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Authors: Vicky de Leo
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college. He wanted to make sure it was all right with you.”
Samuel needed time to think, and he needed answers. “I’ll call you at home later. We need to talk. Your mother will need to hear your voice before she’ll believe me. Joshua, are you really okay?”
“Yes, sir.”
Before Samuel could say anything more, Joshua handed the phone to his grandfather.
“You sounded surprised Joshua was here,” Joseph said.
“No . . . I just expected him to call much sooner. I was worried that he was waylaid somewhere. I am sorry we couldn’t call and let you know he was coming. It must have been quite a shock. I hope it’s all right if he stays for awhile,” Sam fumbled. His head reeled. He respected Joshua’s instinct to keep Joseph out of the loop, but he had so many questions, it was hard to think. “Dad, let me call you later at home. I need to let Maria know that he arrived all right. She’s been worried sick.”
“I have a business dinner tonight, but I should be home around eight.”
“Perfect, I’ll call you then.” If his father wouldn’t be home until eight, he could call Joshua earlier and have a real conversation. Joshua was safe! He wasn’t lost in the jungle, or captured by the natives. The weight that had been pressing down on him was just beginning to lift. He couldn’t wait to tell Maria.
She and Ricardo were both in the artifact tent working when Sam got back to the site. He motioned them to come outside and follow him. Once they were away from the others he burst out, “Joshua is in Boston with my dad! I just spoke to him on the phone.”
“What?” Maria and Ricardo said together.
“Joshua is safe in Boston with my dad,” he repeated with a big grin.
“How did he get there?” Maria asked.
“He ran away? How? H is things are still here. Someone must have helped him get to the airport. I don’t understand.” Ricardo sounded angry.
“I don’t know how he got there. Dad said he arrived two days ago. Even with help, I don’t see how he could have gotten there that fast. When I asked, he said he didn’t know. He didn’t want to discuss it on the phone in front of my father.” Turning to his wife, he said, “I knew that you’d want to hear his voice so I said I’d call him later. Dad’s going to be at a business dinner until eight, so we can call Joshua at home before that to get some answers.”
“How did you find out he was there? Did he call us?” Maria asked
“When I called the Smithsonian, they told me that my father’s office had been trying to reach me. I thought something had happened to him, so I called. Joshua was there. They said they tried calling us but couldn’t get through.”
“I still can’t believe it. You’re sure it was Joshua and he’s all right?” She looked directly into Sam’s eyes.
“Yes, darling, I am sure,” he said with a smile, reaching out to hug her. He knew how hard it was to believe. If he hadn’t talked to Joshua, he wouldn’t have believed it either. “He sounded just fine. Give him an hour or so to get home and then you’ll be able to talk to him yourself.”
* * *
One hour seemed like an eternity to Maria. There was no need to rush to close up the site now, so she spent it getting cleaning up. For the last couple of days, she had been too distraught to care what she looked like, just throwing on clothes and running a brush through her hair. Not that she ever did much when camped out on a dig. It was silly to wear makeup when it was 85 in the shade and the humidity was 90%. What didn’t roll off with the sweat was washed away during the frequent rain showers. Most of the time, she did try to tame her unruly curls. She wet down her hair and smoothed it into a ponytail. A few tendrils always escaped around her face. When she was working, she would pin them back. Now she left them. Looking in the small make-up mirror, she noticed the dark circles under her eyes. No wonder Sam had been so worried about her.
Samuel needed time to think, and he needed answers. “I’ll call you at home later. We need to talk. Your mother will need to hear your voice before she’ll believe me. Joshua, are you really okay?”
“Yes, sir.”
Before Samuel could say anything more, Joshua handed the phone to his grandfather.
“You sounded surprised Joshua was here,” Joseph said.
“No . . . I just expected him to call much sooner. I was worried that he was waylaid somewhere. I am sorry we couldn’t call and let you know he was coming. It must have been quite a shock. I hope it’s all right if he stays for awhile,” Sam fumbled. His head reeled. He respected Joshua’s instinct to keep Joseph out of the loop, but he had so many questions, it was hard to think. “Dad, let me call you later at home. I need to let Maria know that he arrived all right. She’s been worried sick.”
“I have a business dinner tonight, but I should be home around eight.”
“Perfect, I’ll call you then.” If his father wouldn’t be home until eight, he could call Joshua earlier and have a real conversation. Joshua was safe! He wasn’t lost in the jungle, or captured by the natives. The weight that had been pressing down on him was just beginning to lift. He couldn’t wait to tell Maria.
She and Ricardo were both in the artifact tent working when Sam got back to the site. He motioned them to come outside and follow him. Once they were away from the others he burst out, “Joshua is in Boston with my dad! I just spoke to him on the phone.”
“What?” Maria and Ricardo said together.
“Joshua is safe in Boston with my dad,” he repeated with a big grin.
“How did he get there?” Maria asked.
“He ran away? How? H is things are still here. Someone must have helped him get to the airport. I don’t understand.” Ricardo sounded angry.
“I don’t know how he got there. Dad said he arrived two days ago. Even with help, I don’t see how he could have gotten there that fast. When I asked, he said he didn’t know. He didn’t want to discuss it on the phone in front of my father.” Turning to his wife, he said, “I knew that you’d want to hear his voice so I said I’d call him later. Dad’s going to be at a business dinner until eight, so we can call Joshua at home before that to get some answers.”
“How did you find out he was there? Did he call us?” Maria asked
“When I called the Smithsonian, they told me that my father’s office had been trying to reach me. I thought something had happened to him, so I called. Joshua was there. They said they tried calling us but couldn’t get through.”
“I still can’t believe it. You’re sure it was Joshua and he’s all right?” She looked directly into Sam’s eyes.
“Yes, darling, I am sure,” he said with a smile, reaching out to hug her. He knew how hard it was to believe. If he hadn’t talked to Joshua, he wouldn’t have believed it either. “He sounded just fine. Give him an hour or so to get home and then you’ll be able to talk to him yourself.”
* * *
One hour seemed like an eternity to Maria. There was no need to rush to close up the site now, so she spent it getting cleaning up. For the last couple of days, she had been too distraught to care what she looked like, just throwing on clothes and running a brush through her hair. Not that she ever did much when camped out on a dig. It was silly to wear makeup when it was 85 in the shade and the humidity was 90%. What didn’t roll off with the sweat was washed away during the frequent rain showers. Most of the time, she did try to tame her unruly curls. She wet down her hair and smoothed it into a ponytail. A few tendrils always escaped around her face. When she was working, she would pin them back. Now she left them. Looking in the small make-up mirror, she noticed the dark circles under her eyes. No wonder Sam had been so worried about her.
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