III
Family Issues
"So how did a girl like you land with a man like O'Connell, anyway?" inquired Jonathan of Cordelia once they exited the car and onto the docks. Readjusting her bag over her shoulder, Cordelia looked up at him.
"The marriage was arranged four years ago, when I was twenty," Cordelia replied shortly, casting her gaze over her surroundings for any sign of Rick. They began making their way towards the large vessel.
"An arranged marriage?" Jonathan said, a sly edge to his voice as he walked between Evy and Cordie. "So, you don't love him?"
"Jonathan!" Evy snapped, hitting her brother upside the head with her purse.
"It's just he doesn't seem a man that any parent would want their child to marry," continued Jonathan pointedly. "Frankly, it doesn't make much sense. Aren't arranged marriages usually made for acquiring a large sum of money? Does O'Connell have a large stash of dough up those rags of his?"
"Rags, you say?" said a voice from behind them. The three of them turned in unison to find the keeper of the voice. It was none other than Rick, but he was most certainly not dressed in rags. His attire had been cleaned up to a modest white, button down shirt and tan trousers. His face was shaved clean, revealing his handsome features, and he had rid himself of his matted brown hair, proving to have an acceptable and decent haircut.
Cordelia stared at him for a full ten seconds, setting down her bag and earning an arched brow from Rick. Even Evy was staring at Rick with surprised yet twinkling eyes. This didn't bother Cordelia; for though Rick made her feel many feelings, frustration and anger being the two main ones, jealousy was never caused.
Yet she couldn't deny she had forgotten, or never full appreciated, how handsome Rick O'Connell was.
"You're gonna stare a hole through my brain," Rick said.
Cordelia caught herself and looked edgily away.
"You certainly got cleaned up well," she noted. Understatement of the year.
He gave her a sarcastic smile.
"I do a lot of things well, princess," he remarked. "Like giving advice. And I'm advising you not to come on this little voyage we got going on here. You're too—dainty to get mixed up with the crap that's going on in Hamunaptra."
Cordelia seized herself with a proud look, her chin high, and her dark eyes set straight on Rick's.
"This was my decision and I'll be damned if you can find a way to change my mind. Either accept that I'm tagging along, or don't."
Rick's eyebrows rose.
"And you really think daddy and mommy dearest are okay with their only daughter going out to discover the city of the dead in the Sahara desert? Do they even know you're here?"
"We do now!" cheered a voice from down the street. And just like when Rick had unexpectedly arrived, every single persons' head moved in the direction of the call. Cordelia was set back with an array of fear and disbelief.
Walking down the road was none other than her mother and father, followed behind a young Arabian man who looked to be carrying all of their belongings. Cordelia's mother, in a finest sun dress of baby-blue silk, had her usual yellow-blonde hair tied up in a neat updo. Yet her blue dress was stretched slightly over her large stomach, creating a rather disturbing image.
Opposed to Cordelia's mother's rather round figure, her father was as thin and tall as a board, his lanky knees barely visible in his overlarge brown trousers. His glasses were placed on the brim of his pointed, crooked nose, and he held a rather more stern face than Cordelia's mother.
Cordie gaped at the sight until both of her parents approached them. Her mother gave her a bone-crushing hug and her father nodded curtly in her direction.
"Mother, father," said Cordelia, realizing her effort to try to sound excited was in vain. "I thought you were on your way to England this morning?"
"We got caught up at the docks," shrugged Mrs. Lockhart, placing a pudgy hand upon Cordelia's shoulder. Almost on every single of her stump-like fingers held a jewel ring that was much too small. "A delay. Something wrong with the engine. Luckily, Mrs. White sent an immediate letter telling us where you were off to."
"We were most certainly not going to let you run amok with—Americans," uttered Mr. Lockhart, his little beady gaze scanning over a crowd of men who were boarding the ship and all had a very Southern, American style and were all shouting animatedly. "And going off into the Sahara desert to God knows what!"
"Not alone, anyway," cooed Mrs. Lockhart. "We're coming with you, darling."
"You're letting me go?" Cordelia asked, surprised.
"Of course," said Mrs. Lockhart with an airy laugh. "This is for your studies, isn't it? You're going into the desert to do college work?"
