The Secret Orgy At The Museum Pt 04

First things first, I had to go back to the museum. All of the clues to the curse had to be there, but no one had been able - or had taken the time - to put them together, in all these years. Shocking, really, to just accept the curse as inevitable and not look into a way to stop it. Unless someone had tried, and there was no way to break it... No, I had to be positive, I COULD break the curse!

I decided to go to the museum during regular hours. I knew that Ricardo was probably filling in for my night shift until he could find a replacement, so there was no chance I could sneak in at night, and it was therefore unlikely that I would run into him during public hours. And it wasn't like I was banned from the museum itself, just from being around at night during the Living Hours. Still, on my first reconnaissance mission to the museum, I wore a trench coat and baseball cap, so no one would recognise me. Did I inadvertently look a little suspicious? Maybe, but I was sure that I could slip in and out unnoticed. Luckily, there were a few school groups in the museum that day, so it was even easier than I hoped to make my way around without notice; sometimes noisy school kids are a blessing.

I started with a visit to Peter; ripping my heart in two anew. This curse research better work so I could be with that super hot stack of bones once again! I didn't stay long, it was too painful, and I hurried to the rotunda to see if there were any clues there.

The rotunda outside of the Living Hours is a pretty boring space. There aren't any exhibits in it, it is just a big, round, empty room that has benches around the outside; so people can sit and look up at the beautiful domed ceiling, I supposed. I think they used it for events and things sometimes as well. Anyway, due to the elaborate stone work used in the room, I thought that maybe there would be some writing somewhere, maybe hidden in the marble floor or ornate carving of the balustrades on the second and third floors that ring the rotunda. But no luck, I searched every inch of the room itself, as well as the balconies on the upper floors, and couldn't find any physical explanation for why humans are cursed in that room.

After that, I wandered a bit aimlessly through the museum, trying to rack my brain as to where I could find more information about the mystery of the museum orgy curse. The museum didn't have a library or archives that were accessible to the public, so that wasn't an option, unless I could break in somehow. Maybe the city archives? They would have some information about the building itself, which could possibly shed some light on why part of the building was cursed.

I was just deciding whether or not I had time to make it over to the city archives before they closed for the day, when I realised that I was in the Human Evolution exhibit. The exhibit where Donna lived. The reason I was in this mess in the first place. Before I knew what I was doing, I was stomping around the exhibit looking for her, momentarily distracted from my mission. I hated that Neanderthal!! I finally found her in a scene where she was standing in front of a fake cave with an unlit fire pit in front of her. Anger at what she had done coursed through me. But what could I do in return? At the moment, she was nothing but plaster, paint, a matted wig and rough burlap dress; she couldn't hear me and she wasn't thinking about anything. All of that happened between 12 and 3am only. I wanted to kick her or something, but it didn't feel right to do something to her when she was a vulnerable display and couldn't stand up for herself. I sighed, all of the wind knocked out of my sails. This was hopeless.

But then I noticed something white sticking out of Donna's dress; it looked like the end of a rolled up piece of paper. It looked completely out of place within the scene she was a part of, Neanderthals definitely did not have paper! Before I could stop myself, I reached over the barrier to grab it and see what it was: a handwritten note, a love letter! What the fuck?!

Dear Donna,

My love, I am writing to you once last time to tell you that I think about you

every day and wish that we were still together. I miss you so much.

I would risk any curse to be with you again. I hope you still think about me,

and haven't forgotten me. Remember how we used to dream about

being together always? I wish I had gone to the rotunda with you, like you

wanted me to. I am so sorry, my one true love, that we did not share

that experience before I was forced to leave. Please, please write to me

sometime, if you get the chance, so that I know you still love me.

Yours forever,

Thomas

Whoa! I remembered Pater saying that several years ago he'd had a staff member removed from the museum to save him from Donna's attempts to lure him to the orgy. I wondered if this was that guy, and if so, it meant that Donna hadn't been trying to lure an unwitting human to the orgy, but that she had just wanted to go with her love!! Peter might have had the situation all wrong! And so Donna had just done to Peter what he had done to her! Fuck. I knew I had to find Thomas; we were in the exact same situation, and both of us would gain so much by figuring out a way to break the curse. I popped the note back into Donna's dress, making sure none of it was hanging out so that no other passersby would see it and get curious.

