I was angry and worried at the same time. Where was that girl? How could she just disappear on me? What would I tell Whitmore? And then I saw her walking toward me. "Helga!" she called. I stared at her in disbelief. After all of the worry that had just coursed through my veins…there she was as if nothing had changed. I shot her an icy stare. Maybe that would give her the message. She stopped walking. I could tell that she had definitely gotten the message. I was pissed. Her face grew solemn as if she were a child about to receive a scolding. And boy, was I going to let her have it. I walked toward her, restraining myself from slapping her. How dare she put me through all of that worry? As if I didn't have enough stress in my life, now I had to worry about Whitmore's granddaughter disappearing. "Where the hell have you been?" I hissed through clenched teeth. She bit her lip and stared at me. "I asked you a question," I said coldly.

She shifted uncomfortably. "I'm sorry. I met this guy and kind of got carried away."
I raised an eyebrow.
"No! It's not what you're thinking! We were talking about archeological expeditions. He seemed really interested in my work!"
"I bet," I muttered.
"Helga!"
"Adrienne, you had no right to just walk off like that. I was worried!" I gasped. Had I just said that aloud? I looked around. People were staring. I shot everyone a dirty look. "Mind your own business," I muttered. "You were worried?" Adrienne asked. I nodded. "Really?" I threw my arms up in frustration. "Yes, really. How many different ways do you want me to say it?" "I'm sorry that I worried you. I didn't realize it." "I forgive you," I sighed. I had never let someone off the hook that easily before. Yet, I just couldn't stay angry with Adrienne. It seemed impossible.
"So who were you talking to?" I asked, trying to change the subject.
"His name was Milo Thatch…"
Milo Thatch? That was the guy who I was supposed to watch for. "And?"
"We talked. He started going on about the lost city of Atlantis."
"Atlantis!" Oh no, I thought. This could lead to trouble in the future.
"Yeah. He was really enthusiastic about it. It got me thinking. What if Atlantis really existed? I think it would be neat to go there. Imagine what must be there… Actually, it's hard to imagine. I bet that it's beautiful!" She sighed dreamily. "I wish I could go to Atlantis."
"Do you really think that it exists?" I asked. I had to get her mind off of Atlantis. If Whitmore found out… I shuddered at the thought. He didn't get angry often, but when he did… He was almost as bad as me.
"It might exist. Mr. Thatch has a lot of information that leans toward the idea…"
"He's probably wrong," I interjected. "Atlantis is a story…a myth. Stories are made for entertainment. That's all. If I were you, I wouldn't get my hopes up too high."
She eyed me for a moment. "Helga, if I didn't know better, I'd say that you're a pessimist."
Well, that's obvious, I thought. I had grown up in a military family. Five brothers…I had to compete with them all the time. The silver lining on the clouds always seemed out of my reach. I thought I had reached that lining when I had married Christopher Jenkins. But he was taken from me and once again the lining became far away. I didn't notice the tears in my eyes until it was too late. But Adrienne… Kind, compassionate, optimistic Adrienne had.
"Helga," she whispered. "What's wrong?"
"I…I think we need to sit down." She took my hand and led me to a bench. That gesture was so…simple, but warm. Once we were seated, Adrienne looked at me as if she was expecting answers. I saw concern in her blue eyes. But she smiled sweetly and waited for me to talk. However, my emotions had built up too much. I was so used to keeping everything inside. But once in a while I had to let it all out…usually when nobody else was around. I felt tears flow from my eyes. I quickly wiped them away.
"I've just been thinking a lot about my past ever since you arrived at the mansion."
"It's painful?"
I stared at her. "How did you know? I'm not that easy to read…right?"
"No, you're not. But I've been going through my fair share of pain lately and I've just seen it in you too. You've lost someone close?"
"I…yes. My husband."
"You were married?" she asked, a hint of disbelief in her voice.
"What? You think that a cold-hearted person like me could never love? Is that it?"
"Well…yes…no!"
I shook my head. "Adrienne, I've got a few years over you. I've loved, lost, and hurt badly. When I was younger, I was pushed to succeed. You can't imagine what it was like…always in a race with my five brothers. I loved my family dearly, but I always had to stay two steps in front of everyone. My mother and father were kind people, but still…" I felt a sob coming. This was almost too painful… "Well, I left home at age seventeen. It was my father's idea. I went to train under a soldier, Lyle Tiberius Rourke. Training twenty-four seven was tough, but it was my style. I thought that my life was complete when I was shooting guns or throwing knives, but that all changed when I met Christopher." I smiled at the memory and Adrienne looked at me intently. I hesitated for a moment.
"Go on. Please tell me…" she begged.
"All right." I figured that I had told her way too much already. Why not just tell her the rest? "Christopher Jenkins was one of the best things that ever happened to me. He was kind, caring…not the type of guy you'd expect a soldier to be."
"He was a soldier?"
"Yes, he was also under Rourke's command. He was just perfect. His hair was brown, but with blonde in it. His eyes were brilliant blue… He was strong, obviously, but he had a sensitive side."
"He sounds wonderful."
"He was. We were married in the spring of 1907. The wedding was beautiful…the first time I had worn a dress in a long time. I felt so different that day. Not like a soldier, but more like a princess. What am I saying?!"
Adrienne smiled brilliantly. "What you're saying is that you really are a human being. You have the capacity to love, worry, and hurt. You're not as stone cold as you seem to be."
"I'll take that as a compliment I guess."
"What happened to Christopher?"
"Well, it was a stormy night… A lot like last night's storm. Christopher was coming home late from the training base. I waited and waited….but he never showed up. I finally got so worried that I went out to look for him. I found him…" The tears threatened again. "Laying in a pool of blood. He had been shot."
"No… Why?"
"I don't know. I never found out…" That was the straw that broke the camel's back. I burst into tears right there in the museum. You're a lieutenant, Helga Sinclair! How dare you cry? I scolded myself. Adrienne hugged me. "I'm so sorry…I don't know what to say. I feel horrible." "Love hurts," I choked. "If you ever find the right man, cherish the time you have together. You'll never know when it'll be cut short."
"Here," Adrienne handed me a handkerchief. I took it gratefully and dried my eyes.
"And that's why I was so mad when you had disappeared without telling me. I couldn't get the thought out of my head that something happened to you. Crazy as it seems…"
"No, thank you for being concerned. I promise that I won't do it again."
"Thank you." We stood up.
"Well, now that I've made a fool of myself…could we please get out of here?"
"Ok. Let's go."
What had I just done? I had spilled my heart to Adrienne, a person who I barely knew. But it actually felt good to get all of those bottled up feelings off my shoulders. After all, just because I was a soldier, didn’t mean that I had to throw away my humanity. I gasped. That was what I had been doing for my whole life. My humanity had slowly been slipping away… But now that I had Adrienne to talk to… it was slowly coming back.