Mosaic - Jeri Taylor [51]
And there it was: less than two centimeters long, an ovalshaped, striped ribbon, bisected by a dark line that ran lengthwise. The fossilized remains of an animal, embedded in this cave wall for eons. "Cheb! Come here!" Her voice rang with excitement but was dampened in the heavy cave air.
"What?" He had stopped rummaging through his pack, but made no move to join her.
"Look what I've found!" She couldn't believe his stubbornness. If he'd gotten this excited about something, she'd have been there in a second. But he stared at her, looked around, looked back, and finally began shuffling in her direction. The dark lock of hair fell over his forehead-the same tendril she had once found so endearing-and she thought it gave him a scruffy look, unkempt and messy.
She located the fossil with her headlamp and pointed to it. "See? The fossil?"
He peered at it. "So?"
"That line there, the one that runs the length of it... I think that's a spinal rod. I think this is a chordate."
He looked skeptical. "How could a chordate have developed on Mars?"
"I don't know. But there it is."
"You're guessing it's a chordate. You don't know for sure."
"I did a senior honors thesis on vertebrate anatomy. I studied chordates then. This looks just like some of the oldest ancestors of the vertebrate branch of animals on Earth. The ancestors of man."
"Could you help me find the oatmeal now?"
Fury welled in her. He had to be doing this on purpose. Finding evidence of chordates on Mars was completely unexpected, a remarkable discovery. It would require a reexamination of all the planet's evolutionary history. This was possibly a major scientific breakthrough and all Cheb could think of was his stomach.
"No, I could not help you find the oatmeal. If you packed it, it's there. If you didn't, it isn't. I'm going to look for more fossils."
He took on an aggrieved, wounded look, instantly the victim. "What's gotten into you? I don't deserve to be barked at like that."
"Yes, you do. You've been in a sour mood for weeks. Isn't it time you at least made an effort to get over it?"
His eyes narrowed at her retort. "Thanks for your terrific compassion. For such exquisite sensitivity to my feelings. It's really great to realize your best friend doesn't give a damn about you."
She felt as though she'd been impaled by a spear. Of course he was still hurt and disappointed. She shouldn't have snapped at him like that; there were better ways to handle the situation. When would she ever learn to control her tongue?
"I'm sorry, Cheb. I just didn't understand why you wouldn't be excited by my finding that fossil."
He turned and moved back toward their packs. "Is this what the week's going to be like? You jumping all over me like some Circassian hellcat every time I open my mouth?"
"That's not fair, I didn't-was
"I can't think of anything worse... being trapped underground with someone who delights in pointing out all one's defects."
"Cheb, what are you saying? I haven't done that-was "Do you think I haven't noticed the past few weeks? How cold you've been? How withdrawn?"
"Me... ?"
"Are you saying you aren't aware of how you've been?" Kathryn felt a familiar confusion returning. They had been through this before. Cheb had the maddening ability to turn things around one hundred and eighty degrees, to twist anything she said, drawing on just enough truth to make her begin