In the Beginning: Mars Origin I Series Book I Page 5

“An hour?” I asked. Why was he coming back? How was I going to get rid of this man?

  “Yes, to take you to Dr. Margulies.”

  “Dr. Margulies? I thought -” before I could finish my sentence he spoke again as if reading my mind.

  “He will be waiting for you for dinner.”

  Dinner? He must be mistaken. I looked at my watch, if I had set it right, it was only eleven-thirty in the morning. Maybe he meant lunch.

  “First, however, you must register at the University for the Seminar.”

  Oh yeah, the seminar. He had upset me so I had forgotten about registration. All I was thinking about was getting rid of him and finding Dr. Margulies so he could call him off.

  “I forgot about registration today.” I voiced part of my thoughts to him. “Then there are tours of the Holy Land and caves at Qumran, right?” He nodded. “So, I will have to sign up for those.” He looked at me while I collected my thoughts. “Okay, that will be fine. I’ll be ready in one hour. Will Dr. Margulies be at the University?”

  “I am not sure. But I am to take you there. I will take you there in one hour.”

  “Okay then, one hour.” I unlocked the door and picked up one of my bags to take in my room.

  “I will get those for you.” He flashed that beautiful smile and reached out to take the bag from my hand. I held on tight - did I really want to let this guy in my room? He nodded and pulled harder bearing that ever present smile and put the bag back on the cart and rolled it into my room. I stood at the door, holding it open. I certainly wasn’t going to let that door close with him in there. He seemed to pay no attention to me. Once he got the bags off the cart, he rolled it back in the hallway and turned and faced me. I said, “Thank. See you later,” and again waited for him to go. He didn’t. So, I just slowly closed the door and watched him disappear from my view, little by little. And, by the time the door had completely closed he still hadn’t moved.

  As a matter of fact, I don’t know that he ever moved, because when he hadn’t returned in an hour and ten minutes, I decided to go down to the lobby and wait for him there. But when I opened the door to my room, there he was, standing in the hallway, just as he had been when I closed the door. Of course, it startled me to see him standing there, I jumped, muffled a scream and dropped my satchel which made the stuff in it fall out. I stooped to pick the things up that I had dropped and bumped my head on the frame of the door which knocked me back on my butt. I just sat there rubbing my head and looking up at him. This guy was making me nuts.

  He smiled down at me and put out a hand to help me up. I’m sure he realized now that I was not one of the ‘elite’ scholars.

  “I will get your things.” He kneeled down and picked up everything while I stood clumsily by. Then he stood and handed me my satchel.

  “We can go to the University now,” he said as he took my arm and guided me down the hall. He must have thought I needed help standing up. I guess this was better than me running behind him like a little puppy.

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  We rode in silence to the University. And once we arrived, Ghazi didn’t move or say a word. He sat, face forward, hands in lap.

  “Are you coming in?” I asked.

  “No. I will wait for you here.”

  Good. I was happy to get away from him. All the practice I had dealing with wacky Claire, you’d think I could be more tolerant of this man.

  There were so many people at the seminar. It was nice to be surrounded by people of my profession. Rarely do you meet an archaeologist at the grocery store. I got registered and got my name tag. I signed up for a few lectures and for the tours that started tomorrow morning. I noticed there was a Meet & Greet, followed by dinner in one of the banquet rooms, and even though I was very hungry I wanted to wait and eat with Dr. Margulies, so I just ate chocolate cookies and drank black coffee, a little caffeine might help me deal with Ghazi better.

  There was a calendar of events with upcoming seminars and conventions. I noticed that the University was hosting some big medical research convention in the fall. I would have to remember to tell Claire about it. She might enjoy that. I know she would love this country.

  Each time I came to Israel, I never took the time to tour the city. I had been on excavations at various sites in the West Bank, in Negev, once in Jerusalem in the mid-1980s when they excavated at the City of David, and in Tel Dan. I decided that I would take the time while I was here this time and be a tourist. Me and my psyche needed the vacation.