I didn't have Thomas' last name, so I thought the best place to start looking for him was probably LinkedIn. Peter had said the incident happened a few years ago, so it was likely that he had listed the museum position on that social media app. I pulled out my phone to check the app, and sure enough, when I did a search for people with the museum as a past employer, three people named Thomas came up. Only one still lived in the city, and with the ability to visit the museum to stuff notes in Donna's dress, I figured it had to be him. He looked to be in his 50s, with grey hair and dark eyes, and was altogether normal-looking. I had no idea what he saw in Donna, but then again I could admit I was more than a little biased against her. And though her plot against Peter and me sucked and I would probably hate her forever for it, I had to admit that I could understand the reasoning behind it. I don't think I would have behaved the same in a similar situation, but I could understand it.

While still standing in front of the exhibit that contained his love, I sent Thomas a quick message along with a request to connect via the app: "Thomas, I know Donna. I am looking for a way to break the curse. Want to help?"

I didn't have to wait long for a response: "YES. Let's meet! Coffee shop, 58th and 5th, in 1 hour? 🙏"

Ok then, I guess we weren't messing around. I let him know I would see him there.

The spot Thomas chose wasn't too far from the museum, so I popped over to see Peter one more, devastating time, and then set out on foot.

I noticed Thomas as soon as I stepped into the cafe. For one, I recognized him from his LinkedIn photo, of course. For two, he was wearing one of those museum gift shop t-shirts that celebrates different museum exhibits, and lo and behold, Thomas's shirt celebrated the Human Evolution section. And, as such, had a large photo of Donna on it. Whoa, this guy had it bad. (Suddenly, buying a t-shirt with Peter on it seemed like a great idea. I would have to check the museum gift shop next time I was there. I clearly also had it bad.)

I walked up to his booth and sat down. He looked very hopeful, as though I could solve all of his problems. "Hi Thomas, thanks for meeting with me today."

"I am so glad you got in touch, you know my Donna!! How is she?" he asked.

"Huh, well, Donna is... Donna," I mean, really, what could I say? She was not my favourite person, but I didn't want to badmouth her to Thomas. "I don't know her that well. But I saw the letter you left her, have you done that before? When did you last hear from her?"

At this, his expression turned sad. "I have left her a letter every week for the last few years, since I was fired. I haven't had a single response. I'm worried she's forgotten about me or moved on with another display. The letter you found was going to be my last try. But then you got in touch! I just want to see her and talk to her again."

"Oh wow, I am so sorry. Look, if it is any consolation, I am sure she hasn't forgotten about you." I quickly regaled him with a Cliff Notes' version of my story, telling him about falling for Peter and my firing from the museum. "I think Donna still blames Peter for getting Ricardo involved and having you removed from the museum, so she did the same to us. It probably doesn't mean anything now, but Peter didn't know that you and Donna were in love, and he was trying to save you from the curse."

Thomas sighed. "I'm sorry you're both having to go through this. My Donna can be very string willed when she wants to be. I didn't know it was Peter who got Ricardo involved, but I remember him well. He's a good guy, he wouldn't have done anything with bad intentions. Donna and I kept our relationship under wraps - that was my fault. I was a curator of the Human Evolution exhibit, I met Donna one night when I stayed late - well, the first time I stayed late I said it was for work, but it was really to experience the Living Hours and see all of the displays come to life. I'd always been fascinated by the idea of it, and to actually experience it was magical! I met Donna that first night, and we hit it off instantly. After that I found reasons to stay late every night that I could. It didn't take long for us to fall in love. But I specialized in Neanderthal anthropology, how would it have looked to people that I was in love with a Neanderthal woman?!"

