Chapter 18
CALVIN
The next two weeks are mostly the same, and yet each day stands out as marvelous.
During the day, I’m with Ella. We’ve developed routines now. Playtime in the morning when it’s coolest; word practice and coloring after her snack; quiet time in the shade during the worst heat, where I read to her from books Georgia packed.
“Cav-cav, dat!” she’ll say, showing me a rock or stick or handful of sand like it’s the most precious treasure in the world.
And I look. Every single time. Because somehow, in the past month, this tiny human has wormed her way into my heart.
At night, after Ella is asleep and the camp has quieted, Georgia and I find each other. Sometimes in the documentation tent, supposedly working but mostly just talking. Sometimes in my tent, where we’ve gotten better at fitting two people onto a cot designed for one.
We’re careful. Discreet. No one has said anything directly, though I catch knowing looks from Edmond and raised eyebrows from Dr. Akkhad. Omar probably has a running commentary in his head, but to his credit, he keeps it to himself.
And slowly, something I never expected begins to happen.
I start imagining a future. Not just the project completing, not just the excavation succeeding. But after. What comes next.
Georgia and Ella back in their Maine cottage, but maybe I’m there too. Not just visiting for quick weekends, but staying for longer periods, whenever I can get away from work and the city. Waking up to Ella’s morning demands and Georgia’s sleepy smile. Making breakfast together. Being… a family.
For years, I’ve avoided exactly this kind of commitment. Convinced myself I’m not built for it, that my father trained the capacity for normal relationships right out of me. But with Georgia and Ella, it doesn’t feel like a trap. It feels like coming home.
“You’re smiling,” Georgia observes one night. We’re in my tent, her head on my shoulder; she’s drawing invisible patterns on my chest with her fingertips.
“I smile sometimes.”
“Not like this. This is a new smile. Soft. Almost… dreamy.”
“I don’t do dreamy.”
“You’re doing it right now.” She props herself up on one elbow to look at me. “What are you thinking about?”
I should deflect. Change the subject. But I’ve been learning to be honest with her. “The future,” I admit. “After this project ends.”
Her expression becomes guarded. “What about it?”
“I was thinking… maybe I don’t go back to New York right away. Maybe I visit Maine. See your cottage for real this time. Spend some time with you and Ella away from work.”
Georgia is quiet for a long moment. “You’d do that?”
“If you wanted me to.”
“Calvin.” She leans down and kisses me softly. “I’d really like that.”
Relief floods through me. “Yeah?”
“Yeah. Ella would too. She talks about you even when you’re not around. You’ve become one of her favorite people.”
The words make my chest tight. “She’s pretty great herself.”
“She is.” Georgia settles back against my shoulder. “I never thought… when I agreed to this project, I never imagined this. Us.”
“Neither did I.”
“Are you glad? That it happened?”
I pull her closer. “Happier than I’ve been in years. Maybe ever.”
She makes a contented sound. “Me too.”
We fall asleep tangled together, and I dream of a cottage by the sea.