before nodding. She wondered if in the future, she would come to regret it.
From his overnight bag, he took a long velvet box and offered it to her. It took her a moment before she could make herself pick it up. It felt, horribly enough, like a payoff, something a rich man offered to his discreet mistress before they parted ways.
When she opened it with trembling fingers, her eyes opened wide. On a thick gold chain twisted to resemble a rope, there hung a gorgeous gray-blue gem in a lovely oval setting. It sparkled in the light of the afternoon, making her think of the water of the oasis, of sunlight coming down warm and gentle against her skin.
“It is an aquamarine I saw in Jabal,” Dario said softly. “I saw it, and I immediately thought of your eyes, the first time I saw them.”
“In the small village away from the dig?”
“Yes. They were so clear, as if you had no secrets you would keep from me.”
He was wrong. The secret of her love for him almost spilled out then and there, but then what would happen? Nothing would change. Nothing would be any different. Instead it sat as heavy as a stone on her heart, and she nodded.
“It is very beautiful,” she said, her voice wooden even in her own ears. “I’ll cherish it always and think of you.”
She closed the box, not sure she would ever open it again, and slid it into her bag.
Majid came for her, Dario took his own car into Jabal, and that, she thought, leaning back into the seat of the jeep, was that.
CHAPTER FIVE
Her last month on the dig spun out like a strange fever dream. She did her work, she laughed with the friends she had made, and she took part in the life of the encampment. But it felt as if she had left her body behind to take care of business while her soul went somewhere else entirely.
Whenever she got close enough, she would catch a glimpse of Dario laughing or talking, and suddenly it would feel as if the breath had been knocked out of her.
Out of some kind of merciful tacit agreement, they’d kept their distance, only exchanging the odd glance or nod. It felt strange, but more than that, it felt simply wrong. Whenever she saw this man, every part of her told her to go to him, that they were meant to be touching, talking, and laughing together.
Bailey thought the pain would grow lesser as time went on. She thought that without touching, without going up to the cave, without words passing between them, that it would get easier. Instead, as time went on, it only seemed to get harder. It felt as if there was always a lump of tears at the back of her throat.
When a trim woman came to inform her that she was now free of her obligation to the country of Jabal and could leave when she pleased, she was so flooded with emotions that she started to weep. The woman left her to compose herself, telling her that a car would be by to pick her up the next day.
Bailey was in such a state of shock, she could barely process her friends’ good-byes, the hugs, and the well-wishes. They had known she wasn’t going to be with them forever, but all of them expressed regret that she was going.
“You’ve not had the easiest time in our country,” one older archaeologist said to her. “Do you think you will ever come back?”
Just at that moment, she caught sight of Dario. Dario, who must have known that the woman was coming to give her the news. Dario, who had not said a single thing to her, who now walked by without looking at her at all.
“I think a part of my heart will always be here,” she said honestly. “I think that part will never leave. I don’t know, though. I hope so…”
That was the most honest she could be.
That night, she sneaked away from the fire. Without thinking about what she was doing, Bailey made her way up the path to the cave where she and Dario had shared so much. When she looked around at the familiar walls, she felt like a ghost come back to haunt her own life.
The aquamarine pendant was buttoned into the
From his overnight bag, he took a long velvet box and offered it to her. It took her a moment before she could make herself pick it up. It felt, horribly enough, like a payoff, something a rich man offered to his discreet mistress before they parted ways.
When she opened it with trembling fingers, her eyes opened wide. On a thick gold chain twisted to resemble a rope, there hung a gorgeous gray-blue gem in a lovely oval setting. It sparkled in the light of the afternoon, making her think of the water of the oasis, of sunlight coming down warm and gentle against her skin.
“It is an aquamarine I saw in Jabal,” Dario said softly. “I saw it, and I immediately thought of your eyes, the first time I saw them.”
“In the small village away from the dig?”
“Yes. They were so clear, as if you had no secrets you would keep from me.”
He was wrong. The secret of her love for him almost spilled out then and there, but then what would happen? Nothing would change. Nothing would be any different. Instead it sat as heavy as a stone on her heart, and she nodded.
“It is very beautiful,” she said, her voice wooden even in her own ears. “I’ll cherish it always and think of you.”
She closed the box, not sure she would ever open it again, and slid it into her bag.
Majid came for her, Dario took his own car into Jabal, and that, she thought, leaning back into the seat of the jeep, was that.
CHAPTER FIVE
Her last month on the dig spun out like a strange fever dream. She did her work, she laughed with the friends she had made, and she took part in the life of the encampment. But it felt as if she had left her body behind to take care of business while her soul went somewhere else entirely.
Whenever she got close enough, she would catch a glimpse of Dario laughing or talking, and suddenly it would feel as if the breath had been knocked out of her.
Out of some kind of merciful tacit agreement, they’d kept their distance, only exchanging the odd glance or nod. It felt strange, but more than that, it felt simply wrong. Whenever she saw this man, every part of her told her to go to him, that they were meant to be touching, talking, and laughing together.
Bailey thought the pain would grow lesser as time went on. She thought that without touching, without going up to the cave, without words passing between them, that it would get easier. Instead, as time went on, it only seemed to get harder. It felt as if there was always a lump of tears at the back of her throat.
When a trim woman came to inform her that she was now free of her obligation to the country of Jabal and could leave when she pleased, she was so flooded with emotions that she started to weep. The woman left her to compose herself, telling her that a car would be by to pick her up the next day.
Bailey was in such a state of shock, she could barely process her friends’ good-byes, the hugs, and the well-wishes. They had known she wasn’t going to be with them forever, but all of them expressed regret that she was going.
“You’ve not had the easiest time in our country,” one older archaeologist said to her. “Do you think you will ever come back?”
Just at that moment, she caught sight of Dario. Dario, who must have known that the woman was coming to give her the news. Dario, who had not said a single thing to her, who now walked by without looking at her at all.
“I think a part of my heart will always be here,” she said honestly. “I think that part will never leave. I don’t know, though. I hope so…”
That was the most honest she could be.
That night, she sneaked away from the fire. Without thinking about what she was doing, Bailey made her way up the path to the cave where she and Dario had shared so much. When she looked around at the familiar walls, she felt like a ghost come back to haunt her own life.
The aquamarine pendant was buttoned into the
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