A Million Kisses (Wish 1)

25 - Archaeological adventure

"So I'll drive as far as we can, then we hike in. We have a few things being catalogued which might interest you. You can observe, but hands off. Ask whatever you want."

She liked her matter-of-fact approach. The road was bumpy, and she jostled around in the cab.

Curious about the whole setup, Sage asked, "Where do you stay?"

"We have some trailers near where you parked. It's not primitive, but it isn't The Ritz either." She flashed a smile.

She knew about Sage's background, but after the donation it couldn't be a secret. Sage would have to do her best not to act like a princess. Immediately, Aidan came to mind.

The truck pulled to the side and Ginny pulled her phone out of her pocket. She typed a short text and looked at Sage.

"Back east, checking to see you made it all right."

Sage nodded. "I'm here."

She wanted to ask who was checking. It was probably Dr. Brownstein. He was very supportive of Sage. She wished she and Geoff could be friends with him as a couple, but he was her advisor and Geoff was her boss's boss. Were they a couple? She wasn't ready to answer that question even to herself. If she had a score card between Geoff and Aidan, she knew who would score the highest.

Ginny put the truck back in gear and started up the dirt road again. "It's a long ride from Portland."

"I've never been in the northwest before. It's different."

"Well, anyplace is different from NYC. I love the city, but the vast open space is amazing, too."

"I guess you lived in the city, if you're from the university."

"Yup, I'm just on sabbatical for a year. I'll be back in the classroom this fall. I'll be glad to be home."

"Are you from New York?"

"Nah, Pennsylvania. I've lived in the city since undergrad, so over sixteen years." Ginny's face went soft as if she was in love with the city.

It was hard to tell how old she was. Sage might not have guessed she was in her mid-thirties. She wondered how she kept her skin milky white in the sun. It was beating on them already. She wore a hat, but after the truck stopped and they hiked for ten minutes, Sage saw the caves and realized Ginny must work out of the sun all day.

Sage was huffing by the time they reached the site while Ginny didn't look exerted. "I'll give you a tour and then introduce you to Ben. He's with the university out here, but he's in charge of cataloguing. You'll like him. He's your age and..." She lowered her voice. "... cute."

Sage smiled and thought of Geoff and his distrust. He must have thought she'd be Marion to Ben's Indiana Jones. "If Ben has a whip, I might just think about it, but seriously I'm in a relationship." Two relationships, and if asked she would have to stick to her fake boyfriend, because some of these people knew Geoff.

Ginny laughed. "He's not a young Harrison Ford."

Sage followed her new friend into the cave and introduced her. Everyone was nice, but she felt like she was being humored. She had prepared a ton of research questions and asked them as they walked through the cave.

Ginny stopped. "I'll tell you what. You buy me dinner and I'll answer all your questions. You might want to include Ben. I'm sure he'll take a free meal, too."

She was smart enough to know she wouldn't be there, if it weren't for the donation. They completed their walk through the cave which was only amazing because of what they had found there. There were no artifacts being unearthed which was disappointing. Ginny brought her out to meet Ben.

He was a good-looking guy with a tan and a boyish face, although she introduced him, as Dr. Ben Cavaleri. He smiled but after Ginny left, he said, "So you bought an archaeological adventure."

Sage changed her stance. With her feet wide, she said, "I was approached, but seeing as my doctoral research is prehistoric civilizations, I was damn interested. I'm not sure what you were told, but I'm a Columbia grad and I work as an archivist."

"Oh Jesus, no wonder you got here. You must know all the important people."

"Dr. Brownstein, my advisor, and Dr. Sutton, at the museum are both known in the field. I really want to see what you've found. I'm serious about my visit and if you don't want to take me seriously, then find someone who will."

He put his hands up. "Okay, sorry. We were told a donor was coming through and to give her an experience to match her contribution."

"So are we good?"

"Yeah, okay." He gave a small smile.

She would give him the benefit of the doubt and a second chance.

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