  Registration and everything took me about three hours. I didn’t see Dr. Margulies anywhere. I guess I’d have to ride with Ghazi to find him. Despite the caffeine high, that still was a depressing thought.

  When I got out to the car, Ghazi was waiting patiently inside the car. He must be pretty hot, I thought, just sitting in a car for over three hours. Well, if it didn’t bother him, it definitely didn’t bother me. I couldn’t care less what this guy did as long as he did it somewhere other than where I was. I climbed into the back seat.

  “I’m ready to go and see Dr. Margulies now,” I said.

  “Fine,” he answered, but didn’t move, didn’t put the car in gear and didn’t say another word. Now what was he doing? Who knew what this guy was thinking. We sat there for about five minutes before I decided to speak up.

  “Uhm, wasn’t I suppose to have dinner with Dr. Margulies?” I was trying to remain pleasant.

  “Yes.”

  “Sooooo, are you going to take me to him?”

  “No need.”

  Okay, what’s going on here? I didn’t know what to do. I began to rub my brow back and forth. He was definitely getting on my last nerve. I looked around the car and fiddled with my satchel and the papers inside. This was ridiculous. I had to get away from this peculiar man.

  “Well then just take me back to the hotel and I’ll -” but before I could finish my sentence he opened the car door and got out. I turned and watched him out of the rear window walking over to a car parked behind us.

  Oh, this man is screwy. What is he doing now?

  Then the car door opened on the other car and Dr. Margulies got out.

  “Dr. Margulies,” I called his name as I opened my car door and tried to get out, my arm got tangled in the shoulder strap of my satchel and the seat belt. By that time I got untangled, Dr. Margulies was headed toward the car. I ran to meet him. “I am so happy to see you.” I hugged him tight.

  He smiled, surprised at my enthusiasm. “I’m happy to see you too. Has Ghazi taken good care of you?” I glanced over at the nincompoop standing at attention.

  “Where did you get him from?” I whispered.

  Dr. Margulies chuckled. “Come on, we’ll have dinner. We were going out but I think we’ll do better here. I found out that people from the museums will be here. We can mingle for a while, and it’ll be good PR for us. They’ll serve around five. Ghazi, you’ll be back for her in a few hours?” Ghazi nodded.

  Oh Lord, was I going to have to see him again? I had to tell Dr. Margulies to get rid of this man.

  I forgot all about Ghazi once I was inside. Dinner was great. The company was great. Everything was great. By the time dinner and the after-dinner conversation was over, it was starting to get dark. Dr. Margulies walked me out to the front of the University and, lo and behold, Ghazi was standing by. Now I remembered I needed to talk to Dr. Margulies about him.

  “I think after tonight,” I whispered, “I won’t need him to take me around anymore.”

  Dr. Margulies looked at me questioningly. “Well, how will you manage? You’ll need to get around to all the museums.” I raised an eyebrow of unwavering determination.

  “You’ll be alright on your own?”

  “Yes, I’ll be fine.”

  Anything was better than traveling around with this nitwit.

  I went over and got in the car and we drove home in silence, our usual arrangement. Once we got back to the hotel, he helped me out of the car and escorted me into the lobb
y. I stopped him there. I didn’t want him coming upstairs with me and standing outside my room all night.

  “Thank you, Ghazi. I’ll be fine from here.” I smiled and stuck out my hand for him to shake. Instead he took it and held it.

  “Until your accident this morning, I thought you were one of those conceited professors, but you are not,” he said. “I can see why Dr. Margulies is so fond of you. You are very much down to earth.”

  I took that as a compliment. I’m almost sure it was.

  “How about an adventure?” he asked with a mischievous grin.

  “An adventure?” I chuckled. Intrigue. I love it.

  I considered his invitation. Could I tolerate his strange behavior another minute? Dr. Margulies seems to like him. Maybe I should give him another chance.

