Walking down the stairs I can hear laughter float up to me. We may share a house, but we only ever really laugh when the boss is here.
A mop of soft, white hair is the first thing I see as I come around the corner. The owner of said hair leans against the counter as he looks at something Karen has pulled up on her Ipad.
He looks up as I enter the room and I meet his light blue eyes. He's the only one who's ever been able to tell when I'm nearby.
"Sang! How's our resident mermaid?"
I grin at his words and look down at my legs. "No fins yet, Phil. So life could be better."
He laughs and waves a hand, beckoning me over. As I move beside him he pulls me into a hug. "Well we can't all get what we wish for."
"Then when can we go back out on the water?" I grin up at him, batting my eyelashes. "That's a wish you can grant."
He rolls his eyes as he pulls away from me. "You know full well my rules. Three days break before heading back out. Besides you spend every free moment surfing when you're here."
He walks into our living room and plugs in the computer off the boat. This one stores all of the new maps and videos while we are out. We go over it as a team before planning the next dive.
I follow behind him clutching the sample bag tightly. If we want to discuss the coin tonight I have to show Phil now. Luckily Jay and Rocky are still by the grill and Karen stayed back to finish the salad she was making.
"Phil? What would you say if I found something and haven't told the others?" I really want to shout from the rooftops my discovery, but we need to play this safe. We aren't the only group looking for Atlantis.
He looks up at me as he finishes plugging in the computer. Emotions war through his eyes before settling on curiosity.
"Well that depends. Is it something that will help our search?"
"I'm pretty sure it does, but I wanted to show you first." I give him what I hope are puppy eyes so he won't get to mad at me. If he's mad at all I'm sure it will quickly be forgotten. This coin should give us our next big lead.
He sighs and holds out a hand. "All right then. Hand it over Sang. You've been crinkling the bag in your pocket since you stepped out of your room. I knew you'd have something to show me."
My mouth drops open and I blink at him. "How could you hear me when you were laughing like a hyena down here."
He laughs and winks at me. "I have my ways, Squirt."
Sighing I pull the bag out of my pocket and raise it in front of me. "Well if you knew that already then why didn't you just say so when I came down?"
He shrugs a shoulder as I pass him a pair of latex gloves. He pulls them on and reaches for the bag. "I figured you'd tell me when you were ready. You always share your discoveries with me sooner or later. I knew this time would be no different."
"That's true. I never could keep a secret from you."
He nods his head and opens the bag. Before pulling out the coin he points in the direction of his coat he has folded over the couch.
"Before I forget, I found a new store. These ones are strawberry flavored. I think you'll like them." He says with a smile.
"Oh really?" I bounce on my feet, practically skipping to his coat. "Was it at one of the nearby towns or further away?"
I can hear the coin slip out of the bag behind me as I reach in the side pocket for the new candies. "It was two towns away. I guess the-"
I turn around at his break in words with a smirk on my face. I know what he's reading.
"I had to double check that it really was Latin and that I wasn't just imagining it." I say quietly.
Disbelief followed by hope washes over Phil's face. A small flicker of familiarity flashes before excitement takes over. He looks up at me before returning to look at the artifact in his hand.
"Where did you find it?" He whispers in reverence.
Keeping my voice low I begin to tell him of my morning. "We saw a crevasse a little ways south of our dive yesterday. We figured we could get a few good pictures and a sample for Rocky to look at before coming back. Jay said I had enough time to explore the first cave on the map so I did. We'll need our deep sea gear to reach the bottom, but that's where I found this."
He looks back up with tears glistening in his eyes. "Thank you. Thank you for showing me this first."
I simply nod in reply. No words could express how either of us feel about this.
When Phil found me I was going through a bit of depression. My father had told me that summer that I was no longer welcome at his home once I turned 18. He said he was sorry for failing me as a father but he didn't want a reminder of his mistakes hanging around. I had always thought that once I received my degree he'd be proud of me or at least acknowledge me. Instead he handed me bank statement and told me to leave him alone. I really struggled with the idea that I wasn't worth anyone's time.
Phil was a guest lecturer in my mythology courses so we had talked a bit before. When I showed up to school with heavy bags under red rimmed eyes he told me he was thinking of starting a team and he wanted me to be on it. He said he was going to offer me the position later but it looked like I needed some good news in my life. This was after the shipwreck was discovered.
To say I cried ugly tears would be an understatement. I'm sure I looked worse than a drowned rat with all the crying I did once I got home that night. I was overjoyed that someone would want me to help discover something big.
Phil told me he was impressed by my work ethic and that I knew several languages, including a few dead ones. In fact we now converse on a weekly basis in different languages.
He was also awed by my knowledge of myths and ancient civilizations. He always jokes that he would have had to hire three different people to do what I do. I always reply that he should pay me for doing the amount of three people's work.
Phil gave me a purpose in life while also becoming a father figure to me. He found out one night at the lab that I had no family while asking questions when I was distracted. The words he said to me that night never fail to make me smile.
"Sang, I may not be able to adopt you, but I'm in need of a daughter. Will you give me the pleasure of becoming my family?"
After that we started celebrating holidays together and weekly phone calls whenever he was away. For the last three years I've always chosen the ugliest tie for Father's Day and he never fails to wear it the next time we meet.
Seeing him lean over the microscope now his words echo through my head. We may have met through school and work, but he is easily the most important person in my life.
I softly smile once more before walking closer to him. Popping a candy in my mouth I lean over. "Hey Old Man, if you get any closer you'll go cross eyed."
He chuckles and swats my arm. "Go away and eat your candy like a good little girl. The grown ups are working now. We have treasure to study."
I scoff in jest and take a step back. "Well this little girl found that piece of treasure."
"Who found treasure?" Karen asks as she walks into the room with a bowl under her arm.
"Miss Sang here may have found our next clue." Phil smiles as he looks up at us. "But let's have dinner first. It's easier to brain storm with a full stomach."
As if on cue, Rocky and Jay make their way inside. Jay drops his bag by the door and places his folders on the desk. Rocky carries the large plate of steak to the table and we all make our way there.
Paper plates are passed out and we each get our beverage of choice. Phil gives a warning about not drinking to much alcohol and each of us rolls our eyes.
Before starting our meal Phil raises his glass. "To this team and to new discovery."
Each of us copy the gesture and tap glasses.
As I take a sip of my wine I look around the table. This may not be the water, and I might not like everyone here, but I'm exactly where I want to be.
On the brink of discovery.
*****
Hey!
So what do you think of Phil and Sang's relationship? This will be super important later on.
I'm sitting here planning out chapters and this little voice keeps asking when she's going to meet the boys. Unfortunately it may be a while. Maybe I'll plan more of their POV occasionally.
Thanks for reading! I love getting comments and seeing my news feed filled with votes so thank you everyone who's done that. It means a lot to me.
Till next time,
BijinMum.