Anna, seconds too long, then back at Pippa. “No, squirt. We won’t be getting married.”
And there she had it. Closure.
* * *
J ACK SHIFTED ON HIS COT , adjusting the inflatable neck roll he’d brought along against the curve of his lower spine. His cot backed up against a post, his only support as he sat propped up with the files Anna had relinquished. He reclipped his portable, mini LED light so that it wouldn’t wake Kamau. Having never left the States, Jack had only heard of jet lag. He rubbed at his eyes and tried to reassure himself that the mosquito buzzing in frustration near his head couldn’t get past the netting. Or maybe it was his brain buzzing at the numbers and lists in front of him.
Anna and Kamau had indeed kept meticulous records. Meticulous to a point. Something didn’t add up. Miller had never mentioned that kids lived at the camp. He hadn’t specified how many people were allowed to share in the food and essential expenses. Hard to truthfully keep track of how some supplies were used. It wasn’t as if Anna could waste time measuring out how much food, ointment, water or bug spray each individual used. She said she paid for Niara and the kids, but it wasn’t like they paid rent for the camp’s meager lodgings and facilities. He was being a horse’s rear and he knew it, but funds were funds. This new research collaboration between Miller, the lab in Nairobi and himself was huge. It would solidify Jack’s name and reputation in the scientific community.
Anna’s research and her work to provide medical care to the orphaned elephants was significant. He believed that. But in his book, related or not, behavioral studies didn’t compare to genetics and immunology. They were the root of everything. The tough stuff. The kind of research that would have his career set and earn him...respect. Respect of his colleagues and of his family. It’d earn him more lecture engagements, and that meant more money.
He shuffled through the stack, taking a cursory note of all the logs he’d flagged in red. He’d have to send Miller an email, if they got service, otherwise it would have to wait until he got home. A satellite call was out of the question, not only because of the time difference, but due to lack of privacy. He didn’t need Anna standing by on that one.
Guilt scratched at his chest like a grain of sand in the eye. Miller would possibly shut down funding to Anna’s project, forcing her to abandon her work or, at a minimum, merge into one of the more established Kenyan wildlife parks and reserves projects. Jack wasn’t well-versed in foreign paperwork, but if she lost her research funds, it could even mean being forced back to the States—a situation that would facilitate getting Pippa back there, as well. Anna would hate him, more than she already did, but at least Pippa would have both parents nearby.
In any case, Jack had more important things to worry about than Anna’s work. Priorities were priorities. Ensuring funds for his own project would lead to career success, and career success meant being able to provide his daughter with the kind of life she deserved. He had a responsibility to her. Care and education. A father who’d never abandon her. A father who would make every choice in life, from here on out, based on what was best for his child.
Unlike his selfish biological parents.
As far as he was concerned, and as much as he could see that Anna loved Pippa, Anna was being selfish. Keeping her pregnancy a secret and forcing Pippa to grown up in the wild was selfish. Purely selfish. A kid needed more than just one other child to play with. Pippa needed socialization, even if she wasn’t quite school-aged yet. It mattered developmentally, didn’t it? For all her observations on elephant family units, shouldn’t Anna know that?
It had mattered for Jack. His adoptive family had gone out of their way for him. Given him a life. It was why he’d worked so hard to prove that the
And there she had it. Closure.
* * *
J ACK SHIFTED ON HIS COT , adjusting the inflatable neck roll he’d brought along against the curve of his lower spine. His cot backed up against a post, his only support as he sat propped up with the files Anna had relinquished. He reclipped his portable, mini LED light so that it wouldn’t wake Kamau. Having never left the States, Jack had only heard of jet lag. He rubbed at his eyes and tried to reassure himself that the mosquito buzzing in frustration near his head couldn’t get past the netting. Or maybe it was his brain buzzing at the numbers and lists in front of him.
Anna and Kamau had indeed kept meticulous records. Meticulous to a point. Something didn’t add up. Miller had never mentioned that kids lived at the camp. He hadn’t specified how many people were allowed to share in the food and essential expenses. Hard to truthfully keep track of how some supplies were used. It wasn’t as if Anna could waste time measuring out how much food, ointment, water or bug spray each individual used. She said she paid for Niara and the kids, but it wasn’t like they paid rent for the camp’s meager lodgings and facilities. He was being a horse’s rear and he knew it, but funds were funds. This new research collaboration between Miller, the lab in Nairobi and himself was huge. It would solidify Jack’s name and reputation in the scientific community.
Anna’s research and her work to provide medical care to the orphaned elephants was significant. He believed that. But in his book, related or not, behavioral studies didn’t compare to genetics and immunology. They were the root of everything. The tough stuff. The kind of research that would have his career set and earn him...respect. Respect of his colleagues and of his family. It’d earn him more lecture engagements, and that meant more money.
He shuffled through the stack, taking a cursory note of all the logs he’d flagged in red. He’d have to send Miller an email, if they got service, otherwise it would have to wait until he got home. A satellite call was out of the question, not only because of the time difference, but due to lack of privacy. He didn’t need Anna standing by on that one.
Guilt scratched at his chest like a grain of sand in the eye. Miller would possibly shut down funding to Anna’s project, forcing her to abandon her work or, at a minimum, merge into one of the more established Kenyan wildlife parks and reserves projects. Jack wasn’t well-versed in foreign paperwork, but if she lost her research funds, it could even mean being forced back to the States—a situation that would facilitate getting Pippa back there, as well. Anna would hate him, more than she already did, but at least Pippa would have both parents nearby.
In any case, Jack had more important things to worry about than Anna’s work. Priorities were priorities. Ensuring funds for his own project would lead to career success, and career success meant being able to provide his daughter with the kind of life she deserved. He had a responsibility to her. Care and education. A father who’d never abandon her. A father who would make every choice in life, from here on out, based on what was best for his child.
Unlike his selfish biological parents.
As far as he was concerned, and as much as he could see that Anna loved Pippa, Anna was being selfish. Keeping her pregnancy a secret and forcing Pippa to grown up in the wild was selfish. Purely selfish. A kid needed more than just one other child to play with. Pippa needed socialization, even if she wasn’t quite school-aged yet. It mattered developmentally, didn’t it? For all her observations on elephant family units, shouldn’t Anna know that?
It had mattered for Jack. His adoptive family had gone out of their way for him. Given him a life. It was why he’d worked so hard to prove that the
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