as far as she could see. She had to tilt her head back to even see the tops of the buildings, they were so tall.
It was overwhelming. And amazing.
Queens was a place to sleep, but Manhattan was a place to live. She felt herself falling in love with every step.
She let the crowd pick her up and carry her toward the park, then darted up the wide stone steps. Tables and chairs covered a concrete pavilion. Old men with chessboards covered the chairs. Everywhere they were playing and talking and laughing. A dozen languages filled her ears. A young guy with a violin sat in the grass. An immaculate Mozart concerto floated on the breeze from his direction, and even the kids playing stopped to listen at times.
Victoria pushed her hair out of her eyes and checked her phone. 42 nd Street would take her to 7 th Avenue, and 7 th Avenue would take her Times Square. Easy enough. It was hard to imagine what it would be like to get around the city without a smartphone. She set off on a mission to be as touristy as possible.
Halfway between 6 th and 7 th Avenues the heat hit her. She realized it had been there since she left the park, but she just hadn’t noticed it. It was sweltering in the canyons between buildings. A drip of sweat ran down her back. Not much of a breeze blew along the streets to cool her, and each time she passed a subway grate a blast of warm, fetid air blew up and made it worse.
She turned the corner onto 7 th Avenue still thinking about the heat, but the first glimpse of Times Square overwhelmed all other thoughts.
It was huge.
It was beyond huge. A riot of colors climbed the sides of the buildings. A cacophony of sounds assaulted her ears. Horns honked. Salesmen called out from doorways, thrusting brochures. The scent of pizza drifted past from a pizzeria.
Signs rose ten or twenty stories. It was easy to imagine Spiderman swinging from billboard to billboard.
And the people. If she thought there were a lot of people in Bryant Park, Times Square sent her mind reeling. Men. Women. Kids. Horses. And everyone jabbering to someone else or into a cell phone. The Tower of Babylon hadn’t known so many tongues.
She looked more closely at the nearest horse. A uniformed cop sat on its back. Both of them looked bored as they watched the crowds. Other cops stood in pairs, watching the crowd. When she took the time to notice them, there were cops on nearly every corner.
Taxis and limos still clogged the streets, and mixed in with them were giant tour buses. Victoria worked her way down the street, losing herself in the crowd. It was like a mall. A really, really big mall. A really, really big mall the weekend before Christmas.
She stopped beside a set of bleachers at 47 th Street and just watched the crowd. Calling it a mall didn’t do it justice.
“You should see it at night.” A middle-aged woman in a navy pantsuit stopped beside her.
Victoria glanced at her, unsure what to say.
“It’s something else.” The woman disappeared into the crowd, continuing on to wherever she was going.
It was definitely something. Victoria took out her phone. She still had an afternoon to kill, and as much fun as shopping would be, she didn’t even have a job yet. Instead, she turned back toward Bryant Park. The library would be a fine place to escape the heat. And the street vendors outside would be a fine place to score a cheap lunch.
Chapter 10
Trent
G ROUND Zero?” Trent asked.
“I got bored.” Victoria shifted the phone to her other ear. The new tower was going up a block away, and the south end of the island had just been a quick train ride from Midtown.
“Well, meeting at Grand Central probably doesn’t make sense then. I’m at Pine and William. How about you meet me at City Hall? Can you find that?”
“I can look it up on my phone.” Probably. The battery wasn’t holding up real well after using the map feature all afternoon.
“It’s a couple blocks east of you. I’ll see you in a few
It was overwhelming. And amazing.
Queens was a place to sleep, but Manhattan was a place to live. She felt herself falling in love with every step.
She let the crowd pick her up and carry her toward the park, then darted up the wide stone steps. Tables and chairs covered a concrete pavilion. Old men with chessboards covered the chairs. Everywhere they were playing and talking and laughing. A dozen languages filled her ears. A young guy with a violin sat in the grass. An immaculate Mozart concerto floated on the breeze from his direction, and even the kids playing stopped to listen at times.
Victoria pushed her hair out of her eyes and checked her phone. 42 nd Street would take her to 7 th Avenue, and 7 th Avenue would take her Times Square. Easy enough. It was hard to imagine what it would be like to get around the city without a smartphone. She set off on a mission to be as touristy as possible.
Halfway between 6 th and 7 th Avenues the heat hit her. She realized it had been there since she left the park, but she just hadn’t noticed it. It was sweltering in the canyons between buildings. A drip of sweat ran down her back. Not much of a breeze blew along the streets to cool her, and each time she passed a subway grate a blast of warm, fetid air blew up and made it worse.
She turned the corner onto 7 th Avenue still thinking about the heat, but the first glimpse of Times Square overwhelmed all other thoughts.
It was huge.
It was beyond huge. A riot of colors climbed the sides of the buildings. A cacophony of sounds assaulted her ears. Horns honked. Salesmen called out from doorways, thrusting brochures. The scent of pizza drifted past from a pizzeria.
Signs rose ten or twenty stories. It was easy to imagine Spiderman swinging from billboard to billboard.
And the people. If she thought there were a lot of people in Bryant Park, Times Square sent her mind reeling. Men. Women. Kids. Horses. And everyone jabbering to someone else or into a cell phone. The Tower of Babylon hadn’t known so many tongues.
She looked more closely at the nearest horse. A uniformed cop sat on its back. Both of them looked bored as they watched the crowds. Other cops stood in pairs, watching the crowd. When she took the time to notice them, there were cops on nearly every corner.
Taxis and limos still clogged the streets, and mixed in with them were giant tour buses. Victoria worked her way down the street, losing herself in the crowd. It was like a mall. A really, really big mall. A really, really big mall the weekend before Christmas.
She stopped beside a set of bleachers at 47 th Street and just watched the crowd. Calling it a mall didn’t do it justice.
“You should see it at night.” A middle-aged woman in a navy pantsuit stopped beside her.
Victoria glanced at her, unsure what to say.
“It’s something else.” The woman disappeared into the crowd, continuing on to wherever she was going.
It was definitely something. Victoria took out her phone. She still had an afternoon to kill, and as much fun as shopping would be, she didn’t even have a job yet. Instead, she turned back toward Bryant Park. The library would be a fine place to escape the heat. And the street vendors outside would be a fine place to score a cheap lunch.
Chapter 10
Trent
G ROUND Zero?” Trent asked.
“I got bored.” Victoria shifted the phone to her other ear. The new tower was going up a block away, and the south end of the island had just been a quick train ride from Midtown.
“Well, meeting at Grand Central probably doesn’t make sense then. I’m at Pine and William. How about you meet me at City Hall? Can you find that?”
“I can look it up on my phone.” Probably. The battery wasn’t holding up real well after using the map feature all afternoon.
“It’s a couple blocks east of you. I’ll see you in a few
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