Page 81 of Grift

“Well, have you decided?”

Butterflies take flight in my stomach at his words, excitement of a whole different kind blooming. We’re only on the second day of our two weeks at the Nantucket vacation house Patrick bought the first summer we were married, and I don’t want to rush into the future.

But this fall, a whole different kind of adventure awaits us.

My career has taken a whole different path than I planned, first in college and then after. Once marriage happened – and three children in quick succession – I’d thought that my personal career goals would morph again or at least be on hold until the children were older.

Yet Patrick arranged for excellent childcare and I suspect, pulled some strings that had put me in charge of the largest Egyptology exhibits ever to pass through Boston. My dreams, or most of them, came true.

The exhibit is packed up, moving on to its next U.S. destination. Shortly after it closed, Patrick and I were having dinner with some of my colleagues at the Trinity’s upscale steakhouse. Perks of the job and all.

“We can’t wait to get back out into the field,” Dr. Sayed comments, brushing her long dark curls back and describing the next phase of the dig that awaits her. It’s nothing exotic – not newly discovered pyramids – but it’s a long-term dig that’s been worked season after season and rending a steady supply of new insights into some of the most interesting periods in ancient Egypt’s history.

There’s a shift beside me, Patrick’s eyes on my face intently when he leans forward. Blue eyes flashing, dimples on full display. On no, what’s he up to now?

“Dr. Sayed, what would it take for Jessica to get to spend the season at the dig?”

Her eyes light up immediately. “Well, I’ve been trying to get her to come out for years, but of course I understand that it’s a difficult time to leave her family being so young and all.”

“Tell me,” he commanded, in that way he has.

She did.

On the way home, he hadn’t brought it up, instead distracting me with a hand sliding the silk edge of my skirt up and fingers sliding to my core.

But then, a week later, he’d taken on that look he gets when he’s about to propose something. The one that’s utterly unlike Patrick. A little shy, a touch of vulnerability, and such a clear desire to make you happy that your heart aches to see it. I’d agree to anything just to see the bright smile that follows.

In fact, that’s how we’d had baby number three, and how I’d agreed to adopt Clover, the big labradoodle the boys wanted. Or maybe that Patrick wanted, because the boys were pretty young.

“What would you say to a sabbatical from the museum?”

I’m not ready for baby number four; I’m not even sure I want a larger family. Three toddlers and a dog are a handful. But his eyes have that intensity and my resolve is melting. I can already feel that part of me shifting to “we could probably have four babies.” Ugh, this man and his wicked ways.

“Maybe we could take a trip this fall,” he says, holding my gaze. And then adding, “To Egypt.”

At the words, a thousand emotions war in my chest, an unexpected explosion of hope and joy and wistfulness. All those missed opportunities, broken promises and hopes laid to rest resurface with a fierceness I didn’t expect. The fact that he would even consider this, knowing how much it would upend our lives and how much work it would take to make an opportunity like this happen for me, makes my eyes sting unexpectedly.

“I couldn’t leave you and the kids,” I start to say, and the look that flashes across his face makes me laugh. Protective, fierce, defiant even at the vague suggestion of being separated for a night.

His words play back in my mind. “We.” Patrick and I haven’t spent a night apart since that day in the art gallery at the casino where we’d agreed to become a family all on our own and his face says he’s not interested in starting that now.

“Family doesn’t have to mean giving up who you are, Jessica,” he says, his voice thick was emotion. “Family is about giving you the strength and space to be the best version of who you can be.”

The sun shines behind him, and it looks like he’s engulfed in a blazing halo.

“It wasn’t practical when the babies were tiny, and I had some things here that I had to resolve. But I’ve talked to Callan, and he’s got someone ready to step into the security role for a few months,” he says. “When we get back, I’m going to transition out of the casino and take over as general manager for the real estate side of the company. It’s time. With all the building projects going on, we need someone that can keep the various contractors in line.”

He cracks his knuckles, and I laugh.

“But first, I thought maybe you’d like to get out into the field. I’ve talked to Dr. Sayed and she says she can help us with housing, childcare, everything. You’d have the opportunity to dig and work at the museum there, and I’ll spend time with the kids. Enjoy some time with my hot archeologist wife,” his voice takes on a deeper tone.

It had been an amazing night.

He shifts behind me on the blanket, putting our daughter down and handing more food to the boys. Then his hard, muscled arms come around me and he lightly kisses my ear. The waves wash the sands away on the beach nearby. We’ll enjoy this vacation, and then go home and prepare to go to Egypt. The first of many adventures for our family, a career milestone for me, and building more memories that Patrick and I will never forget.

Content and happy, I close my eyes and lean back against Patrick’s firm chest. Finally, I am really and truly free.

* * *