Page 58 of Flirtasaurus
“Fantastic. And do you know why you felt all those things?”
“Because you’re a formidable woman with decades of work in the field, you’ve written three textbooks on paleontology, and I can only dream of achieving what you’ve achieved before I die?”
“No.”
“No?”
“Well, yes, all of that is true. But no. You felt all those things because my eyebrows did not invite you in.”
“Excuse me?”
“Have you ever noticed that I move very few muscles on my face when someone is speaking to me, particularly my eyebrows and forehead?”
“Now that you mention it, yes! It’s unnerving!”
“Drives people crazy, yes.”
“So you do that on purpose?” I’m completely floored by this.
“To drive people crazy? No. To stay in my power? Yes. As soon as the eyebrows go up”—she demonstrates and looks like a completely different person—“you’ve given away your power. But keep the eyebrows steady…” She demonstrates again and looks more like the strong, intimidating woman I’ve been studying. Though something tells me I won’t be quite so intimidated moving forward.
“And you make them wonder. You make them err on the side of giving you the respect and consideration you deserve. You don’t need to throw a fit or threaten people or cause drama to gain people’s respect, Calliope. In fact, that’s a surefire way to lose it. You can sit strong in your own power. Let me be clear: it is not your job to be more palatable for others, particularly men. It is not your job to be the accommodating woman who is always smiling and making things okay for everyone around her. But it is your job to work well with others and to be civilized and strong.”
I just gawk at her, totally in awe.
“Just a tip from one woman to another,” she says with a nod.
“Wow, you’re like… mentoring me.”
“That’s a part of my job, isn’t it?”
“Yeah. I suppose it is. Thank you.”
“Well, I take pride in my work, and that means I want to take pride in yours as well. All right, enough of that. The second reason I summoned you here today was to address the South Dakota trip you mentioned yesterday.”
“Yes! Oh my gosh…” I feel the energy in my body revving up with hope.
“Easy…” she warns. “I’m sorry to say that the position as my assistant on the dig is already filled.”
“Oh. Okay.” I’m almost positive my face just fell. I have work to do on this muscle control thing.
“But,” she says vibrantly, “if that changes for any reason and you continue to do outstanding work throughout your internship, I’d be willing to reopen that discussion with you.”
“Amazing. Thank you. Wait. Continue to do outstanding work? You think I’m doing outstanding work?”
“Chewing out your teammates and spewing profanities aside? Yes. Calliope, I’ve been reading your daily reports for The Trix and Monty Project so far. They read more like research papers than meeting minutes. Where are you finding time to do all this?”
“Oh. Well, I’m a bit of a night owl. And I just feel so inspired listening to you and Lionel – and occasionally even Bruce – throughout the day, that when I get home at night I can’t seem to stop working, writing, envisioning… So I thought I’d include my ideas for the exhibit and additional programming in the notes you asked me to keep.” I’m suddenly overcome with doubt. “I can stop doing that though. I don’t mean to overstep.”
“I appreciate your insights and your passion, Calliope. Keep it up.”
She gives me a rare smile.
“Thank you so much,” I beam. “What was the third reason for my… summoning?”
“Oh, yes. I’m going to need you to chaperone the annual parent and child ‘Scientific Sleepover’ next Saturday night at the museum.”
This does not actually sound awesome to me, but of course, I would do anything to keep this camradery flowing between us, so I say brightly, “Awesome! I’d love to.”
