My Journal of Weekend Write-Ins

The Answer is Yes

Jenny wiped the sweat from her brow. She almost wished it was from exertion rather than the infernal humidity mixed in with sweltering heat.

"Are we almost there yet?" She knew she sounded like one of those brats her mom kept insisting she have when she wasn't badgering her about marriage. "You'll regret waiting for so long to have these bundles of joy."

No matter how many times Jenny told her mom that in her line of work having a family was hard. Plus she didn't have a nurturing bone in her body, all her plants never seemed to survive her care.

"Yes, madame only one kilometer left. The professor is excited to have you working with him on this project." The youthful enthusiasm of Ameer, her rotund guide, almost made Jenny laugh.

What was it about youth that made everything exciting, she wondered.

"We'll see how he feels about me when we start to disagree." Their fights often involved throwing things, mostly food, at each other.

"The professor speaks very highly of you. He said it was thanks to your bull-headedness that the first artifact was discovered five years ago."

Jenny scoffed, "a fine way to compliment someone."

Ameer didn't seem to notice the sarcasm in the statement so he continued.

"Yes and that your short-sightedness had also proved a blessing in the last expedition."

Jenny liked Ameer better when he was quiet. But before she could tell her guide as such they had arrived at the site.

The professor was standing by the tent waiting. "Jenny," he called out to her.

"Professor Brione," she said, knowing he abhorred his last name.

Instead of being offended he smiled at her. She hated it when he did that, it always made her heart skip a beat.

Jenny began to march away but tripped on a tree root causing her to land in the professor's arms.

"I've missed you too darling," he winked at her. "It's been dreadfully boring without you."

She struggled to get free, not because she wasn't enjoying the embrace but because she was.

"What was soo important that I had to skip my parent's 30th wedding anniversary, Professor Brione?" She didn't tell him that she was glad he had given her an excuse to avoid the event. She knew for certain she would get a barrage of questions about settling down and offers of blind dates.

"I needed your expertise on something we found. And I much rather you called me Marcus. At first, I thought it was a bird egg, but it has--actually let me show it to you."

He didn't wait for her to agree, instead, he grabbed her hand and pulled her towards one of the tents.

To stop herself from noticing the tingle she felt at the contact, she focused on the cacophony of bird calls coming from the trees. Even with the oppressive heat, she felt free here among the ruins.

The tent was mostly dark except for a case that held an aquamarine tennis-ball-size egg. She rushed to it.  It had strange marks. It almost seemed like writing. She squinted her eyes and gasped.

The message said, will you marry me. She heard a click and the egg opened to reveal a sparkling diamond ring,

"Dammit," she muttered knowing that she would say yes. But instead of seeing her life plan scatter, a new larger one appeared.