Page 84 of The Death
“I don’t have the slightest doubt of that.” She smiled. “After I finish my tea, I’m going to take a short nap, and then I’ll tell you how we’re going to do it.”
He chuckled. “I can hardly wait. Will you give me a hint?”
“It has to do with me going back to Boston to finish my internship and you staying here until you make sure that everything is going to be what you want it to be. That’s necessary because we’re both very demanding people. It also has to do with that lovely Gulfstream jet plane that you’re going to use to come see me very frequently so that I can keep an eye on you when I sense there might be a need to watch your back.” She smiled. “Does that sound like a good start?”
“An exceptional start,” Dominic said. “But it’s also going to take us an exceptionally difficult period to develop it in the way that will suit us best. I can think of all kinds of side trips and interesting byways that we’ll have to explore.” He smiled back. “So keep thinking and planning, because we have a long way to go!”
EPILOGUE
SHAFIRA PROVINCE, AFRICA
TWO WEEKS LATER
Hi, Mom.” Michael ran into the workroom and gave her a quick hug. “Dad just called and told me to tell you that he’d finished up with that conference at Bon Jaka that Dominic had set up with all those governors and politicians who were trying to set up this village as some kind of glorified theme park.”
“The people here have a strong sense of who they are. They won’t let that happen, even if Folashade puts them on the map. We already have a twenty-four-city tour lined up for the sarcophagus and treasure. And now that the gold mine that Zakira stole has been recovered, the country is wealthier than it has ever been.”
“Well, Dad says that this meeting was the last one, and now we can forget about them and think about packing up and going home.”
“That sounds wonderful.” Eve drew him a little closer. “I imagine you’ve been thinking about leaving here since thenight you and your dad showed up and rescued me. You’ve gone through so much lately.”
“No more than you did,” he looked up at her and said. “It was okay because we were together. I think Dad had it worse than either of us, but he’s been happier here now that he knows we’re both safe and he could keep busy making sure that everything about this village is going in the right direction.”
She chuckled. “You know your father very well. He can’t stand chaos, and being busy is important to all of us.” Her smile faded as her gaze went to the golden sarcophagus across the room. “And having a proper ending to a noble and worthwhile life is also important.”
He was silent for a long moment. “You’re not finished with Folashade,” he finally said quietly. “Or perhaps she’s not finished with you?”
How wise he was to be able to read her this well. “Maybe a little of both.” She turned to look at him. “But I’ll never be finished with you, Michael. So if you want me to leave right away and go back to the Lake Cottage, I’ll do it. I’ll arrange to take care of doing the final work on Folashade later.”
“Later…” He moved across the room to stand beside the sarcophagus. “You know, the longer we worked on her, the more I got to like her.” He paused. “But she’s already had to wait a long time, Mom. That doesn’t seem right. Couldn’t it be that she was waiting for you? You told me how clever she was.” He added, “Perhaps you were the only one she wanted. I’m certain I would have waited for you.” He turned away from the sarcophagus. “So it would be wrong to leave now. I’ll talk to Dad and make sure it’s okay with him and we’ll work it out so you can bring Folashade to her final home here after thetour. I’ll work with you and maybe I can help Dad, too, if he’ll let me learn how to make this village into the place Folashade wanted it to be.” He was smiling as he walked back toward Eve. “Does that sound like a good plan?”
“It sounds like a wonderful plan.” She could feel her eyes sting with tears as she looked at him. “I can hardly wait for it all to begin. Who knows? Maybe it was you our queen was waiting for!”
SHAFIRA
NINE MONTHS LATER
ONE DAY BEFORE THE GRAND OPENING OF THE FOLASHADE TOUR IN ALEXANDRIA, EGYPT
“I just heard from Dominic,” Joe said as he joined Eve on the veranda of the palace. “He should be landing the helicopter at the heliport in another fifteen minutes or so.”
“Tell me about it,” she said dryly. “Michael just told me the same thing and then ran down to the heliport to meet them. He’s very excited.” She frowned. “I’ve been wondering if we were right to keep him isolated all these months while we were finishing the exhibit? He seemed very happy but it was really a working vacation for him between helping me with the sculpture and you with overseeing the tour logistics. It was nothing like the holidays his friends in Scotland are having.”
Joe chuckled. “Isolated? Are you joking? Michael would be bored to death if he couldn’t learn at least one new thing every single day. Shafira gave him about a hundred more lessons than that, and he was always asking for more.” He slippedhis arm about her waist. “And we did pretty well striking a balance ourselves if I do say so.”
“You mean you did.” She laid her head on his shoulder. “You took over and cleared the decks for me to finish Folashade. Maybe I should ask you if I should have turned those tour details over to you when you were still busy coordinating the distribution of the silver bullet cure-all medication halfway across the world.”
“Yes, you most certainly should have,” he said firmly. “Do you think I’d let Michael get all the praise around here for his brilliance and ingenuity? I have to have proof when I tell everyone that he takes after his old man.”
“He certainly does.” She kissed him. “Now go and meet our guests and bring them here to the palace.”
“You’re not coming with me?”
She shook her head. “I want to straighten up the anteroom and get our queen prepared to receive her subjects. You have to admit that the reconstruction is unusual, and everyone might find it… unexpected.”
“You’re not nervous? It’s magnificent and maybe the best thing you’ve ever done.”
“No, I’m not nervous. I’ve created what I saw… and felt. That’s all I could do. She wouldn’t let me do anything else. I’m just eager to share it.”
