A Girl's Guide to Chicago

by Kelly Russell

  A Girl’s Guide to Chicago

  Kelly Russell

  Contents

  Introduction

  Prologue

  One

  Two

  Three

  Four

  Five

  Six

  Seven

  Eight

  Nine

  Ten

  Eleven

  Twelve

  Thirteen

  Fourteen

  Fifteen

  Sixteen

  Seventeen

  Eighteen

  Nineteen

  Twenty

  Twenty-One

  Twenty-Two

  Twenty-Three

  Twenty-Four

  Twenty-Five

  Twenty-Six

  Twenty-Seven

  A Girl’s Guide to Chicago Checklist

  To every girl, you are never too old or too young to follow your dreams.

  * * *

  To my Dad, Mom, and my little brother David, thank you for everything. We will always be the original four, and I love you all so much. To my amazing, loving, and wonderful husband for always supporting my dreams. You are my best friend and I love you with all my heart. And, to my Nanny, the original city girl who I know is always with me.

  * * *

  Also, to Jamie, thank you for helping me bring my book to life.

  Copyright © 2018 Kelly Russell

  All rights reserved.

  This book is a based on a true story, although some events and dates have been slightly changed. Character names and identifying details have been changed to protect the privacy of individuals.

  No parts of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the copyright owner.

  This book is sold subject to the condition that it shall not, by way of trade or otherwise, be lent, resold, hired out, or otherwise circulated without the publisher’s prior consent in any form of binding or cover other than that in which it is published and without a similar condition including this condition being imposed on the subsequent purchaser. Under no circumstances may any part of this book be photocopied for resale.

  ISBN: (paperback) 978-1-7321182-0-1

  ISBN: (eBook) 978-1-7321182-1-8

  Cover design and Illustration: Kristina Vukmirovic

  Book editor: Jamie Ward

  Interior design: Kristen Forbes

  Introduction

  To My Dearest Readers,

  * * *

  I wrote this book, “A Girl’s Guide to Chicago,” because I wanted to share my dream and experiences of living in Chicago. Although some of the names have been changed and events have been slightly adjusted, these experiences I had are all true. Moving to a new country, a new city, or anywhere unfamiliar can be intimidating and uneasy. Always be proud of overcoming your fears to experience life and your own adventures.

  * * *

  Maybe, like me, your dream is moving to Chicago.

  * * *

  At the back of the book, there is a checklist of each place and location I experienced during my first year in the city. Whether you are new to Chicago, a native, or planning to visit, you can use the checklist to help you explore the city to create your own memories.

  * * *

  Good luck with your own adventure, and I hope you enjoy Chicago!

  Love,

  Kelly

  Prologue

  It’s a chilly evening in mid-November, and my Mum has made shepherd’s pie for dinner. It’s one of her favorite comfort foods to make when it’s cold outside. I am not a huge fan, so I’m picking apart my dinner by moving around the carrots with my fork. I notice that everyone is fairly quiet at the kitchen table this evening. My parents have not once asked me about my day or what I did at primary school. I look over at my two-year-old brother who is currently shoveling his meat and potatoes as fast as he can into his mouth.

  “David, darling.” Mum gently touches his arm. “Please slow down, you are going to hurt your tummy.”

  David ignores her and keeps on eating. I shake my head and continue to play with my carrots. I have never seen a kid eat so much, and although my brother is cute, he is a chubby little guy.

  “Kelly, David, we actually have something that we want to talk to you both about.” Dad takes a moment to clear his throat. I immediately stop playing with my food, put down my fork, and look up across the table at him. “What’s wrong?”

  “Don’t worry, it isn’t anything bad, but this is something that your Mum and I have seriously discussed and talked over for the last few weeks.” My Dad pauses for a moment to make sure he had the right words before he continues. “I’ve been offered a new job. However, the job is not here in England. It’s in the United States. We feel that it’s a wonderful opportunity for our family. It’s something new and very exciting, and not everyone gets an opportunity like this. So, we have decided that I should take the job, and we will be moving to the United States right before Christmas. I know this is quite a big and sudden move for all of us.”

  I look over at David. He is still working on his plate of food. His face is covered with potatoes. He does not really understand what all this means, and he shouldn’t. He is way too little. “Elly.” He cannot quite say Kelly yet. I look back at my parents and shake my head. Little boys are so disgusting.

  I pick up my fork and again start playing with my food. “What about Nanny? Can she come too?”

  “No Boots, I’m sorry.” That’s Dad’s nickname for me ever since I can remember. “She can’t come live with us, but she will be over as much as she can to visit. As of right now, my contract in the United States is only for about a year. So, at that time, we have the option to come back home to England.”

  “So, where are we moving to?”

  “Illinois is the state and the city is called Chicago. Have you heard of it?”

