Chapter Four
Ellie's Discontent
When she saw his silver car pull up into the driveway, her first reaction was one of ecstatic surprise. He wasn't due home for another two weeks, but here he was strolling up the walkway to the house. Then dread clasped her heart and she worried that maybe he had lost the last of his funding, coming home to recuperate from the blow. She flung open the door and the first thing she noticed was his slumped shoulders. He had an anxious, worried, and weary presence about him that put her on high alert. "Alan?" she questioned with unease.
He peered up at her somewhat sheepishly as if he was about to tell her something that he knew she would loathe. Something that he understood was wrong of him to say, but, nevertheless, needed to be confessed. Ellie reached out, grasping one of his hands and realizing for the first time that he wasn't carrying any of his luggage. "Alan?" she asked again, this time her worry seeping through in waves. "What is it? The funding?"
He quietly shook his head and walked passed her into the foyer, shedding off his jacket and draping it over the coat stand. He staggered into the living room, plopping down on a black leather couch. He rubbed his hands over his face. I need a shave, he somehow managed to casually think.
Ellie lowered herself onto the sofa beside him. "Tell me, Alan."
Grant sighed and stared over at her apologetically. "I took a job offer. It'll require me leaving the country for a few days, but I don't expect to be gone much longer than three or four days."
"What? What job offer? What about the dig?"
"I'm doing this for the dig, Ellie. A man named Paul Kirby approached me a couple days ago with a proposition. He is paying me three million dollars to talk about dinosaurs."
Ellie gasped. "What?" She gazed into his eyes for some sign. "Why would someone pay you three million just to talk about dinosaurs? And why would that require you to leave the country? What aren't you telling me, Alan?"
Alan glanced briefly away. "Mr. Kirby and his wife have gotten permission from the Costa Rican government to fly low over Isla Sorna. I'm going to be their tour guide of sorts."
Her breath caught in her throat and she coughed, choking on her oxygen. "Wh-what? And you agreed to this? Without even talking to me? Alan!" She rose from the couch and began pacing, her hands tugging at the hem of her shirt. "I can't believe this. I just can't!" She stopped walking and stared him dead in the eye. "Alan, you can't go."
Grant shot up from the couch. "Ellie, don't you understand? I don't want to go, but three million dollars could keep my dig going for at least two years. I could even stretch it to four or five if I budget well enough."
"Forget the money, Alan! This is your life we're talking about here!"
"Ellie, we aren't going to land."
"What if something went wrong with the plane? And you had to have an emergency landing? Or god forbid, the plane crashes?" She tossed her hands in the air. "No. Just no, Alan, you can't do this! Leave anything that has to do with Jurassic Park or John Hammond alone! Forget about the dinosaurs and the Kirby's millions! Think about your family!" By this moment she was openly sobbing: her fear for him overwhelming her to the point that her memories of being chased by raptors pressed for her attention.
"Ellie, what are the chances of that happening? If I truly thought that something would go wrong, I wouldn't take the job. I don't want to be on that island anymore than you want me to. I had my share of being attacked by Hammond's engineered theme park monsters." He wrapped his arms around her, drawing her close. "I wouldn't jeopardize my life, Ellie. You, Charlie, and Amy are too important to me to do that."
Ellie clung to his shirt, weeping into his shoulder. "No, Alan, no…" in the back regions of her recollection she could hear the chirping of the raptors, roar of the t-rex, and, strangely, the sound of the rain pounding on the roof of the vehicles.
He rubbed his arms along her back, a futile attempt at soothing her. "It'll be ok, Ellie. I promise you."
End Chapter Four
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