Tempting Fate

"Lucy, you just ran that stop sign and barely missed that truck!"

"We have no brakes!"

"Set the emergency brake, the parking brake, Lucy!"

Lucy jumped out when the vehicle finally came to a stop at the side of the road. "I was busy steering! Why couldn't you pull on the hand brake, Jean-Louis? Anyway, I've never wanted to kiss the ground like I do right this minute!" Suddenly there was a speeding whoosh from a passing vehicle. "Jean-Louis, did you see that? I was nearly mowed down! Did you see those approaching headlights, way over here on our side of the road? That's crazy! Who are you phoning, Lucy, the rental agency?"

"It's late at night, Jean-Louis, and they are not open. Mauro said he'll pick us up soon. I don't particularly want to call the Italian police. I just want to get out of here and back to my tent!"

"We do not need the professor to rescue us, if he can even locate us! He's only good at finding ancient bodies and relics. Now that the engine has started, we are safer heading back to camp at a snail's pace rather than staying here in the dark in the middle of nowhere. When we get close to camp we can coast downhill until we stop. Then we can walk the short distance to our tents. Close the hood while you are out there! Here is the flashlight. You can be the navigator, Lucy."

"Thanks, but I'd rather walk. Go on without me. I insist, Jean-Louis!" He traveled a few hundred feet before the jeep stopped. She caught up with him. "It had a full tank when we picked it up from the car rental agency, Jean-Louis. Now the gauge is below empty!"

After Mauro rescued them, Jean-Louis walked Lucy to her tent and kissed her goodnight. When she did not return his kiss, he asked her if something was wrong. She shook her head no, entered her tent, removed the heart locket, and wrote in her journal, hands shaking. "Jealousy, the green eyed monster, reared its ugly head. It was not attractive! J-L was so embarrassing! Maybe an emergency is a good way to get to know the real man behind the face. It brought out the worst in J-L and the best in Mauro."

"Knock, knock. Are you alright, Lucy? It is me, Mauro."

"Thanks again for rescuing us! I'll be right out." As she appeared, the worse for wear, he responded, "Lucy, you are trembling! I am sleeping outside. Join me under the stars?" He put his arms around her and pulled her close. When Lucy awakened with the sun's first rays, she was outside Mauro's tent, zipped inside her green mummy bag. Two masculine arms held her tight. Not wanting to awaken him, she didn't move. Hearing foot steps approaching, she pulled her sleeping bag over her head. The foot steps paused near her, then continued on and diminished in the distance. Later, as the professor was getting ready to begin his lecture, Jean-Louis ignored her. "You're not talking to me today, Jean-Louis?"

"Where is the heart locket I gave you?" Lucy made no reply. When Mauro flashed Lucy a smile, Jean-Louis spoke loudly and rudely, "I notice that 'Mauro' speaks privately with you every chance he gets, Lucy. Beware of mentors promising things they cannot deliver. And I recognized your sleeping bag this morning, Lucy. I warned you about him!" Upon hearing that, Professor Fiorelli glared at Jean-Louis and Lucy's face turned bright red!

All too soon, Jean-Louis was at it again with, "The professor is approaching again, Lucy, to see you. Oh, shock and surprise! You seem a little cool toward me. Is something wrong? Something has changed. It's the professor, isn't it? We were doing fine until you met him!"

Seated next to Jean-Louis, she inched away from him and then faced away from him to hear Mauro, who questioned, "Lucy, may I speak with you alone? Let's walk. You are no longer shaking. That is progress! I have a few ideas to run past you, about your college credits, perhaps after dinner?" Lucy readily agreed. He led the class to another location and halted, informing them, "This is the main forum, which had multi-uses, serving as market place, public square, and the center of judicial and public business. Break into groups and discuss the many purposes of the forum for the rest of the lesson."

At seven that evening, Lucy and Mauro helplessly gravitated toward each other, Mauro explaining, "Lucy, I was not trying to seduce you the other evening. My tent really is full of research materials. Here are my Grandfather Guiseppe's archaeological notes and journals, over a hundred years old. I barely have room to sleep inside it. Many nights you will see me sleeping under the stars. You are a breath of fresh air! I need an assistant. How about it? I have an Egyptian dig coming up in Cairo. That endeavor will be the subject of my master's degree thesis project. It is the chance of a lifetime for me and most likely for you as well. Join me? Give it serious thought, please.

Down the line, while I am working on my doctorate degree, I intend to apply for several other digs, one in South America. I realize that I will be chosen only because I share my grandfather's surname. I could really use your help, Lucy. You seem to have a flair for archaeology. The Egyptian dig could help you explore that possibility. If you pass up this trip, you may someday wonder, 'What if?' Lucy, I always keep my options open. Think about it. Is my proposition, to be in the shadow of the Sphinx, within the realm of possibilities?"

She nodded. That night she would write, "I am excited about the possibility of going to Egypt! Three weeks with J-L is more than enough! The red flags about his jealous nature are unbearable! It is an unattractive, impossible trait!"

"Hello, Lucy, may I have a word with you alone? Or would it be too awkward for your friend, Mr. Broc?" Lucy agreed and they strolled away from Jean-Louis. Mauro explained to her, "Between what is here at the dig site and at the nearby museum, I am sure I can authorize art history credits for you. You could stay here with me and get study credits. We would not be roughing it but staying in a hotel in nearby Pompei, the modern city spelled with only one 'i,' with restaurants, taxis, buses, trains, and all the modern amenities. May I ask your thoughts?"

"Thanks for your kind invitation, Mauro. I would love to!" Later, Lucy would write, "J-L may not be the guy for me, since I wasn't aroused by the lotion incident. He was like a brother! But I'm not closing that door yet. I still may need his mother's help with my school work. I'm afraid of his jealous temper! But Mauro is so patient. I'm not afraid of him at all; I think he would calmly forgive me anything! And I like his philosophy about opening doors and exploring possibilities!"

It was evening by the time Lucy had defused the Jean-Louis predicament. Mauro approached her, holding an ancient chalice. "May I have a word, please, Lucy? This goblet may have belonged to Caesar Augustus, Octavius, Nero, or Caligula. I am trying to figure out which. How does it feel to commune with the ancients, to develop an obsession for them and for me? I hope!" As the couple perused Guiseppe's journals, Mauro whispered, "Lucy, have you considered my proposal?"