Page 20 of A Discovery: Love and Other Things
Luckily, it was our day off and I could spare as much time as I needed to search for my uncle today. I found a café within walking distance and headed out with my laptop.
The reviews didn’t disappoint. The café was adorable. Colorful mosaics made of tile adorned the walls and beautiful terracotta pots decorated the interior. It was one of those places that seemed to have been established just for the hordes of visitors who journeyed to Luxor hoping to catch a glimpse of a cursed mummy.
The café was quiet, with only a few customers scattered around the seating area. Some had their laptops with them like me and were busy typing away—perhaps students from the nearby university.
I sipped my cardamom-flavored coffee and began scouring the Internet. A basic Google search on “How to find people living in Egypt?” brought up sites on which others had already posed the same question. I wasn’t alone shooting in the dark and trying to come up with gold.
The most popular response seemed to suggest the best way was to post on various social forums, so I set to work hitting as many of the recommended platforms as I could. Wouldn’t it be awesome if someone replied to my thread and I ended up finding my uncle?!
I wondered what he would look like. Most of my appearance came from Baba, except for my freckles, which came from Mom. Maybe I would resemble my uncle, too; they were brothers, after all.
The thought that excited me the most was the hope that my uncle had children of his own. I might finally have cousins to bond with. I was an only child, and my mom only had one sister who had never had children of her own, leaving me pretty lonely for my entire upbringing. No family slumber parties, no kids’ table at Thanksgiving, no one to sneak out of the house with when I got my driver’s license. Don’t get me wrong, it wasn’t a bad childhood, just very different from the ones my friends had experienced.
But the thought that I might have other living and breathing family members who were around my age made my stomach flutter with excitement. And maybe they even had kids of their own. I could be an aunty and not even know it!
I clicked furiously, finding every site that I could. I even posted onto Reddit in hopes that something would turn up.
I was so focused that I barely registered the group of guys pulling up chairs to my table until they were all seated.
I looked up nervously, brushing away a loose curl that had fallen into my face. “Ummm...hi.”
“Ah, she finally noticed us,” said the bleach-blond guy in a soccer jersey to his cronies. His skin was fair, with evidence of a sunburn on the tip of his pointy nose. Judging from his accent, he seemed to be European.
“I’m sorry, but can I help you?” I asked, my gut telling me that I didn’t want to know his answer.
“An American, too,” Peroxide Hair snickered.
What did that have to do with anything?
The grin on the guy to his left, a man with jet-black hair and a goatee, made my scalp prickle in response. “No, but maybe we can help you? A pretty girl like you shouldn’t be alone.”
“I’m not sure what you need, but I should be going,” I answered hastily. I shut my laptop and stood, ready to toss it into my bag, when Black Hair’s hand pressed it back down onto the table.
“Where are you rushing off to? Stay and let’s get to know each other.” The veins in his forearms bulged from how firmly he was pressing my computer into the table.
The third guy sat back and cackled at his friend’s move.
Panic pulsed through me. There were three guys and only one of me. They were much larger than me and would probably catch me if I bolted right now.
My eyes flashed just to my left, hoping to catch someone’s eye for help, but all I saw was an older man who was engrossed in a book, paying us no attention.
Instead of showing fear, I plastered on a fake smile and somehow steadied my voice. “I really need to get going. I’m supposed to be meeting someone soon.”
“I said, sitdown.” Black Hair grabbed my arm and forced me into the chair.
Oh, no. No, no, no.Fear gripped my throat like a fist as I yanked against his hold and shouted, “Let me go!”
“Why are you in such a hurry to get away? We’re nice guys just looking to make new friends. Don’t you want to be friends with us?” Peroxide Hair ground out.
My chest heaved trying to take in air, but it felt more like I was suffocating. Black Hair’s grip on my arm wouldn’t let up, his fingers squeezing into my flesh.
“Let her go,” a thick voice rumbled behind me.
Black Hair released me, and I turned to find a fuming Dr. Campbell behind me.
My eyes went wide with surprise, but my mouth stayed mute. I had seen him angry before, but this was ten times worse than during our argument at the site.
“Relax, man.” Peroxide Hair lifted his palms in the air. “We were just trying to get to know each other. We’re all buddies here.” His voice was disgustingly sardonic.