  “This is a wonderful country.” He seem to know of my hesitation. “Our adventure will be much better than the guided tour offered by the University. It will teach you much better of this land. And -” he leaned down and lowered his voice as if he didn’t want anyone else to hear, “there are many locked rooms, dark corridors and damp cellars to see at the University. Would you like for me to show you?” He flashed those extremely white teeth and stood up straight to await my answer.

  He had transformed. Suddenly he seemed more capricious, he even had a furtive air about him. His eyes sparkled.

  What the heck? I decided trotting behind him another day wouldn’t kill me.

  “Yes, that would be very nice.”

  “Good, I shall pick you up at six.”

  “Six o’clock in the morning?”

  “Yes. See you then.”

  I watched as he turned and walked through the revolving glass door.

  Now he leaves, I thought, who wants to go sightseeing at six o’clock in the morning?

  CHAPTER TWELVE

  I took a warm bath and drifted into a deep sleep. The hotel phone’s ring roused me. I slipped and almost fell trying to get out of the tub to answer it. Dripping wet, I fell back onto the bed happy to hear Mase and my kids’ voice. We chatted for much longer than we should have since it was long distance. But I didn’t mind because I actually missed them. I rolled over after hanging up the phone and fell back asleep, naked with wet hair. It was the most pleasant, most calming sleep I had had in months.

  I woke up about five without the aid of an alarm clock. I felt good and was excited about being in Jerusalem. I hopped up to get ready for my day with my new crazy companion. I wondered what the day with him was going to be like. Waking at the crack of dawn and going touring at six in the morning, whoever heard of such a thing?

  After getting ready, I waited until exactly six o’clock. I knew he would be there. I opened the door and there he stood. I started to laugh. This guy was something else. He carried a red, plaid throw over his arm and a small basket. No telling what he was up to.

  We rode down on the elevator in silence. Other than hotel staff, there was not one other soul stirring at this hour. When we got outside the city was just as quiet, and it was so peaceful. I inhaled the air.

  “No car?” I asked.

  “No,” he answered and said nothing else.

  “We’re walking?” I asked as he took my arm and guided me down the street.

  “Yes, we will walk for a while, if that is all right with you.” He said it as more of a statement than a question

  “Whatever you say.”

  It was still gray out and the air was moist, I could smell the newness of the day.

  “There is something that you must see,” he spoke without me asking a question, and headed off the paved sidewalk to a dirt road that started up a hill behind the hotel.

  We climbed the hill and walked for about five minutes. Ghazi stopped at a place that he seemed to know and spread out the blanket.

  “This is the Mount of Olives,” he announced and gestured for me to sit. He pointed out across the hilltop, and there, up over the horizon, came the sun. It was riveting. It was like sitting in front of my French doors with God riding on the rays, only this was on a grand scale, it was majestic. God’s presence was illuminating. I could feel God put his arms around me and lift up my soul, pulling it toward heaven with the glowing orange-colored sun as it rose in the sky. The sun replaced the gray sky, enveloping it in golden light. I could feel the light take me over.

  When I looked down from the sky, Ghazi had set out muffins that he had brought and some kind of chocolate flavored coffee. I don’t really drink coffee but I love chocolate.

  We sat there for an hour or so and talked. I wouldn’t have ever thought that Ghazi could carry on a conversation for that long, but he proved to be an interesting man.

  After the sunrise we walked down Jericho Road to the Garden of Gethsemane. The garden is filled with ancient olive trees, some more than 1,500 years old. I walked among the history. It was so different from digging it up. The olive trees are beautiful. They are evergreen, with beautiful silvery green foliage, gnarled trucks and tiny white blossoms. Ghazi was very quiet now. And even with the city waking up and people coming out, everything around me felt quiet. I felt all the misery I had felt over the past few months dissipate.

  “There is one more place we must see before lunch,” he finally spoke.

