“Our foster mother.”
Adam’s face took on an expression that Nora had become familiar with throughout her life, and she automatically moved to wave it away.
“Oh no, don’t give me that sorry look. We lived with Irina for almost as long as I can remember, and she spent the entire time stuffing me full of borscht and driving me to marching band practice.”
“So, do you speak any Russian?”
Nora shrugged. “I understand it better than I speak it.”
At that moment, a cheerful looking plump lady approached the table and greeted Adam in what sounded like French. Adam chatted with her animatedly for a moment, gesturing to Nora a few times, before turning back to her and asking, “Would you like anything to drink?”
“Espresso, please.”
Adam exchanged a few more foreign words with the lady before she bustled off, presumably to fetch her coffee.
“So, you speak French?” Nora asked, tearing her mind away from the way Adam’s mouth shaped itself around rolling French syllables. Her thoughts seemed to derail so easily around him it was disconcerting.
Adam shrugged one shoulder and Nora spotted a slight blush coloring his bronze skin.
“Yeah, I like to learn languages. I started so I could read books in the language they were written in, and then it sort of became an area of expertise.”
“That’s part of why I wanted to meet with you today,” Nora pushed on, determined to steer their conversation into professional territory. “I’m looking for an expert in languages who can help me translate an engraving on a weapon.”
Adam leaned forward in his seat and his eyes sparkled behind his glasses. “What kind of weapon?”
Nora blinked at his enthusiasm.
“Well, there were a bunch of weapons and fragments discovered in a dig outside of Athens, but the specific piece I need assistance with is a short sword. It was found right next to a spear, and both are in near perfect condition. They most likely belonged to the same person, the spear being the primary weapon of the Greek hoplite and the sword being carried as a backup. The sword is the weapon with the engravings on it, but it’s in a language that nobody in the field can recognize…”
Nora looked up to find Adam gripping the edge of the table with white knuckles as he listened. His fingers were very long.
“Are you all right?” she asked.
“Oh…yes,” Adam seemed to remember himself and leaned back in his chair as he smoothed down his tie with one hand. “I’ve always loved history. I was so intrigued when I read about the Greek weapons in the newspaper and the prospect of getting to help with them is thrilling. I do happen to know some ancient Greek dialects.”
Nora rifled around in her bag to pull out the leather notebook in which she had attempted to copy the inscription on the sword and leafed through it until she found the appropriate page.
“Does this look like something you might recognize?” she asked, turning the paper around to show him.
His eyes widened. “That looks like an ancient language I’ve been studying in my spare time, but it’s hard to learn with so little of it left.” He squinted at the page and leaned in further. “I might be able to translate it, but some of the symbols copied here are a little different than what I’m familiar with.”
Nora chewed her lip. “I did my best to copy the inscription, but it was hard to replicate an alphabet I’m not familiar with. Do you think that you could translate it better if you looked at the original?”
“You would let me look at the sword?” Adam asked.
Nora knew she shouldn’t be inviting someone who was basically a stranger into the lab to look at ancient artifacts, but this was the best lead she had. She wasn’t going to let it slip through her fingers. Besides, if she brought him in right now, nobody would even have to know. Nobody else ever went into the office on weekends.
“Sure. Maybe we could take the bus over from here?”
Adam nodded emphatically. “I’m ready when you are.”
“Okay,” Nora said as she spotted the cheery waitress weaving her way back through the tables with a steaming cup. “We’ll leave after I finish my coffee.”
* * *
Pushing through the side doors,Nora led Adam down the hallway to the offices and peered around. She had never encountered any of her coworkers here on a Saturday, but it would be just her luck to have somebody putting in extra hours when she brought in an unauthorized visitor. Finding the hallway empty, she unlocked the office and held the door open.
As they made their way back to her workbench, she told him, “Just don’t touch anything, it’s all very old and fragile.”
