Eugene couldn't shake an air of foreboding as he checked his tie in the mirror one last time. He'd spent the last evening and all day avoiding any mention of curses and fervently hoped Heath wouldn't say anything during the party tonight. He heard his mother call that the first guests would be arriving soon and hurried down the stairs. The party was for him and it just wouldn't do to be late. As he stepped off the last step, Eugene's ankle turned and he landed in an ungraceful heap at Audra's feet.
"Gene, are you all right?" his sister asked with concern as she helped him up.
Eugene gingerly put weight on the affected leg. It hurt, but not badly. "Don't think anything's broken, guess I'm just lucky."
A knock was heard at the door and the two youngest Barkleys went to greet their first guests.
Soon, the house was filled with laughing people, friends and neighbours pleased to welcome the youngest Barkley son back to the valley. Particularly Allison Chalmers. Allison was a friend of Audra's, a few years younger than Eugene's sister. The adults had always referred to the red haired girl as a 'late bloomer' but Eugene just thought of her as a pest when she used to follow him around. But looking at Allison, he finally understood exactly what they meant. Her copper coloured hair was piled fashionably atop her head and her figure was just as curvy now as it had been straight before. She had apparently just arrived back in Stockton herself, having attended a fashionably women's college in Boston and was dressed in what Audra assured him was the latest style.
"So you were in Egypt?" Allison asked, intrigued. "Is it just as exotic and fascinating as everyone says?"
Eugene nodded, enchanted by Allison's attention. "Parts of it, at least. The Pyramids, the bazaars, the Nile…" He paused as he recollected the mighty river. "You know the San Joaquin delta?" At Allison's nod, he continued. "Well, it's a small slough compared to the Nile."
"I've always wanted to travel overseas," Allison gushed with a dramatic sigh. "I hope I get the chance to someday. To see the museums and cathedrals of Europe, plus the shopping, I can't imagine anything more exciting." She laughed, a slightly artificial sound, but it was still music to Eugene's ears. "But since both of us have just come back, I think you'll agree it's nice to be back home."
Eugene was absolutely mesmerized by her dazzling smile. "Are you planning to stay in Stockton?" he wanted to know. Maybe he could look into finishing his medical training closer to home.
"For the time being," Allison informed him. "Mother insists on introducing me to every eligible bachelor in town." She placed a well-manicured hand on Eugene's arm. "I can say, sometimes it's a pleasure."
Eugene wondered if the room was actually getting warmer, or if it was just his proximity to the lovely Allison. But it made for a perfect opening.
"Would you like to go outside and get some air?" he asked sociably. "I believe the roses are still blooming."
Allison gave him another heart-stopping smile. "I'd love to, Eugene."
He offered her his arm and they made their way outside. A chill breeze made Eugene shiver as they strolled over to the rosebushes. Allison leaned over to sample the fragrance of a large, pink blossom.
That was when tragedy struck. Somehow, Eugene's injured ankle, which had been fine most of the evening, spasmed and turned, causing him to lose his balance. He tried to right himself, but it was too late. Eugene tumbled into Allison and knocked her headfirst into the flowerbed.
Eugene hastily got up from where he'd landed on the girl and attempted to help Allison to her feet. She shoved his hands away and pulled herself up.
Allison looked down at her dirtied and torn dress in dismay. "Eugene Barkley, how could you?" she wailed. "You've ruined my dress! It came all the way from Paris!" She tried to push her disheveled hair into place, but only succeeded in streaking dirt across her forehead. "I hate you!" she screeched and rushed back into the house.
Eugene could faintly hear her crying, "Mother! Take me home this instant!" Allison's distress, combined with her appearance, was likely causing a stir and Eugene decided the wisest thing he could do was just stay out of sight.
He found a shadowy spot beneath a large tree and sank to the ground. His homecoming had not been the triumphant return he envisioned. Instead, it had just been one disaster after another. Eugene sighed, buried his face in his hands and waited for the guests to leave.
When he thought it was safe, Eugene made his way back to the house. He quietly entered the deserted parlour, walked over to the table where the Egyptian jars currently resided and stared at them.
"Reckon you're going to get rid of them now?"
Eugene turned slowly to face Heath, who was standing behind him.
"You know, Heath, you may be right, there might be something to this curse business after all." Eugene gave the artifacts a regretful look. "I think I'll start looking around for a museum that might want to take them."
Heath slung a companionable arm around his brother's shoulders. "Don't forget, a curse and a blessing are only different sides of the same coin." He reached up and tousled Eugene's hair before the younger man could react. "Without that curse, you may have ended up married to the likes of Allison Chalmers."
"And that might indeed have been the biggest curse of all," Eugene acknowledged, laughing, as the two brothers headed up the stairs.
.
.
Historical notes: William Flinders Petrie was born in England in 1853 and after his excavations at Giza in 1880-1883, became a professor of Egyptian Archaeology at University College, London. The Petrie Museum in London houses one of the world's leading collections of Egyptian artifacts in the world today.
Tales of the Mummy's Curse have existed in literature since the 1820's. Louisa May Alcott published a story entitled "Lost in a Pyramid or The Mummy's Curse" in 1869, even before Howard Carter's discovery of Tutankhamen's tomb in 1922.