Butterflies were flying special formations in Matt’s stomach. He had rehearsed numerous variations of the first line of this conversation in his head, but when push came to shove, he couldn’t execute the way he had planned.
‘I was thinking about taking a bit of a sightseeing tour down south.’ No, that didn’t sound right after all. Too late now though.
‘Oh yeah?’ Warren turned to him, looking interested. ‘Getting sick of me already then?’
‘Not at all.’ Matt started defensively, before realising from the grin on Warren’s face that he was joking.
‘It isn’t a problem, Matt. I want you to get to know New Zealand. Where are you heading?’
This was it. Matt had to take the bull by the horns and tell Warren what he was up to. He wasn’t going to mention that he had heard from Julia. The mirror had been confirmed to be Celtic and the type of object that would be associated with a burial site. But, as Matt had expected, the museum and the department had suggested that he proceed with caution. Professor Pick was apparently having a field day after he heard the news. He knew that an item such as this mirror had no archaeological context. For it to be taken seriously, there needed to be a lot more evidence suggesting a Celtic occupation in New Zealand. Either that evidence didn’t exist or, as Warren believed, it was well concealed. Matt had to go with his gut on this. He took the plunge.
‘I’m heading in the direction of Wellington. I want to look at a Spanish Helmet that I’ve heard about. Then I thought I could go to Nelson and have a look at my father’s work.’
‘The Spanish Helmet, as in the one found in Wellington Harbour?’
‘Yes, the very one.’
‘And your father’s research? What is that?’
Matt filled Warren in on the events of the day and his father’s research. It felt good to get things out in the open.
‘It isn’t that I don’t want to look further into your work Warren. I just feel like it isn’t going anywhere fast and that while we have some downtime, as it were, I could use it to look at some other angles of New Zealand history while I’m here.’
‘I think it’s great,’ Warren said, bringing the butterflies out of formation and rapidly to a gentle landing.
‘You really don’t mind?’
‘Of course not. The most important thing is that we find out the truth about New Zealand’s history. Whatever that truth may be.’
Trust Warren to be so understanding.
‘Will you come with me then?’
‘Me? No, I can’t. I have too much to do here, what with the mirror and all. You can take the car though. At least then a part of me is with you.’ Warren laughed.
‘Oh,’ Matt said, trying to hide his disappointment. It wouldn’t be the same without Warren. ‘I hope I can do this without your expertise.’
‘Why don’t you get that wonder-colleague of yours to come out? She could tag along.’
That wasn’t a bad idea at all. Matt could use someone like Julia at his side. So reliable, straight-thinking. He would give her a call after dinner.
‘Good idea. She can spare the time from her work too. No problems for Julia.’
‘See, everything works out for the best,’ Warren stated, beaming a happy smile at Matt.
They ate the rest of dinner in silence. But Matt’s mind was far from silent. He was worried about going on an excursion like this in a foreign land, with no locals in tow. He had an idea though. He could ask Aimee to come. She would be an asset. He thought about it a lot. Two good options. Eventually, he came to the decision himself. He didn’t want to bother Warren with little technicalities. He knew who he would call and ask to come with him.
Matt hung up the phone and smiled to himself. Julia was, of course, none the wiser that she had narrowly missed out on an adventure to New Zealand. She seemed, as he expected, to be interested to hear that he would follow up the Spanish theory as well as the Celtic one. Matt hadn’t mentioned that he was going to invite Aimee along. He didn’t want to put a jinx on it.
‘Right,’ Matt quietly spoke to himself, ‘time to find out just how prepared this Kiwi girl is to spend time around me.’
His mouth filled with sawdust as he dialled the number. Pathetic, he thought. She said she wants to help. She probably does. Besides, it’s just research. It isn’t like she could be interested in you. Keep it professional.
‘Hello?’ The ringing tone was replaced by the ringing voice.
‘Hi Aimee, it’s Matt.’
There was a loud thump somewhere at her end of the line and Matthew held the phone away from his ear momentarily. As he brought it back he heard cursing.
‘Oh fuck. Shit. Sorry, Matt. Not you. I whacked my knee. Dammit, that hurts. How are you? Good to hear from you.’
‘I’m good,’ He said, laughing. ‘At least my knees are super.’
‘It’s no joking matter. I ought to sue this lot. What sort of decent university provides its students with such crummy furniture? Sorry you heard me swear though, I honestly don’t swear a lot.’
‘I believe you, honest I do.’
‘Sure, sure,’ she said, clearly enjoying his teasing. ‘So, you called?’
‘Yeah, I wanted to let you know I’m leaving the Celtic theory alone for a bit.’
‘Oh?’
‘It’s a long story. Cutting it short, I’m going to go down south to look at the Spanish Helmet and to follow up some theories of the Spanish settling New Zealand.’
Another thud. Even louder this time. No swearing though.
‘Are you kidding? Can I come?’
Matt laughed. One of those exhaled I-don’t-believe-it laughs.
‘What’s so funny?’
‘I was calling to ask if you would come. You just saved me the effort.’
‘Glad to help.’ Her words were rushed. ‘When are we leaving? You’ve got no idea how excited I am to have an excuse to get out of here, and to look at the Spanish Helmet. Since last week… well…’
‘I was thinking Wednesday.’
‘Sounds great.’
‘I knew you were interested in the Spanish Helmet and stuff and I thought you could show me around a bit too.’
‘I don’t know the whole country myself, but at least I speak the same language as the locals.’
‘Exactly. You’re a Kiwi and understand your ways.’ He paused and added, ‘Surely better than a whinging Pom.’
‘Oh, you aren’t all that bad. So, how tight is your schedule? Have you got a plan? Accommodation booked? Where exactly are we going?’
Matt explained his father’s research and that they would go to Wellington and then on to Nelson. From there they would see where his notes led them.
‘It sounds like a true adventure. Maybe we can stop at a few other sites on the way? Like the Crosshouse I told you about. Or at least the site where it stood.’ Aimee said.
‘Sure. Warren has also given me a list of a few places we might want to check out. Celtic sites, of course.’
‘Actually, would it be possible to make a visit to my hometown? It’s kind of on the way.’
‘We could. Why, are you homesick?’
‘No, I was thinking about the teacher that got me so passionate about history in the first place. He was one of my dad’s friends when I was growing up. Anyways, I recall him telling us some stories about the Maori saying that ships had come. It would be cool to ask him about it, and to see him again.’
‘OK, that sounds good. I’m keen to see a bit of the country anyway.’
‘Awesome, I can hardly wait. Let me give you my address. You’ll pick me up, right? I need to go pack.’
Aimee couldn’t disguise her excitement from Matt. The butterflies started to fly in formation again. No matter how often Matt told himself she was excited about the research, he couldn’t get his stupid boyish hopes for more out of his head. He wrote down Aimee’s address and said goodbye, telling her that he too looked forward to Wednesday. He put the phone back in his pocket and checked himself in the mirror. His reflection smiled back proudly.
‘Smug bastard,’ he told it. ‘You’ll probably be a huge disaster.’