Chapter Forty-Two
Sadie
P oor Ashraf. He drew the short straw in escorting me back to Cairo for my flight home tomorrow.
He says nothing, other than sorting out the practicalities of travel, until he’s checked me into the same hotel we stayed at when we first arrived, all those golden, happy days ago. As I turn to get into the lift to my room, he puts a gentle hand on my arm.
“Things seem hopeless now, Amira, but your fate has already been written by the gods. Ma’at will be restored. Inshallah .” And with a sad smile, he tips his head and leaves.
On any other day, I might smile at his blending of ancient Egyptian beliefs and Islam, but there will be no smiles from me today.
Now that I have a good wi-fi connection an email notification from Jennifer pops up. I’m not ready to read it, so I take a long hot shower. It doesn’t help.
Once I’m in my pyjamas, I figure there’s no point putting off the inevitable, so I open up my laptop.
It’s worse than I thought. Jennifer has also forwarded Riley’s original complaint. Not only did Riley report us to Jennifer, but she also copied Martin Collins on the email. It’s not just that she saw us kissing, but that Ethan had been favouring me since we arrived. That she had been treated unfairly. That our ‘personal’ relationship was impacting the experience of all the students on the dig. And that Ethan had put her life at risk on a camel.
Shit. I wish I’d done more than slap her face. My palm is still stinging from it. But right now, I wish I’d closed my fist and punched her. Split knuckles would’ve been worth it.
I want to email Jennifer and refute everything Riley said. Tell her how wrong she is. How unfair this is. But Jennifer closes her email with instructions to be in her office at eight am on Monday of the week before uni starts. Until then, she’s on holiday overseas with her wife and children, and as per her usual practice, she will not be checking emails or taking calls.
Fabulous.
I’ve been upgraded to business class. I’m not sure who’s responsible, but I have my suspicions. I refuse to be disarmed by this thoughtfulness because, honestly, it’s the least he could do.
At least I’ll be miserable in comfort.
“Champagne?” asks the perky flight attendant as I burrow into my seat while the cattle class passengers board and we ready for take-off.
I take a deep breath. Part of me wants to wail that champagne won’t fix what has happened to me. Nothing will. But I might as well take advantage of the luxuries. It’s unlikely I’ll ever experience them again.
“Thank you.” I take the glass and a ubiquitous hot fragranced towel and turn to the window for a last glimpse of my hopes and dreams.
At least I’ve finally found a worthwhile use for twenty-plus hours in a tin can. Stewing and brooding.
I close my eyes and dissect every moment of my time in Egypt. Everything Ethan said or did. Every interaction with Riley. My father’s visit.
I try not to think about my find. Who knows if I’ll ever see my pot again.
I think about what Mum will undoubtedly say. I shouldn’t care, but she’s still my mother, and to hear ‘I told you so’ when I’d been so sure, so adamant I’d never give any man that kind of power over me is … well, it’s humiliating.
By the time we’re passing over the Red Centre, I’ve calmed down enough for a small part of me to acknowledge, at least to myself, that Ethan was in a tough position. Sending me home wasn’t his only option. But it was probably the least bad for the greatest number of people. Not to mention Riley has put his career in jeopardy with her other accusations. I can see why he felt he had to do what he did. Which is cold comfort.
The grown-up, trying-to-be-a-professional Sadie mostly gets it. But the broken, abandoned little girl inside? She’s still wailing. Will anyone ever put her first? Because no more than a few days ago, she thought maybe Ethan would. She thought perhaps she was safe with him. But it didn’t turn out that way. He said he was Team Sadie, but at the first hurdle, he cracked. He let me down.
And if nobody else is going to protect that little girl, grown-up Sadie needs to.