Falling in Love in New York

by HILL, MELISSA

  Woven into all of this was a gentleness that Abby sensed put people at ease–it certainly had in her case anyway, which was why she didn’t mind carrying on a conversation with a complete stranger in a strange place. She liked the way he’d just started chatting out of the blue like that too–it wasn’t something she’d expected in such a huge city, but perhaps it was so huge that people found it easier to talk to strangers, safe in the knowledge that they’d probably never see the other person again. But she had to laugh at the mention of Thailand, considering that not too long ago she’d been bemoaning the country’s weird food.

  “Is Thailand nice?” she asked, more out of politeness than anything else.

  “Amazing,” he replied with a shake of his head. “Granted, it’s been a while since I was there, and I keep promising myself I’ll go back, but I just haven’t got round to it.”

  Abby understood. There were lots of things she too wanted to do too, and funnily enough since she got here she’d been thinking about them more and more. This was the first time she’d been outside Ireland since that disastrous holiday to Spain and it was wonderful. Why didn’t she do more things like this?

  “Vietnam is great too–really friendly people,” he continued. “Actually most of Asia was great.”

  “You’ve obviously travelled a lot.” Abby said, a statement more than a question.

  “I used to–back in my younger days,” the man replied with a wistful sigh. “Let me see, I’ve been to Australia, Asia, most of America, Canada, all over Europe …” He counted each place off on his fingers.

  Abby was impressed. “Wow, you really have travelled!” she said, feeling very unadventurous and provincial by comparison.

  “Not lately, unfortunately,” he added grimacing. “These days duty calls, I’m afraid. Family, work–you know the story.”

  She nodded. “I know.” But the truth was, she didn’t know. For some reason, she’d never been bitten by the travel bug–well actually she did know the reason, and it was mostly because Kieran never liked going outside of Ireland. And of course the one time they did try ended in disaster so who could blame him?

  Then the man sat forward and looked at his watch. “Speaking of duty… I’d better get going.” He stood up and put his hands in his pockets. “It was nice meeting you.”

  Abby smiled. “You too.”

  “Hope you enjoy the rest of your day, and don’t let any more of those squirrels get the better of you,” he added with a wink.

  She grinned. “They certainly will not–I have their number now! Although I suppose I’d better go and get myself another sandwich,” she groaned, realising that she was still hungry.

  “You should try the Boathouse over there,” he said pointing to a building in sight of the lake. “I’m meeting a friend for lunch there now. It’s warm, they do great coffee, and even better there are no squirrels.”

  “Sounds good, thanks for the tip.”

  “Well, enjoy your day. Oh and I almost forgot,” he added with a grin. “Merry Christmas.”

  “Same to you.” she replied, giving him a friendly wave as he walked away further into the park.

  She remained sitting on the bench for a little while longer after he’d left, again feeling unaccountably pleased by this unexpected encounter. But seeing as the squirrels had made off with her lunch, she really did need to think about finding something else to eat. Abby considered his recommendation of that boathouse place. There was no doubt that the cold weather was indeed beginning to get to her, and the thought of somewhere cosy and warm appealed enormously…

  She got up and headed in the direction the man had taken a few minutes before and just ahead on the lakeside, spied the place he was taking about. It must be really beautiful in the warmer months she thought, approaching the restaurant. With its picturesque lakeside location; formal gardens and fountains in the foreground all framed by towering trees and skyscrapers, the place was a welcoming sight.

  Some hardy diners were sitting outside on the terrace watching the rowboats and gondolas or the occasional duck or swan drift by on the lake, but despite the clear blue skies, Abby knew that there was no fear of her sitting out in this cold and feeding the ducks, no matter how picturesque it all seemed!

  The café area was busy, and to her utter dismay there were no tables free. Blast it anyway, she thought–so much for a cosy corner… But then, just as she was about to leave, out of the corner of her eye she thought she saw someone waving in her direction. And as she turned to look, she realised it was the guy from the bench again.

  “Hello there,” he said, when Abby approached him. “Took my advice, then?”

  “I had no choice–I had to get out of this cold,” she said, teeth chattering.

  “Well, feel free to sit here, there’s plenty of room and to be honest, I’d enjoy the company. Like I said earlier, I was supposed to meet a friend for lunch but he just cancelled. Some work thing, apparently.”

  Abby went to say no, but then decided against it. Feck it, what harm could it do? He was a nice guy, there were no other seats and it really was freezing outside …“You’re sure you don’t mind?”

  “Not at all. What can I get you?” He signalled to the waitress.

  “Oh!” Again, Abby was taken aback at his friendliness. “A coffee would be great thanks.”

  “I’m having a tuna sandwich too. Do you want one, seeing as the little guys did a job on your old one?”

  “Um … yes, that would be great,” she said, removing her things and hanging them on the back of the chair.

