Chapter 2: Looking Forward
The kid is so much like his mother that it scares me sometimes.
Solomon watched his son. The boy looked very comfortable, half-siting and half-laying on one of the office sofas as he drew an intricate sketch into his notebook. It was a skill and talent the boy had inherited from his mother, one he admired. Solomon could remember many peaceful nights spent with Haley as she filled in her notebooks, very often sketching from memory, but with startling accuracy, details from the day's dig. Nikko did the same thing; the kid's memory and eye for visual detail were phenomenal, just like his mother's. Nikko looked up as the office door opened and Maggie, loaded down with research books and papers came in. Instantly the teenager got to his feet and went to help her, relieving her of the heavier books.
He's got the best of his mother in him…
Nikko was always doing things like that, even as a small child the boy had always seemed happiest when he was helping someone. He'd been a great kid, most of the time. Like all children he'd had his share of temper tantrums and tested his parent's limits with disobedience but always the boy had tried to help. Usually just explaining to Nikko that his actions were not helping had been enough to curb the bad behaviour. The kindness of heart was definitely something he had gotten from Haley… that and her insatiable curiosity.
…but he's got the worst of me.
Solomon knew that he had more than a token amount of curiosity himself, and it had gotten him into serious trouble more than once, just like the proverbial cat. Nikko seemed to share his penchant for attracting trouble. It was an ability that he wished he hadn't passed on to the boy, every time they went out into the field, Solomon found himself fearful of the danger his son might find. Unfortunately, the boy had managed to justify those fears on several occasions. Solomon would like to be able to leave his son behind and protect him from those risks, but he knew it was too late for that. Nikko had gotten a taste for the adventure of his job and the kid's stubbornness and temper, traits Solomon knew he shared, made any discussion of Nikko remaining behind impossible. All he could do as a father to protect his son was train the boy to the best of his ability. Fortunately the kid was good, perhaps someday he would be even better than Solomon was.
I can't wait to see who he's going to grow to become in a few years.
Nikko returned to his sofa after helping Maggie and picking up his notebook continued working on the sketch. Solomon could remember a time, back when Nikko had been a small child, when he and Haley had discussed the boy's future. They had both joked that it would make their working lives easier to have either a lawyer or a politician in the family, someone who could smooth out some of the more annoying and tricky legal entanglements they often found themselves caught in. Nikko choosing a nice safe career away from Veritas's dangerous world was becoming less and less likely. Nikko had an adventurous spirit and got as much as he did from each new discovery. Solomon knew he was going to have to accept it; there was another archaeologist in the family
He's my son.