‘So why’ve you come to me now?’ asked Nina, still not sure what to believe.
‘For one, I’m eighty-nine years old. You’re my closest living relative, and I realised that if I ever wanted a chance to get to know you, it would have to be now. But there is something else; something I thought you should have.’ She reached back into the satchel, withdrawing several packed manila folders. She opened the topmost. ‘These were your mother’s. Her notes.’
Nina almost lunged to take out the first page when she saw what was written on it. ‘This is her handwriting!’
‘You recognise it?’
‘I’ve still got all her research. My dad’s, too. They were the basis of my entire theory on how to find Atlantis. They were nine tenths of the way there — they’d just got some of the details wrong. If they’d had more time…’
‘Laura was always fascinated by the legend of Atlantis. It was why she studied archaeology in the first place. Well, I probably influenced her too. I was something of an amateur archaeologist in my youth,’ Olivia added, on Nina’s questioning look. ‘I was never dedicated enough to match her achievements, though. Or yours.’
Nina turned back to her mother’s notes. She had indeed recognised the handwriting, but at the same time she could tell that Laura had been younger when she wrote these notes than while seeking Atlantis with her husband. The calligraphy was more upright, less assured, but also with remnants of childish flourishes like circles above the lower-case letter ‘i’ instead of dots.
She switched her focus to the words. Atlantis leapt out at her. She read on from it.
Interesting. Even at this early stage, Laura had already developed the premise that the Atlantean empire had spread well beyond merely the Atlantic and Mediterranean. Nina knew from her own discoveries how far afield the ancient peoples had travelled, but in the 1970s such thoughts were considered the domain of cranks and New Age fabulists. But her mother apparently believed that the Atlanteans had sent an expedition along what would later become known as the Silk Road through Asia, travelling as far as the Himalayas—
Another word jumped out at her with almost physical force, making her flinch. ‘This — this can’t be real!’
‘It hasn’t been altered in any way — to be honest, I wouldn’t know where to start.’ Olivia pushed the other folders towards her. ‘Everything here was written by Laura, before you were even born.’
‘That’s just it!’ Nina protested. ‘It can’t have been written then. This,’ she waved the sheet of paper, ‘mentions Talonor, Atlantis’s greatest explorer. But nobody even knew he’d existed until the Talonor Codex was found in Atlantis — which was only discovered ten years ago!’
‘By you.’
‘Yes, by me, but that’s irrelevant. Mom couldn’t have known about Talonor before she met Dad. Nobody could. It’s not possible.’
‘If you read her notes, I think you’ll find some answers,’ Olivia told her. ‘Not to everything, because even Laura never found them. But you’ll understand how she could know something that was still hidden from the world until you found it.’
Nina fixed her with an angry look. ‘So why don’t you just tell me now and save me the time?’
‘Because it’ll be better for you to see it for yourself.’
‘No!’ snapped the redhead, jumping up. ‘I don’t accept that Yoda “you cannot be told, you must learn for yourself” bullshit. There are times when directness is the right approach, and this is one of them!’
Olivia raised an eyebrow. ‘I see directness isn’t a problem for you.’
A fuming Nina was about to add more when the door opened. ‘All right, keep the noise down,’ rumbled Eddie. ‘We just got Macy to sleep. What’s going on?’
‘Nina was doubting the authenticity of what I’ve shown her,’ Olivia told him.
‘And what’s that?’
‘My mom’s research,’ said Nina. ‘About Atlantis.’
Eddie peered at the thick folders. ‘God, she made as many notes as you. Although are you saying this lot isn’t real?’
‘I don’t know,’ Nina admitted. ‘This is her handwriting, I’m certain of it, and these photos,’ she indicated the pictures, ‘are definitely of her and… and Olivia. But she talks about Talonor, the Atlantean explorer—’
‘Yeah, I remember who he is, love,’ said Eddie, smiling.
‘And she couldn’t possibly have known about him,’ Nina pressed on. ‘The Codex wasn’t found until over a decade after she died.’
Olivia stood. ‘As I said, the best way for you to find answers is by reading her work. It will explain things, I promise. And I hope, when you see that, you’ll want to speak to me again.’ She produced a card from her purse. ‘My number is on there.’ When Nina didn’t take it, she placed it beside the folders. ‘It’s getting rather late, so I think I should be leaving. I’ll call a cab; there’s no need to see me out.’
‘It’s no problem,’ said Eddie, escorting her from the room — his glance at Nina telling her that he wanted to make sure she was out of their home.
He soon returned. ‘Okay, obvious question: is she really your grandma?’
‘I’m reserving judgement,’ his wife replied. ‘But I’ve got the feeling that… she might be.’
‘But you told me your grandparents were dead.’
‘That’s what I thought! My mom always said they died in a car accident when she was eighteen, before she started at Columbia. But…’ She swapped the page of notes for the Central Park photograph. ‘I can’t deny that she looks like an older version of the woman in this picture — hell, she looks like an older version of my mother.’
‘Of you too,’ Eddie pointed out.
‘Great, so if nothing else, at least now I know what I’ll look like when I turn ninety.’ Nina picked up the page again. ‘This was supposedly written before my parents first met in 1974. My mom was already looking for Atlantis, even back then. But… Well, you know who Talonor was,’ she said. ‘I don’t see how she could even have heard of him, never mind tracked the route of one of his expeditions.’
‘Olivia said to read all that lot to find out,’ said Eddie, regarding the collection of notes. ‘Are you going to?’
Nina let out an exasperated snort. ‘I’ll have to, won’t I? I can hardly ignore it.’
They both turned as Holly entered. ‘Everything okay?’
‘Sure,’ Nina answered. ‘How’s Macy?’
‘She’s soundo. I’ll get going.’
Eddie handed her several bills. ‘Thanks for looking after her.’
‘Hey, no problem, Uncle Eddie! I loved doing it. Any time you need me again, just let me know. I’m only a subway ride away.’
‘Get a cab home,’ he told her, passing her another banknote. ‘There’s a lot of weirdos around after dark.’ He cast a meaningful look at Olivia’s card.
‘Okay, thanks,’ said Holly. ‘See you again soon.’ She hugged him, then waved to Nina. ‘Tell Macy I said goodbye.’
‘We will. Thanks,’ Nina replied. Holly grinned, then departed.
‘She’s a good kid,’ said Eddie.
‘She is,’ Nina agreed with a smile, which turned into something more pensive. ‘Do you think I’m a good mom?’
The question surprised him. ‘Course I do.’