  They chatted easily for a few minutes while waiting for the food, Abby marvelling at how easygoing he was, and wondering what kind of strange liberating effect New York was having on her that she’d ended up chatting and having coffee with total strangers! While she couldn’t help thinking that he could very well be some weird psycho who picked up victims in Central Park on a regular basis, at the same time she really didn’t believe this to be the case. For one he hadn’t picked her up as in the first incidence, the squirrels had prompted their conversation and now in the second, they’d run into one another again by coincidence. Anyway, there really was nothing at all about him that suggested psycho and again, Abby felt completely relaxed in his company. “This is nice,” she commented, looking around the restaurant.

  “It’s great–especially in summer, and you should really try eating out on the deck sometime.”

  Definitely a native she thought, but didn’t want to ask for fear of appearing rude. Introductions were soon made, although Abby didn’t like to admit that she already knew his name was Phil from ear wigging on his telephone conversation earlier.

  Then their drinks arrived and Abby cupped her hands around her coffee in the hope of warming them up.

  “So you said it’s your first visit here?” he said and she nodded, explaining about Claire and the new baby.

  “Are you here long?”

  “Just a few more days unfortunately. We go back on Stephen’s Day–the day after tomorrow,” she added helpfully, in case he didn’t understand this.

  Phil bit into his sandwich. “Short stay then.”

  “Mores the pity,” she groaned. “I had no idea there was so much to this place, so much to see and do. I don’t think you could see it all in one lifetime, let alone a single visit.”

  “I know what you mean. Every time I come back I find something I haven’t seen before.”

  “Oh,” Abby’s head snapped up. “I assumed you were from here.”

  “You mean you don’t recognise the accent?” he chuckled. “Well OK, maybe there is a bit of twinge from when I lived here before, but I’m Irish–same as yourself.”

  “I see,” Abby was surprised to also learn that not only was he from Ireland but from Dublin too, and was here on business.

  “I was due to fly out this morning only the bloody flight got cancelled, but luckily enough I got another going out later. At the same time, I figured there was no point in sitting
around the airport all day; I might was well come back and kill a few hours here–seeing as it is Christmas Eve and all that.”

  Abby nodded, again unwilling to admit that she’d learned as much from his earlier phone conversation.

  “It’s an incredible city,” she said, shaking her head in wonder. “I really don’t want to go home now, not when there are so many things I want to see and do–especially this time of year.”

  “Like what?” he said, drinking from his coffee.

  “Well you know, see all the Christmassy things like the Rockefeller Christmas Tree, Macy’s window … what?” she asked, seeing him grimace.

  “Ah, those are all nice enough I suppose.” He took a bite out of his sandwich. “But at the same time while you’re here you might as well see some of the stuff that most tourists don’t even know about–real New York things” Then he looked at his watch. “Tell you what, seeing as you haven’t been here before and you won’t be for much longer, why don’t I take you on a sort of whistle-stop tour–if you’re free this afternoon, that is.”

  Common sense would normally have told her there was no way she should even think about wandering around New York with some stranger, but for some reason, Abby’s intuition was telling her to go right ahead. There was just something about Phil that made her feel relaxed and comfortable in his presence–and seeing as today was all about getting out and exploring new things, Abby decided why the hell not? It sounded like fun–something she was sorely in need of these days.

  “I am free as it happens,” she told him, “but I’m due back around seven for a family dinner.” Then remembering that today was in fact Christmas Eve she asked, “What about you? I don’t want to put you out or take up too much of your time.”

  “Believe me, I’m only trying to fill time. And seeing as my mate cancelled lunch…” He rolled his eyes and took another sip of coffee. “Putting it mildly, today hasn’t worked out well for me so far. So I’d be only too happy to wander around the sights with you, that is, if you don’t mind the company.”

  “I’d be delighted,” Abby said, meaning it.

  Finishing lunch, they left the park via Park Avenue and headed south for a while, Phil leading the way and keeping up a seemingly endless stream of chatter and pointing out various sites and interesting bits and pieces of Manhattan-related trivia as they did so. “Did you know that it took seven million man hours to built that?” he said, pointing to the Empire State Building, which was easily visible above the other skyscrapers. “And fifty seven thousand tonnes of steel.”

  “Cool.” While it was interesting to know these things, Abby was much more interested in getting up there and seeing the view from the top of the building, than the mechanics of its construction. Fully determined to slot into his tour-guide role, Phil followed this up with an equally detailed analysis of the construction of the Chrysler Building, before eventually they ended up outside a large ornate building which at first Abby didn’t recognise.

  “What’s this?” she asked.

  “You don’t know?”

  Abby looked up at the clock surrounded by statues and sculptures and all too soon, the penny dropped. “Grand Central Station?” she gasped excitedly, again having seen this building a million times on TV, but still it was no substitute for the reality.

  He smiled. “Grand Central Terminal to give it it’s proper name, but yeah you’re right. Will we go in?” Abby briefly wondered if he was planning on taking her somewhere on a train, something she wasn’t entirely comfortable with but Phil quickly allayed her concerns. “There’s something here I think you’ll like.”

  Going inside, they passed through the building’s main concourse, which was packed with people dashing to and fro and up and down the escalators and navigating the building at record speed. Enthralled, Abby gazed open-mouthed at the stunning marble grand staircase, huge chandeliers and immense arched windows. In the centre of the building stood the marble and brass information booth and its famous four-faced clock–another instantly recognisable New York icon.

