Total pages in book: 29
Estimated words: 27090 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 135(@200wpm)___ 108(@250wpm)___ 90(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 27090 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 135(@200wpm)___ 108(@250wpm)___ 90(@300wpm)
“Here’s my boy from the city,” he mumbles and embraces me.
“Hello, Pops.”
“And you brought a bonnie lass with you, too. She brightens the room. How’s business, son?”
“It’s very good, Pops. I can’t complain.”
“We won’t complain either. I can’t thank you enough for helping us out the way you do.”
“You’re my family. When you need something, I’ll take care of it. Anything, Pops, I mean it.”
We take our places around the table and enjoy our meal and conversation. Beth hangs on every word. After lunch, I take her by the hand and lead her out the backdoor to the garden. A gentle breeze blows the fallen leaves across the lawn. I lead her through the orchard to the riverbank where we skip stones of the water.
“I really like this place,” Beth says as she rests her head on my shoulder.
“It is nice, but when you’re a young, ambitious kid, it kind of feels like a prison.”
“I can see that, I guess.”
“Come on, Beth. Could you see me trying to grow a business from a place like this?”
“No, I guess not.”
“No, I needed to move to the city to become who I am.”
“And if you hadn’t, I never would have met you.”
“See? That’s the best reason of all.”
“What your father said about helping them. Did something happen?”
“Sure, the economy happened, and they got older. They were struggling for a while. That’s why I bought the homestead for them. Now, if things get lean, they don’t have to worry about paying a mortgage. And if they ever have a problem, they know I’ll take care of them.”
“That’s one of the sweetest things I’ve ever heard.”
“Don’t tell anyone. I like letting the rest of the world believe I’m a cutthroat hothead. Let’s go say our goodbyes and head out. You want to see the village before dark so you don’t get caught by the headless horseman.”
“It was such a short visit.” She frowns.
“We’ll come back, I promise.”
We say goodbye to the family and head into the village where I park the car and take Beth for a walk down Village Street. The village center is decorated for Halloween and the blackboard signs in front of the shops boast their offers of pumpkin spice goodies. We stop near the river and I point out the lighthouse. Beth continues to snap pictures of everything,
“I think we’ve seen everything. It’s time to go.”
“No, Daddy.”
“What do you mean no?”
“We haven’t seen everything. Take me to this horseman so I can take your picture.”
My grin lets her know I’ve been teasing her. I spin her around and point to the statue in the distance. “There he is, sweetheart. Let’s get this tourist crap over with.”
10
BETH
As promised, Bryan takes the day off work to show me around the city. I feel a bit guilty for taking time off so early into my tenure, but he’s the boss and what he says goes.
We begin our field trip with a carriage ride through Central Park. The clip-clop of the horse's hooves and the rushing of leaves through the trees drown out the hustle and bustle of the city. We sip coffee and cuddle up on the buggy’s bench seat while we take in the view.
The ride ends and Bryan lifts me off the carriage and places me on my feet. “What’s next? The Statue of Liberty or the Empire State Building?”
“Lady Liberty.” I grin.
“That’s a ferry ride. Let’s go.”
We rush to the harbor to catch the ferry and I watch the city fade in the distance as we head toward the giant woman with the torch. It’s pretty amazing to see these things up close after so many years of only seeing them on my TV screen. If I hadn’t met Bryan, they would still be just images from another part of the world for me. I don’t think I could ever summon up the courage to go sightseeing by myself, and I certainly don’t have the money to spend on things that aren’t necessities.
“Is this your first ferry ride?”
I feel a bit foolish but I confess, “This is my first boat ride. Is that bad? I feel like every time you ask me about something, anything, I have no experience with it at all.”
“Oh, baby, I wish you knew how good that makes me feel. I like introducing you to new things. You’re an adventure. Every time you have a new experience, it makes me see things from your perspective. It’s pretty damn cool.”
His words make me giddy. “Then show me everything, Daddy.”
We arrive at the Empire State Building and I ask Bryan if he wants to eat at the restaurant inside. He tells me no and says we have other dinner plans. We travel up to the top deck on the 102nd floor and look out at the city.
“It’s a little unnerving to be up this high.”