  I smiled at him. Today I would follow without complaining. We walked down Ophel Road, through the Dung Gate of the Old City, which was enclosed by a forty-foot, 400-year-old wall, to the Ophel Archaeological Garden. I had been to this place before. Here was where I had got my first taste of Biblical archaeology. While standing in this place, you are transported back 3,000 years to the Books of Kings and Isaiah. It was here that King David built his palace and Solomon built his House of the Cedars of Lebanon. I had worked here on excavations, but today I saw it differently. I was really enjoying myself.

  We had lunch at the Cinematheque Café across the Hinnon Valley from the Old City walls. The menu was a potpourri of ethnic foods and entrée choices. I am, however, definitely not one to experiment with different foods. I am such a picky eater, whenever I go to another county I usually stick to chicken. No too many surprises in chicken. I’d rather not take chances with eating something I saw in the exotic section of the zoo. After lunch Ghazi announced it was time to go to the University.

  “We must get there before the tour group returns,” he explained. We got a taxi over to the University and once inside, Ghazi led me up a set of back stairs to the second floor.

  “We will only go into the rooms that are locked,” he said and flashed that mischievous smile again. “You try that side of the hall,” he pointed to the doors on the other side of the hallway, “and I will try this side.”

  “What if it is someone’s office?” I asked as I turned the knob to the first door.

  “No one has maintained offices on this end of the floor since two years ago. It is completely unoccupied. We will be safe.”

  The tractable trait that I first notice seemed to disappear, I liked this man. He was so different from yesterday.

  Ghazi found the first locked room. It was Room 207.

  CHAPTER THIRTEEN

  “Psst,” Ghazi got my attention and pointed to the locked door. He beckoned for me to come over.

  “We will go in here.” He produced a set of keys from his pocket and began trying to open the door.

  “How many sets of keys do you have in that pocket?” I asked amused remembering how he had produced my hotel room key from that same pocket.

  “One must always be prepared,” he answered.

  We went into the room. The shades were drawn. It was dark and smelled musty. The bookshelves in the room were bare and there were a few papers on the desk. Ghazi looked at me.

  “Nothing here, we will try the next one,” he instructed. He closed the door and locked it back.

  The next room I found. It was a corner office, Rm. 204.

  When we unlocked and opened the door, it looked as if it was presently occupied. It was bright and airy. A cool b
reeze streamed in through the half-opened window and sunlight bathed the room.

  “Maybe we shouldn’t be in here,” I suggested.

  “Nonsense,” he flashed a smile to reassure me. “It is all right.”

  I was probably going to end up in jail or get deported by fraternizing with this guy. But I was having fun and was glad I decided to hang out with him.

  The room’s décor was sparse, two file cabinets, a large desk with a lamp, an old swivel desk chair that squeaked when I sat in it, and a coat rack, all looking as if they belonged in the 1940s. Bookcases lined the walls with several dozen books scattered on the shelves. Papers were stacked neatly on the desk as if someone had just stop writing and was called away momentarily. I watched Ghazi go over to the first file cabinet. Pulling on it, he found it was locked. I raised my eyebrows questioningly.

  “Not to fear,” he said, taking out the key ring and without much effort, finding a key that fit the lock.

  I smiled. I got up and went over to look in the cabinet. There were several bound notebooks inside the drawer. I reached inside, grabbed one, opened it up and found it was a journal. I laid it aside and picked up another one. It was just like the other one.

  “Here, help me bring some of these over to the desk.” I walked over and sat at the desk and began to read one of the journals.

  “What is it?” Ghazi asked.

  “Journals. I think they belonged to the first interpreters of the Dead Sea Scrolls.” I flipped through the pages of the book. “The entries were made in the late forties.” I read a couple of pages and grinned up at Ghazi, “This is great. These are day-by-day descriptions of what happened during the initial translation process. Personal observations.” Excitement filled my voice. “Maybe we could find out what took them so long to make the Scrolls public.” Ghazi came, leaned down and inspected the journal.

  “This is good?” he asked.

  “Well, it’s very interesting. Yes, I think it’s good. Go and see what else is in the cabinet.”