Indy had said his goodbyes and was now driving back to his hotel. At that moment, out of nowhere, he heard a loud bang. The jeep began to slow and gradually crawled to a complete stop.
Wonderful! Thought Indy.
Then, he heard it.
It was the sound of another jeep and the sound was getting closer and closer. Sure enough, a jeep came into view and when the driver reached Indy, she stopped. Indy had to do a double take because the driver bore a striking resemblance to the women that he had just met.
The woman got out of the car and smiled at the handsome stranger.
"Hello there", she said in a distinctly British accent. "I see you need some help there."
Indy smiled at the attractive woman. "It's okay."
"Now, I know you know how to change a tire", she began. "But two heads are better than one,"
"Agreed", said Indy, getting out of the jeep.
"I'm Marianne", she told him, introducing herself.
"Indiana."
"What an interesting name. Are you from the same state?"
"No, I'm actually from New Jersey."
"How interesting!" she exclaimed.
After the tire was replaced, as a thank you for stopping, Indy asked her if she was available for dinner that evening.
"Actually, I'm busy this evening."
"Okay, how about breakfast tomorrow?"
She agreed.
The next morning, Indiana Jones was sat at his hotel café waiting for Marianne to arrive. Moments later, she arrived and sat down opposite him.
"Good morning Indiana."
He smiled. "Please, call me Indy."
"Indy?" she began "That sounds like an even more interesting name. So, Indy, what do you do for a living?"
The waiter came over and poured her some coffee and she thanked him.
"I'm an archaeologist," he told her.
"How fascinating! How long have you been doing that for?"
"I've been an archaeologist for over a decade now."
"You know, we never told each other our last names. I'm Marianne Kennedy."
"Indiana Jones," he replied. "Kennedy. I take it you're related to Angelina Kennedy?"
"Yes, she's my sister. But, how did you know?"
Indy told her about the tiger cub and how he came to know Angelina.
"So, Doctor Jones, you're an archaeologist. I bet that must take you to all kinds of different exotic locations."
"It sure does." He paused. "And what do you do for a living?" He asked, taking a sip of his coffee.
"I'm a herpetologist."
Indy's eyes widened and he almost spat out his coffee.
"Indy, are you okay?" she asked, concerned.
"Uh, yeah. I'm uh, fine", he said, recovering his composure.
"Yes. As you have gathered, both me and my sister both love animals; her interest is in local wildlife, mine is with snakes. Snakes are fascinating creatures, don't you agree?"
"Uh, yeah. I guess so."
If only she knew, he thought.
"I have several as pets at my house. You must come over and see them. Are you busy tonight?"
Indy's mind raced with anxiety. She seemed so enamoured with snakes that he didn't quite know how to tell her that he had a major snake phobia. Indy believed that the correct term was ophidiaphobia.
"Um, I guess I could, but I'm not sure I should…"
But Marianne wasn't really listening. "Great! I'll pick you up about here at your hotel at seven this evening."
Earlier at breakfast, Indy didn't get a chance to tell Marianne that he absolutely and unequivocally hated snakes. Now he found himself in his hotel room, full of anxiety. Sure, snakes were interesting creatures but due to his bad experience when he was a boy scout, Indy was unable to get over his fear. Sallah and Marion had held a great deal of admiration for him last year when he was searching for the Ark of the Covenant and had to go into a chamber with at least five thousand snakes. This had not been a comfortable situation for the archaeologist, but nonetheless, he had gotten through it. His original experience still gave him nightmares to this day though. Seven O'clock arrived and Marianne met Indy in the lobby.
On the way to her house, Indy was very quiet to say the least and Marianne had picked up on it.
"Indy, you're very quiet this evening. Is everything okay?"
"Uh yeah, I'm fine", he lied.
"So, I have several snakes at my house. They are all upstairs in glass cases but I can let them out and they are free to run, well, slither around the house."
Indy's mouth went dry.
"Ah, here we are", she said, as they house came into view.
They got out of the car and Marianne got out the key to the front door.
Beads of sweat began to form on Indy's forehead.
"Are you okay?" she asked.
"Uh, I'm uh, fine."
"Oh no!" she exclaimed.
"What is it?" he asked.
"I've done it again! I presumed that you like snakes like I presume with everyone!"
She looked at him. He looked clearly uncomfortable.
"You don't like snakes, do you?"
"Well, uh, not exactly…"
"Oh Indy. I'm sorry! We don't have to go in."
"It's okay", he told her. "Besides, you said yourself that they are upstairs."
She nodded.
"Yes they are. And the door is locked."
"It's alright. I mean, I'm okay to go in."
She smiled and opened the door.
After entering the house, she showed Indy to the living room.
"Would you like a drink? I have some wine that I recently bought."
"Sure."
"Please, make yourself at home."
After pouring them both a drink, she joined him on the couch. She passed him a glass and he took a sip.
"Very nice", he said.
"So Indy, if you don't mind me asking, did you have a bad experience with snakes at one point?"
He nodded. "You could say that."
Indy told her about the time when he was thirteen years old and living with his father in Utah. He continued to tell her about the small adventure that he had experienced while coming across four tomb robbers and him finding the Cross of Coronado.
"I've been searching for that cross for twenty-five years. I hope to get it back someday."
"Oh Indy", she said sympathetically. "It's no wonder you hate snakes. I'm really sorry. That was an interesting tale, though. I hope you get it back soon." She paused a moment. "Doctor Jones, I get the feeling that encounter is where your adventures began."
"How did you guess?"
"Well, that day I met you when you got a flat tire, I noticed you were carrying a bullwhip. Not a regular tool for a regular archaeologist."
He leaned back into the couch. "Well, let's just say that I'm not a regular archaeologist."
She leaned closer to him and kissed him.
"There. Does that make up for tonight's situation?"
"Mmm, much better", he muttered, returning the kiss.