  Then, following Phil’s lead, she moved out of the way of the frantic commuters, and went to stand alongside him against a nearby wall.

  “Let’s just wait here for a minute,” he said, glancing at his watch.

  “OK.” Abby was silent, wondering what on earth they were waiting for but only a few seconds later, she found out. Seemingly out of nowhere, there was a blast of classical music (which Abby recognised as a piece from The Nutcracker) and again, taking her companion’s lead, she looked upwards and for the first time noticed a magnificent blue and gold mural of stars and constellations spread out all over the ceiling.

  “Wow, look at that!” she gasped, realising that some kind of laser light display had just begun; its multicoloured lights and different shapes moving across the ceiling in tandem to the music. A delighted thrill ran up her spine as she watched the lights dancing across the mural. She, Phil and lots of other equally fascinated people–most likely tourists–stood watching the fantastic show, while all around them seasoned New Yorker commuters continued to hurry to and fro.

  “That’s fantastic,” she enthused, when the show had finished and the music stopped. “How did you know?”

  He grinned. “I thought you might enjoy that. They do it here every year for Christmas, every half-hour to different pieces of music.”

  “Wow, it’s amazing.”

  “It is, but it isn’t what I brought you to see. Still, while we’re here, do you notice anything strange?” he asked, looking upwards again. “Strange about that mural?”

  Abby’s brow furrowed as she peered up at the blue and gold coloured ceiling. “No – what?”

  “Well, you know it’s the Zodiac yes?”

  Abby hadn’t actually, but she wasn’t going to admit it. “Yes, but what’s strange about that?”

  “Well, the fact that it’s back to front, for one.”

  She looked again. “Back to front?”

  “Yep. Most people reckon it was a mistake by the artist, but the real reason is that he was inspired by a medieval manuscript that showed the heavens as they would have been seen from outside the celestial sphere.” He looked at Abby and grinned. “A present day Michelangelo, eh?”

  Well, that was a mouthful! “Cool,” she said, unable to think of any other reply. Still she adored finding out little facts like that and loved the fact that Phil was seemed just as excited about them as she was.

  “Notice anything else out of the ordinary up there?” he asked then, which made her suspect there was more to come. She screwed up her eyes for a better look.

  “Other than the back-to-front Zodiac and the lasers, I don’t think so.”

  “How about that little dark blue patch over there?” He pointed to an irregular-coloured section of the mural on the right hand side, and as soon as she spotted it Abby’s eyes widened.

  “I do see it! And what does that signify?” she asked, knowing that no doubt a ready explanation would be forthcoming.

  “Well, when they did the renovation work on it back in the early nineties, they left a tiny patch of the old colour unpainted, as a reminder of how much work was actually done. It’s something like eighty-thousand square feet in here so that must have been a hell of a lot of painting.”

  “I can imagine. “Abby shook her head in awe. “But I never would have noticed that only for you pointed it out. Not that I’d have noticed the Zodiac being backwards either; I’m no expert on that kind of thing.”

  “Well, neither am I –someone else showed it to me initially, but I have to say I love little bits of trivia like that. It really gives a place character, doesn’t it?”

  After that, he led Abby across the room and downstairs to the dining concourse and for a moment she thought he was taking her somewhere else to eat which was odd seeing as they’d finished lunch not long before. But instead, they moved past the various eateries and walked until they reached a particular spot amongst the room filled with low cerami
c arches.

  “Right, you stand there for a second,” he said, positioning Abby in a spot alongside one of the arches.

  “O–K.” She smiled nervously unsure where this was going, but certainly interested in finding out.

  Phil then pointed to another position in the opposite corner. “Now, I’ll stand over there, and when I give you the signal, I want you to whisper something into the corner.”

  “Whisper?” Abby giggled at the mysteriousness of it all. “What will I say?”

  “I don’t know. Anything you want. Just don’t make it anything too private,” he added, with a playful smile, leaving her wondering what on earth was going to happen. With that he took up a position in the opposite corner and a few seconds later, gave her the signal.

  Intrigued but unsure what she was supposed to say, Abby took a deep breath and whispered the very first thing that came into her mind. “Hot chocolate.”

  Across the way, she saw Phil smile, lean forward and whisper something into his own corner. And when she heard him reply ‘Hot chocolate? Great idea– let’s go get some’ in a voice that was as clear and loud as if he was standing right next to her, she drew back in delighted surprise.

  “How on earth...?” Her eyes grew wide, and her smile broadened when he returned to her side.

  “Cool, isn’t it?” Phil sounded mightily pleased with himself.

  “It’s incredible!” she said laughing. “How do you know these things?”

  He shrugged nonchalantly, but Abby could tell that he was secretly chuffed by her delighted reaction. “I just do. Anyway, about that hot chocolate,” he added, giving her a mischievous wink. “You must have read my mind.”

  Chapter 15

  The evening was just beginning to darken when they left Grand Central station, but to Abby this was something that only served to highlight the sheer magic of their next destination.