  “I think so. But, I’ve heard about New York City more in school.”

  “Well, Chicago is also a big city but not as big as New York City.”

  I nod my head in response. I like cities. I love exploring London with my Nanny. My Grandmother takes me all over London whenever we go to stay with her. She has lived in London all her life, and she knows all the fun places to take us.

  “How are you feeling darling? I know it’s a lot to take in.”

  “Hmmm, I don’t know Mum. I think I’m okay. I guess. I’m not mad or anything. I don’t know much about the United States, but I know it’s very big and a cool place. Some of the kids at school tell us about their holidays there. It’s where all the movies are made.”

  “Well Boots, that’s in California, which is not close to Illinois, but I’m sure we can visit while we are there. But speaking of movies, we have a movie we thought we could watch after dinner, as a family. It’s all about Chicago.”

  My parents were right. It is about a high school girl who reluctantly agrees to babysit three kids after she has been stood up by her boyfriend on their anniversary. She gets a call from a friend, who is in trouble in the city, and off she goes to the rescue, dragging the kids with her. On the way to Chicago, the car breaks down, beginning a domino effect of troubles throughout the city.

  I am seven-and-a-half-years old. Luckily, I am smart enough to know that Adventures in Babysitting is just a movie. I laugh to myself, because it’s probably not the best movie to get us all excited and introduce us to living in Chicago. It was definitely a dangerous adventure for those kids.

  “Are you okay? Are you worried at all? I’m sure Chicago isn’t really like that.”

  “Mum. I know i
t’s just a movie.”

  “Okay. We didn’t realize the movie would be kind of scary, and I know we have given you a lot of information tonight. You can always talk to us if you have any questions.”

  “I’m not worried at all, and I actually really liked the movie.” I give both my parents a huge hug and tell them I am getting ready for bed.

  I didn’t want my parents to worry. Honestly, I wasn’t worried. At only seven years old, I obviously didn’t understand all that’s involved in moving, especially to another country. Maybe I should be a little nervous about moving but I wasn’t. I am honestly really excited about our big adventure all the way across the ocean.

  Six weeks later, we are walking through the terminal at Heathrow Airport. David is screaming at the top of his lungs. “I hate America! I hate America!” He is crying hysterically and trying to hold onto Nanny for dear life.

  “David, Nanny has to go, but we will see her again soon.” Dad is trying his hardest to loosen my brother’s grip on my Grandmother.

  My parents look so embarrassed, but I chuckle and smile at my brother. You really can’t take him anywhere. If he is not eating, he is usually throwing a fit. I also hug my Grandmother as tightly as I can because I will miss her so much. She is one of my favorite people in the world. But I am definitely not going to start a scene as my brother likes to do.

  We are now at our gate and waiting. David is still crying. A pilot walks by on his way to board a plane and notices my brother crying. He stops directly in front of him, simply hands him a set of airplane wings, nods, smiles at my parents and walks away. My brother mumbles a thank you between his snotty tears, immediately stops crying, and starts playing with his new toy. Oh, thank goodness, he has finally stopped!

  I look around the gate. Many questions are racing through my mind. There are so many people waiting to board this plane. Do all these people live in Chicago? I wonder if anyone else is moving just like us? Maybe they are just going to celebrate Christmas with an American family? I wonder how different Christmas is over in the United States? I am so fascinated by it all. I cannot believe we are actually moving to Chicago. A new place, new country, new home, new school, new friends, new everything. After my parents told us about our move, I began to look at maps and read books all about the United States. The country is so huge. So much bigger than England. I found it all exciting but also overwhelming.

  The plane ride is extremely long, and once we get to O’Hare airport, the plane doors are frozen, so they have to de-ice the plane. Since, they cannot get the doors open to let us out, we have to sit on the plane and wait for another hour. It is December 21st. We have been told that Chicago is a lot colder than London, but a frozen plane? How crazy is that! It feels like an eternity when we are finally able to get off the plane.

  After we go through customs and pick up our luggage, we need to look for a man holding a piece of paper with our last name. He will take us to our temporary corporate apartment. We find him, and after about a thirty-minute drive, we get there only to find there is no bedding in our rooms. So, we wait. Someone will bring it to us. At this point, it is the middle of the night in England, and we are all exhausted. My parents keep telling David and me how good we are and that we can go to bed soon. They look exhausted too. Finally, someone comes with everything we need. We make the beds and crawl in between the sheets. I fall asleep immediately. I don’t even have time to think about the fact that I’m in a new city and in a new home.

  The next morning, I awake to an unfamiliar environment. It takes a few moments to realize that we are in Chicago. I replay the day before in my head. It is four days before Christmas, and we have four suitcases filled with our belongings. Most of that being clothes. The rest of our stuff will be delivered in crates by boat several weeks later. Since we have almost nothing with us to celebrate our first Christmas in Chicago, my parents decide it will be fun to head downtown and go shopping for presents. I am excited to see what the city is all about.

