Chapter 7: Relocating

June 19, 1991 - Wednesday

Ellie awoke to the sounds of birds singing. She thought she was dreaming at first, but slowly realized it was reality. The window in the bedroom was opened about half way, allowing a gentle breeze to flow through the small bedroom. Remembering the events of the night before, she stretched and smiled, savoring the wonderful memory.

She turned over, her soft blonde hair moving lightly in the breeze, expecting to see Alan there. He wasn't and she sighed with disappointment. She glanced at the alarm clock. It said 6:18am. With the sheet over her body, she slowly sat up in the bed and searched for her clothes. She was still smiling, as she found all the necessary things to make her look proper. It was around that time, when the smell of a delicious breakfast hit her senses. She had never gotten the opportunity to eat last night and now she was absolutely starving. She quickly put on her clothes and headed out of the bedroom. As she was making her way to the kitchen, she decided to quietly stop at the bathroom to use the facilities and freshen up a little bit. When she was finished, she headed to the kitchen area and found what she was looking for.

Alan was sitting in one of the chairs at the kitchen table, eating some bacon and drinking some orange juice. He's handsome, great in bed, and he cooks. When he saw Ellie approach the table, he quickly wiped his face with a napkin and stood up.

"Good morning, sunshine," he said, smiling.

Ellie laughed. "Sunshine?"

"Yeah. When I see you, it instantly feels like a warm ray of direct sunshine is coming down upon me."

Ellie smiled and then she yawned involuntarily. "That's about the corniest thing a man has ever said to me."

Alan smirked. "Well, sorry. I guess I'm still feeling a little light headed after that blow to the head last night."

Ellie walked over to him and hugged him. When she let go, she kissed him again. It was very nice to wake up to this, first thing in the morning, and Ellie believed that she could easily get used to it.

"It might have been corny, but it's also one of the most romantic things a man has ever said to me," she said.

Before he could respond, she leaned in and kissed him again, shutting him up. They stayed in that position for quite some time, and then Ellie settled in to eat breakfast.

"This could be complicated," she said, looking around the small kitchen.

"It could be, I agree," he said, sipping his orange juice.

"I'm a coffee drinker. I don't see any coffee around here," she said, smiling.

Alan laughed at her little joke. "Well, there's a coffee maker in the cabinet. I don't usually do coffee, but every once in a while it sounds good."

Ellie nodded, got up, and went to the cabinet he was pointing to. She tinkered with the coffee maker for a minute and managed to get it working. She sat back down.

"Seriously, though," she said, "I'll work this however you want. You want this to be a secret, I can do that."

"I really don't know what I want."

"Well, I would think our . . . involvement . . . would look less than favorable to your colleagues."

"I thought of that, but I'm not sure I even care what they think."

She had the urge to kiss him again, but held off. As she stood up, he joined her. She wrapped her arms around his neck and they held each other, kissing and smiling.

Alan glanced at his watch.

"When were you planning on leaving?" Ellie asked.

"7:00am," he said as he looked away from his watch.

"What time is it?"

"6:38."

Ellie stared into his eyes, knowing full well what she wanted. "We've got some time on our hands, then," she whispered as she kissed his neck repeatedly.

He looked around for a minute, and then settled his gaze on her. He put a hand under her elbow and gently pulled. In seconds, she was directing him toward the bedroom, nuzzling his ear.

June 26, 1991 - Wednesday

The apartment door opened with a creek and Ellie let him inside. Alan walked into the small apartment and took in the surroundings.

"Very nice," he said.

"Thanks. I haven't taken too much time decorating and whatnot, but it's suitable."

"Yes, it is."

"Besides, I'm barely ever here anymore," she added.

For the last week, Ellie had been staying with Alan and had only stepped into the apartment for clothes and things that first day. Alan was still looking around when she had added that comment.

He looked at her and smiled. "Sorry about that. I guess I've been keeping you busy."

Ellie was slightly embarrassed, but then she got over it. "Well, you can keep me busy any day of the week," she said, smiling.

He moved closer to her and reached for her hand. "This really is a very nice place. Maybe I should move in here?"

"That could be arranged," she said, bringing his hand to her mouth and kissing it.

Alan thought about it for a moment. It would be nice to be away from the dig site, but he knew his presence at the field was needed. Sometimes at very strange hours.

"I better stick to sleeping at the dig site," he said.

"Want some . . . permanent company?"

He didn't even have to think about the answer to that question. He answered, "Absolutely."

Ellie smiled even more than she had already been, if that was possible.

"I'll see if I can get Allison to take this apartment. Or at least share it with me. If I offer to still pay for half of everything, she should agree with not too much of a problem. She's on a half-dozen waiting lists around town for an apartment, so she's definitely looking."

"The Grant suite . . . is yours, my lady," he teased.

"Oh, thanks," she said, and then she added, "Can I redecorate?"

He laughed, but didn't answer.

Later in the day, Ellie had forced herself to separate from Alan so that she could get some work done. She was back at the dig site, and she and Allison resumed their searching from the previous day. After an exhaustive search in the heat, turning up absolutely nothing, they began to walk back to the camp. While carefully looking around at the ground, Ellie decided it was the perfect time to ask Allison about the apartment.

"Are you still looking for a place to stay?"

"Yeah, I am, but how did you know?"

"Grapevine," Ellie answered, joking.

Allison laughed. "So, do you have a suggestion?"

"I sure do. What about my apartment? I've been staying on site here for the last couple of weeks, so I don't really use it much. I don't see myself using much any time soon, either."

"Why is that? Weren't you the one against staying here? Living in a tent."

"That's true, but I've changed my mind."

"I'm not one to question the good faith of a friend. So I'm just going to say thanks. That would be great, Ellie."

"And I'll still pay for half of everything, if you need me to, since I might find myself staying there every once in a while."

"That would help me out tremendously. But you're not exactly made of money."

"Well, if you didn't move in there, I'd be paying all of the expenses. With you there, I'll only be paying for half. So it's a good deal for both of us really."

"Sounds perfect."

"Just say the word and I'll help you move in."

"How's this weekend sound?"

"Sounds fine to me," Ellie said.

"Okay, I'm going to be away on Saturday, but Sunday would be perfect," Allison said, trying to remember her schedule of free time.

"Sunday it is, then. I'll meet you over at the apartment Sunday afternoon. You remember where it is, right?"

"Yeah. After I've been to a place once, I can remember the way. I'm lucky like that," Allison said.

"I wish I could say the same thing," Ellie said, smiling, "I'm pretty much forgetful about everything."

"I won't hold it against you," Allison teased.

Ellie laughed. "Thanks. See ya on Sunday, and maybe around here in the next couple of days," she said.

Allison nodded and walked toward the East area of the dig site, where some of the tents were located. Ellie stood in place for quite a while, thinking about all the time she could spend with Alan. Now that she only had to worry about half of the apartment expenses, she didn't feel as guilty for spending so many nights with him. She was sure that her mother would never understand the situation, though. She would have to tell her about the progress in her life sooner or later. She opted for later. Much later.