'
m honored that you would consider me. This is such a surprise. What kind of time frame are we talking about?
"

"
Next six months or so. Started rough draft. I can give you a list and you can do some sample sketches for me. We
'
ll go from there.
"

"
Thank you, Dr Briggs. Thank you so much.
"

I left his office in a kind of daze. I was bursting to share my news, but Katy was nowhere in sight. I went back to my desk and dialed Kent
'
s cell phone.
"
Hello, love,
"
he greeted me.
"
Are you at work?
"

"
Yes. And you won
'
t believe what
'
s happened. I just got an incredible offer. Dr. Briggs has asked me if I
'
d be interested in illustrating his next book!
"

"
Lily, that
'
s wonderful. Of course I believe it. He
'
d be lucky to have you.
"

"
Can you come and celebrate with me tonight? This time, dinner will be my treat.
"

"
I wish I could. But I
'
ve got a meeting with the director of the museum. Trade talk. Can we do it tomorrow instead?
"

"
Sure.
"
I fought back a wave of disappointment. After all, Kent did have a life outside of me.
"
I
'
ll keep the champagne on ice.
"

"
I
'
m so pleased for you. You
'
ll soon have a gallery of your own at this rate. You won
'
t forget the little people, will you?
"

"
If you are referring to your six-foot-two-inch self, I assure you that I will not. Have a good time with your director. I
'
ll see you tomorrow.
"

"
Cheerio and congratulations!
"

Stupid museum
, I thought childishly as I hung up. Well, perhaps I
'
d visit my mother tonight. I was overdue on that score. She
'
d be impressed, anyway.

My grumbling stomach reminded me that it was almost time for lunch. I
'
d brought a sandwich with me, but suddenly that wasn
'
t good enough. I decided to walk across campus and go to the inn that specialized in healthy food. Sometimes I treated myself to their Moroccan Stew, a delicious blend of vegetables, cumin, and ginger. I still could not locate Katy, so I set off into the bright afternoon sunshine by myself. However, I was not destined to be alone for long. The first person I saw when I walked into the restaurant was Stephen.

"
Lily!
"
He stood up from his table and held out his arms. I hugged him, then stepped back to return his smile.
"
I like the beard,
"
I said.

"
Thanks.
"
He rubbed his hand over the neat goatee.
"
I had to do something. People were taking me for a first year student!
"

I knew what he meant. Stephen had a fresh, youthful look about him, with close-cut sandy hair and big brown eyes. Even the stress of his profession had not added any lines to that smooth skin.

"
The beard helps,
"
I acknowledged.
"
Now you just need some thick, horn-rimmed glasses.
"

"
A good idea in theory, but I don
'
t want my patients thinking I might not be able to see.
"
He indicated the extra chair.
"
Can you sit down for awhile?
"

"
Sure,
"
I said.
"
Have you ordered yet?
"

"
No. I
'
ve never been here before. It
'
s nice and close to the hospital, though. When did it open?
"

"
About six months ago. The food is wonderful. Try the vegetable pita with tzaziki sauce. You
'
ll like it.
"

"
Okay. I
'
m game.
"
He leaned back and smiled at me again.
"
It
'
s so great to see you, Lily. You look happy. How
'
s the job going?
"

"
Fine. It
'
s been really interesting working with Dr. Briggs. And guess what he did today? He asked me if I
'
d consider illustrating his next book.
"

Stephen whistled.
"
Hey kid, you
'
ve hit the big time. I always knew you had the talent. Congratulations.
"

"
Thanks,
"
I said, feeling absurdly pleased with his approval. It had always been Stephen, the over-achiever, in the spotlight before. I realized that after a year of adjustments, I was coming into my own, and I liked it.

The waitress came and took our order, and Stephen and I chatted with no trace of awkwardness. I was surprised at how relaxed it was. It could have been falling into old patterns, but I preferred to think of it as a mark of maturity. We each felt comfortable enough with ourselves to
be
ourselves. Later, perhaps, we would talk about what had happened between us. But for now, I was relieved to simply be visiting with a friend.

We spent an hour at the restaurant, just catching up. He told me about his work, and listened attentively as I told him about mine. I mentioned meeting Dame Ursula and Kent, without going into detail, but Stephen knew me well.
"
So you
'
re serious about him, Lily? I hope he
'
s good enough for you.
"
And that was all he said.

He insisted on paying for lunch when we were finished.
"
It
'
s a celebration, isn
'
t it? And I still want to go out for drinks. Call me sometime, all right?
"

I returned to the office in a much better mood than when I had left. It was elevated even higher when I saw a huge bouquet of flowers sitting on my desk. It was a stunning display of color in a milk-white vase, with a little teddy bear perched among the greenery. The card read
'
Congratulations. Well done! Until tomorrow, love, Kent.
'

I exclaimed out loud in delight, and Katy materialized by my side.
"
What did I tell you?
"
she asked.
"
No pining if you weren
'
t sure he was going to leave. And it doesn
'
t seem as if he intends to. Maybe he
really
cares about you, too.
"