I didn't really know how to answer that, but Thomas continued as if not really looking for an answer. "So it was our secret. And I'm sure it really bothered her, it certainly wasn't fair to her. That's part of the reason why we never went to the rotunda, I didn't want people to see us together. I was also terrified about the curse, of course, but mostly wanted our relationship to be just ours. So we found other places to be together: stairwells, empty offices, empty exhibits, anywhere we could find that was private. She used to beg me to go to the rotunda with her, but I always refused - that's probably what your Peter saw. If I could change one thing, it would be to go back and say yes!"

I patted Thomas on the shoulder. "Thank you for sharing that with me." Something in his story had stuck out for me, though. "You said that you and Donna found other places to be together: sorry if this is too personal, but do you mean sex?"

"Uh yes, I do. Although I like to think of it as making love," he said, blushing somewhat.

"So you had sex, I mean, made love basically everywhere else in the museum, other than the rotunda?"

"Y-yes," he said, turning even redder. "Why?"

"Well, I was told that no one was allowed to have sex in the museum anywhere other than the rotunda, but as you know sex in the rotunda has a very unfortunate side effect for humans. But here you, a human, had sex with a display all over the museum except for the rotunda, and had no unfortunate side effects at all, right?"

"Yes, I mean, no, no side effects at all!" Thomas responded excitedly.

"Ok, we will definitely need more evidence, but it seems like the curse might be confined to the rotunda, and humans can have sex with displays without consequence anywhere else in the building! If so, why has no one discovered this before? Did you not wonder about it?"

Thomas looked rather sheepish. "No, I didn't, would you believe it? I've kicked myself all these years for not taking the chance on the rotunda with Donna, I didn't think about what all the other times meant." He sighed and rubbed a hand over his face before looking up suddenly. "Oh! I just remembered: when I worked there, I heard about an antiquities restorer who would have sex with every Greek statue that he worked on, and they apparently always did it in one of the bathrooms. I think he still works there, Gary something. He's definitely still human!"

I was becoming very excited. "Thomas, if this is true, then all we have to do is convince everyone to move the orgy out of the rotunda, or at least designate a secondary orgy space for humans to attend! Then the curse won't be an issue, and humans will no longer change into displays!!"

I looked at my watch and jumped up. I knew that Ricardo would be in soon to fill in for my night shift. I looked at Thomas as I put on my coat.

"I'm going to go and talk to Ricardo right now, want to join me?"

Thomas nodded, looking nervous and excited and a bunch of other complex emotions. Talking to Ricardo meant there was a chance he could see Donna soon; I understood those feelings, I felt the same about the possibility of seeing Peter again.

Thomas and I left the cafe and walked all the way to the museum in silence. I know I was contemplating what to say to Ricardo and what would happen if we were able to convince him, and Thomas was likely on a similar train of thought.

The museum was closed to the public by the time we arrived, but as former employees, we knew to make our way to the back entrance where we could buzz security. My heart was in my throat as we waited for Ricardo to come to the door. What if he didn't believe us or wouldn't listen to us? What if he did listen to us but said no? There was so much riding on this one conversation!

Finally, the door opened and there stood Ricardo in his uniform, his face changing from confusion to frustration as he registered who we were. He sighed, loudly.

"Neither of you are allowed here after hours, you both know that. I don't know how or why you're together, but you can't be here," he said before Thomas or I had a chance to get a word in edgewise.

"Ricardo, please! Just listen to us. We think we have figured out a way around the curse, just listen to what we have to say!" I pleaded with my former boss.

"Ricardo, come on, it costs you nothing to hear us out," Thomas said, sounding much more cool and collected than I.

Ricardo looked back and forth between us. "Ok, I am curious. You can come in but you may go no farther than my office. I know we are hours away from the Living Hours, but don't even think about being here for that."

We hastily agreed and followed him down the service hallway to his office, each taking one of the chairs in front of his desk.

When he sat in his own chair, he said, "So, you think you have figured out a way around the curse, let me hear it."

I wasted no time. "Thomas and Donna were lovers, and had sex all over the museum for years - never in the rotunda - and he did not change. And Gary something-or-other, the antiquities guy, has been fucking Greek statues in the bathroom for years - never in the rotunda - and he's still human. So, we think the curse is confined to the rotunda only." I felt a bit bad for throwing Thomas under the bus - he looked a bit embarrassed, especially when Ricardo glared at him while I was talking - but it was the only way we were going to get to the bottom of this, and like I said, I wasn't wasting any more time. "We think that if the orgy was moved or a second area was designated for humans to join, then the curse will no longer be an issue."