"Right," said Cordelia shortly with a glance towards the others. It took Cordelia a great deal of effort not to burst out laughing at the scene. Jonathan's mouth was slightly ajar as he registered the large size of Mrs. Lockhart, yet Cordie could tell his interest was more heavily endorsed upon the fancy and expensive jewels she wore. Evy looked momentarily stunned. Rick—well—he looked revolted.
Mrs. Lockhart's blue eyes shifted from her daughter to Rick and her smile grew.
"Richard O'Connell, my dear, dear boy," she purred, bumping her large waist into Cordelia so she was knocked aside and allowing Mrs. Lockhart to advance upon Rick, who looked as though a large nasty fly was approaching him. She took a hold of either side of his face and kissed him on each cheek with a prominent 'smooching' sound, leaving behind two freshly print pink lipstick stains on his face.
Rick wasn't even trying to conceal that he was plainly disgusted.
"Mother!" said Cordelia, completely surprised. "You do know that Rick was proclaimed dead for over three years now, don't you?"
Mrs. Lockhart waved an impatient fat hand aside
"I never believed those soldiers for a second, a second!" she repeated as if suspicious no one would believe her. "Richard was always much too good to ever fall to his death in battle. I knew he was alive from the start."
Cordelia's mouth continued to hang open. Watching Mrs. Lockhart swoon over Rick, she know understood a large part of Rick's unwillingness to marry into the family.
"Not meaning to interrupt family fun time," said Jonathan loudly, who was looking like he was trying a great deal not to laugh. "But I assume none of us want to miss the boat?"
"No, no, good point!" said Rick hastily, grabbing his bags and turning on his heel, being the first one to board onto the ship at full speed.
"He's a sweetie, that one," said Mrs. Lockhart lightly, folding her hands over Cordelia's as they boarded. "Always able to make me laugh. He'll be a fine husband for you, my dear Cordelia."
"Mmm," Cordelia replied dully.
"I'm thinking a large summer wedding in England. Perhaps back at home, in London. Would you like that, Cordelia?"
But Cordelia was no longer listening to her mother's drawls. She didn't want her parents to be here and as much as she hated succumbing to the spoiled child, it downright wasn't fair. Though keeping it a secret from everyone, Cordelia had always dreamed of going on an adventure like this. Swordplay, daring escapes, riding into the desert on a camel, finding some long lost city.
Though the image she pictured in her mind definitely did not include her parents' involvement.
"Rooms 117, and 118," her mother was saying, having took Cordie's hand and dragged her away from the rest of the group. "How nice. We're right next to each other."
"Oh," said Cordelia, with ill-disguised disdain.
"I can help you unpack, darling. I had Jamal here carry a suitcase I packed for you."
"No, that's alright. I'm rather tired. I think I would like to rest before dinner."
Mrs. Lockhart smiled, her many chins rolling up against her neck. She tucked on of Cordelia's loose dark curls, so unlike her mother's blonde ones, and nodded her head.
"Very well, dear. I will meet you later in the dining area, yes?"
Cordelia gave a noncommittal nod before taking her keys and pressing them into the lock of door '118' and entering. The room was neatly decorated, but was refreshingly simple. It was not too big. Simple cot up against the wall, an antique writing desk, a mirror, bureau, and a bathroom.
Though the independence was what Cordelia was craving. She leaned against the shut door, kneading her eyes with her knuckles and taking a deep breath. She turned the oil lamp on and grabbed her suitcase, placing it on the desk and opening it. She put away many of her dresses and other various clothing in drawers of the bureau before falling, fully clothed, upon the soft cot.
She was unbelievably tired. And the entire thing with Rick and her parents was not helping. She dhifted her head so it rested on the pillow and closed her eyes, feeling the ship finally set off from the dock and sway on the Nile River.
She eventually dozed off into a deep sleep where she was visited by dreams of mummies and warriors, great lost tombs and undiscovered fortune, fighting the evil antagonist. Yet it wasn't Rick who was doing the fighting in the dreams; it wasn't he who held the weapon. Cordelia was the one perched with a sword hand and facing some unknown evil.
Cordelia's mouth curled into a smile as she slept.
.
