The Clepsydra

Chapter 14

I got home that night feeling satisfied and happy with the progress I had made in the afternoon. Aidan dropped me off in his truck; waiting until I was inside the house and waving through the window before he drove away.

He pulled out the driveway so slowly, and then stopped completely as if he had forgotten something and was going to come back inside. His engine revved up again however, and he pulled out without any further hesitations. I smiled and felt an unfamiliar sinking in my stomach at his leaving while he honked his car horn and drove away into the gathering dusk.

My mom and dad aren't home yet, but will be in the next half an hour for sure. I use this time to shower, finish off any homework I hadn't managed to do in class and feed Piper. I'm resting on my bed with the lanky dog stretched over my feet when my mom arrives home from her work at the museum.

I hear her bag plop onto the counter and her keys rattling as they are thrown onto their daily place on the hook before she walks down the passage. The familiar chocolate brown mass of curls and hazel eyes pops around my bedroom corner, her necklace of beads catching the light thrown by my bedside lamp.

"Hey there my Lennie! May I ask what the dog is doing on the bed?" she laughs; rolling her eyes and sits down beside Piper's head, scratching her behind the ears.

I close my laptop, the notes I was writing as historical references for my nocturnal activities sliding off the bed when I sit up and hug her with my arms thrown around her neck. "Hi mom. How was the new item that was shipped in today at the museum? Did it meet your expectations?"

We both pull back from the embrace, my mom kissing my forehead before telling me about the interesting mystery item the Port Greylot Museum has been awaiting for months now to arrive. She has been so excited to receive it, continuously repeating how it would make a lovely and interesting centre to a collection they were doing, which will be named 'Old France' once this final piece is added.

"Oh Elena it was just beautiful! It's the bona fide pocket watch that Napoleon Bonaparte used while he was alive! Its exterior is gold and has been so well looked after that it still works! The interior is a little faded, but that's to be expected for an object that was toted around during war and political discussions and other such important things. Pretty cool right?"

She digs around in her big duffel back, pulling out a colourful picture of the antique clock which seems to be attached to this dull, golden chain.

"It's rather heavy too, for a clock that is. When I checked it out to make sure nothing got displaced or broken during shipping, I could almost smell the gunpowder on it or close my eyes and hear the clanging of swords during battles. Oh, I love old things!"

I chuckle at the excitement lighting up in her eyes. Out of the many people I know, my mom is definitely someone who both enjoys the job she does and feels satisfied with what it gives her, even if one of those things isn't a fat wallet.

"Okay, well I'm going to start supper before your father gets home and leave you to whatever you were doing before I interrupted you with my news." The bed creaks as she puts her feet firmly back on the floor, kissing my forehead again before she stretches and fetches my notes which had fallen down.