Ricardo did not seem as blown away by my revelation as I'd hoped. "First of all," he began. "It is museum policy that displays can only enjoy their carnal pleasures in the rotunda, and that goes for humans too. We cannot turn the whole museum into a sex palace. This is a respectable institution. And two examples are not proof: sometimes the curse doesn't happen or it takes years to happen; there is no rhyme or reason with it. We would need more evidence. BUT, as I said, that would be breaking the rules. So unfortunately, nothing can be done."

"Come on, Ricardo, these two situations went on for years - how long has Gary worked here? Surely they are enough to prove that the curse doesn't happen everywhere in the building!"

"Even if it did, what then?" Ricardo asked. "We left displays and humans fuck all over the museum? Who's going to be responsible for that mess? Or making sure exhibits and artefacts aren't destroyed? I have enough to do around here without taking that on. As I said, this is a respectable institution, we cannot change the rules now."

I had to try one last time. "The rotunda is always left without a trace, all of the implements used in there are put back as though they were never used. You know that the displays and the humans who work here respect and take care of this place, and... if you give me my job back, I would be happy to ensure that everything is returned to normal every night that I am here."

At this point, Thomas, who had been quiet since we entered Ricardo's office, finally chimed in as well, looking as though a lightbulb had gone off in his head. "Plus, Ricardo, I remember all about you and Marcus. You made love with a display all over the museum and never in the rotunda. So you know that what we are saying is true."

I think mine and Ricardo's mouths fell open in shock at the same time.

"How do you know about that?" he demanded at the same time that I asked, "You had sex in the museum? Who's Marcus?"

Thomas shrugged. "A lot of people knew about it when I was here. You know what it's like. There are no secrets, not really and not for long, in the museum." Then he turned to me. "Marcus was a figure of a Roman soldier, but he and his whole regiment were moved to another museum just before I was fired. I had forgotten all about it until just now."

"Ricardo, I'm so sorry!" I said. "When I was told that you were the only human who wasn't tempted by the rotunda, I thought you just weren't interested in sex with displays. But you had a relationship with one! And so surely you must understand how important this is to us!"

Ricardo looked a little deflated. "Yeah, damn, I had hoped no one knew about Marcus. We were together for a few years, but I never went to the rotunda. You are correct, humans and displays can have sex anywhere else and it is fine. I guess I just didn't want anyone else to do what I no longer can. Marcus was the only one for me, but he's at a museum on the other side of the world now." He looked really sad and I thought he was going to cry. Finally, though, he took a deep breath and turned to me.

"Ok, you can have your job back. And you can set it up so that orgies can happen wherever and however you see fit. You are in charge of this, so you are responsible for whatever happens as a result. The museum and all of its displays and artefacts are literally in your hands. Are you ready for that?"

It was my turn to take a deep breath. "Abso-fucking-lutely!" I assured him.

Ricardo then turned to Thomas. "I can talk to your former boss tomorrow and have you reinstated as well, what do you think of that?"

"That would be wonderful," he said, with tears in his eyes. "But I am wondering if I could see Donna tonight?"

"That's up to her," Ricardo said, gesturing to me. He reached into a bottom drawer of his desk and tossed me my uniform. "You ready to start tonight? I could really use a break."

"Yes, definitely! Thank you Ricardo!" I picked up my uniform to go and change, so excited to get back to work and to see Peter in just a few hours! "Thomas, you want to stick around and help me figure out a game plan for the new orgy spaces?" I asked, pausing before leaving the office.

"You bet!" he answered, enthusiastically.

After changing into my uniform and reacquiring all of my tools of the job, I did a quick patrol of the museum. Of course I stopped by to see Peter on his pedestal, so grateful that it no longer tore my heart out to see him since I knew I would be back with him soon. I leaned over to pat one of his feet and whisper, "see you soon, my love!"