  We get off the “L” train and I see the signs for a street called State Street. We follow the crowd up the dirty subway stairs into the hustle and bustle of the city streets. I am completely in awe of where I am. I notice right away the snow piled up high along the sidewalks. Something we don’t really see in England. Cabs are honking, holiday bells are ringing, and I see Christmas decorations everywhere I look. I hear voices of excited families walking together along the sidewalks. Holiday shoppers, arms overflowing with tons of shopping bags, are trying to navigate the crowds to get into the next store, hoping to find those last-minute holiday presents.

  Dad stops us to take a second to figure out where we are going, then we continue to walk down the street. With eyes wide-open, everything is immense to this seven-year-old girl. Dad stops us from walking any further. In front of us, there are huge, beautifully decorated window displays. The sign above says Marshall Field’s.

  “I think we can find everything we are looking for in here.” Dad grabs my hand. The three of us follow him into the department store.

  We walk inside Marshall Field’s. Oh wow! I cannot believe this store! It is so magical and enormous. I look up to see floor upon floor of everything you could ever imagine wanting to shop for. Decorations and holiday gifts are everywhere you look. I have never seen anything like it.

  David and I hold on tightly to my parents’ hands as we mix among the crowds of holiday shoppers. We buy some new “cool” American clothes, and my brother and I each pick out a special gift for Christmas. I choose a CD player and my first ever CD by Kylie Minogue. She is my favorite British pop star. Already, Chicago is so cool and I feel so grown up with my new CD player.

  We spend the rest of the day walking around and exploring some of the city. We head from State Street over to Michigan Avenue.

  “Boots, you will like Michigan Avenue. It is a famous street here in Chicago and it also has the nickname The Magnificent Mile. It’s a mile-long street of stores, restaurants, and hotels.”

  I look up at Dad and smile. I am just like him when it comes to learning about things, especially new places. I love to learn everything I can about a place I visit.

  The wind suddenly whips around us, and the cold is something like I have never experienced before. Dad explains that the cold wind is coming off Lake Michigan. We walk across the Michigan Avenue bridge, and I see gigantic chunks of ice floating throughout the Chicago River.

  As we continue down Michigan Avenue, I watch a few women with fancy coats and boots hurry around us. They remind me of fancy ladies from the movies. I hold on tighter to my Dad’s hand, not because I am afraid but because I am so excited. It is late afternoon and already starting to get dark, and the sparkly Christmas lights on the trees and buildings light up Michigan Avenue. We pass more storefront decorations and even a few Christmas trees. London is definitely not as decorated as this during the holidays.

  I look up in wonder at all the buildings along Michigan Avenue. Who works in those tall buildings, and who lives in those gorgeous high-rise apartments? I have only been here a few hours, but I already love being in this city. Everything in Chicago is so much bigger and taller than the buildings I am used to seeing in London. Also, everyone in Chicago just seems so much cooler, especially in the way they dress and in the way they speak.

  I want to be just like them. Everything about Chicago is so different. I want to live in this city! Yep, I definitely want to live right here when I grow up.

  One

  Twenty something years later…

  It is late morning and there is still a lot of fresh snow along the sides of the highway from the night before. I’m glad it has stopped snowing because I’m driving into the city to look at a few apartments. With a budget of only twelve hundred dollars per month, it has been difficult finding something I really like, but I am not giving up hope. My dream will one day become a reality. I know it will. And hopefully soon.

  A few months ago, I told my parents that after the holidays I was moving to
Chicago. Ever since we moved here from England, my parents have known my obsession with living in the city. They knew that this day would come.

  Two years after we moved to the United States, my Dad got a permanent job in Chicago. His company helped us get our permanent green cards. My parents thought living in the suburbs would be a better place for us, so they built a beautiful home in which my brother and I would grow up. It really was the American dream. We were suburban kids, and it was great, however, a big part of me wanted to be the kid who lived in the city.

  I left my job as a preschool teacher in Naperville. I was sad to leave the children in my class who I truly loved, but I knew it was time. I was ready to make the big move to Chicago. I had to take the chance and follow my dream.

  A few weeks ago, my brother asked if he could move with me to the city. He doesn’t love the city like I do, but he said moving with me would be something different for him, since he is also starting out a new career and looking for a job. I said yes. It’s nice not having to worry about living with a roommate I don’t know, and my brother and I are pretty close. So now, my next step is to find the right apartment for us and get a new job.

  As my drive to the city gets closer, the Chicago skyline comes into view. The brilliant jet-black Sears Tower and the John Hancock stand tall, as if they are guards protecting the city. Then the sign: North Lake Shore Drive. As I look over at the skyline, I feel the goosebumps on my arms!