Sheridan and James Wozniak, respected archeologists, but if you see meet them, you would think that his wife is his assistant and not his peer. You see, my parents met in college – she was a student, he was a professor.

A schoolgirl’s crush that turned into love and then marriage, something that could have destroyed my father’s career. But, that’s another story. Right now, I’m just happy being with them. We seldom see each other and this is the longest, having missed them last Christmas because they were in the bush and I could not go and see them because without a guide, I could not find them.

“So, what’s the big surprise? I’ve been here for a week and you keep on telling me to wait,” I said in-between mouthfuls of cereal at the breakfast table.

“How would you like living in England?” my father asked. “I just accepted a post at Oxford. Perhaps, the three of us could live like a proper family for once,” he added while winking at me.

I almost fell from my chair. My parents were never conventional. Yet, when I look in my father’s face, I saw that he had aged. I keep on forgetting that he was 20 years older than my mother. To me, he is my dad and he is ageless. But, I have to accept that he is also getting older and fieldwork, no matter how exciting might be getting too much for him.

“You mean we could have a proper Christmas and New Year like normal people where we have a Christmas tree and sit down dinner and open gifts on Christmas morning? And, we would give each other sweaters and socks wrapped in tinsel that we tear apart while opening gifts? Beautiful and valuable all the gifts we exchanged through the years Mom and Dad, but museum pieces never appealed to me the way a Playstation did.”

My parents laughed. Because, though there was truth to what I said, they also knew that my mother’s family had given me that normal childhood that they could have never given me.

“Now, speaking of museum pieces, did you bring the medallion I asked you bring?” it was my mother’s turn to ask questions.

“Yeah, I thought you’d never asked,” I said as I pulled it out under my shirt and took it off. “Uncle Woody told me to keep in the box, but the moment I had my hand on it, I just got to wear it. Strange, don’t you think? Or maybe, I’m just being stubborn as always. Tell me one thing and I’ll do the exact opposite.”

Medallion

My parents exchanged glances but never said anything. As I handed the medallion to my mother, complete with the shoelace that I was using as a chain, I felt as if a part of my soul was taken away. But, the touch of my hand kept the feeling at bay, and it passed.

“Then it’s better with me then because with a shoelace, you do not even wear your bling properly like a rapper. People would think you were born in a barn,” my mother said.

“But, I was, according to you.”

“Not a barn Orville. You were actually born in a tent.”

“Is there a difference?”

“Judging by the way our tent was, there was really not much difference.”

And, all three of us laughed and it felt good. It was something we had not done together as a family for a long time. Come to think of it, if my parents live in England, I could actually visit them regularly while I’m in Europe.

[NAPSTER]