Cordelia woke up one hour later, glancing at her clock to see that it was almost time for dinner. She got up and washed, dressed in a loose dress of magenta, and put her dark hair half-up so the rest rested alongside her shoulders and back. She applied her favorite crimson-red lipstick that she never left home without.
When satisfied with her overall appearance, she emerged from her room and found that the sun was just setting in the horizon, casting its last orangey rays over the surface of the river water. She walked down the steps before realizing she actually had no incline of where the dining hall was.
It couldn't be that hard to miss . . . a dining hall on a boat this size is bound to be large, right?
Yet also due to the ship's ample size, it made things slightly more difficult to find anything. And Cordelia guessed no one was around because they were all in the dining room eating dinner, wherever that may be.
Upon her second circulation of the ship, she found she was not the only one wondering. She saw the figure of Rick gazing at the wall where a map of the ship was perched. She hit herself mentally for not thinking of this herself.
He looked up as she approached.
"Oh. Hi," he said dismissively, turning back to the map.
"Lost?" she asked.
"Yep," he said, trailing his finger along the map surface.
"We're in the same boat," she said without thinking, realizing the stupidity of her words. Rick glanced at her, giving her a dry smile.
"Nice pun."
"I try."
He looked away again.
"I think the dining hall is somewhere on the first floor, I get that. But where are we?"
Cordelia peered over Rick's shoulder to inspect the map. She glanced to their right.
"Well, that's the entry to the pool room, right" she asked.
"Yeah."
"Well, it shows that the pool room is not far off from the dining hall."
"No," said Rick, but he took another glance at the map. "Yes."
"Then we're on the right track."
"Right," said Rick, an air of triumph in his voice.
"Shall we?" inquired Cordelia.
Rick just nodded and they continued to walk in slightly awkward silence.
"I'm not sure if I can trust you to lead us to the lost city of the dead when you can't even find the dining hall," chuckled Cordelia.
"Speak for yourself," said Rick.
"I'm not expected to lead this group to fame and fortune. I'm just tagging along."
"And I still beg the question: why?"
"Maybe I'm not as 'dainty' as you think," Cordelia said smartly.
Rick snorted.
"Maybe not, but you're still as stubborn and hot-headed as I remember, which still leads me to believe that you're going to get yourself killed."
"I'm surprised you remember anything about me," Cordelia said, slight anger flickering inside her. "I don't think you have the right to tell me what I am, and what I'm not."
Rick merely shrugged.
"Fair enough, princess."
"Would you please stop calling me that?"
"Why?" Rick laughed, actually almost stopping to register Cordelia with a dubious look.
"I'm not a princess. What makes you even call me that?"
"Because you're rich and spoiled like one," Rick replied without pause.
Oh, how he could infuriate her so! And within minutes! It was like he was intentionally trying to raise her anger and make her blood boil. Was that his plan all along? To make Cordelia so fed up with him that she plain out refused to ever marry him? Well, if so, then he was pretty damn close to getting his way.
"You are a monkey!" she retorted angrily, stopping in her tracks and glaring at Rick. He stopped walking, but he didn't automatically turn to face her.
"A—" he said, halfway in turning to look at her.
"A monkey!" she said again, more firmly. "You are an arrogant, thick-skulled, evil, little monkey!"
Rick was now fully facing her now, a single brow arched and an uncertain smile creeping along his lips.
"A monkey?" he repeated, taking a step closer. "That's the best you got?"
"Yes," she replied without shame. "Monkeys are always playing around, fooling people and never taking anything seriously. A man-child. I do not understand why you never talked to me with anything but sarcasm, but I can understand your disdain. That does not mean you have to act like a child."
Rick was trying to force his amusement through his confusion and slight irritation.
He opened his mouth to respond but was cut off by the sudden opening of a door not far off. Out emerged Jonathan, his face a shiny red and a large grin on his face. "You two!" he said drunkenly, pointing aimlessly at Rick and Cordelia. "I was jus' 'bout to go look for you. Come in! The party is—hic—smashing!"
Cordelia aimed a look of disdain towards Rick before striding past him and entering the dining hall at last, Rick following quietly behind.
I hope I did okay with some of the descriptions and that the appearance of Cordelia's parents isn't too strange. As always, reviews would be most welcome and don't be afraid to be honest! I want to know how I'm doing!