I was on the news and everything.
____________
To: Caroline
From: Hannah
Date: October 16
Subject: HA
LOLLLLLL. OMG… I am dying here.
____________
To: Hannah
From: Caroline
Date: October 16
Subject: Re: HA
Hahahaha!
Hey, I meant to ask you… so how’s Library Boy? ;)
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“No pressure or anything, but you do realize that my expectations are ridiculously high?”
Joel threw his head back and laughed. “Oh yeah. No pressure at all.”
It was Saturday morning and we were walking toward a tube stop at the end of the road. The day was crisp enough that I needed a light jacket, but still warm enough that I was okay in a pair of jeans and sneakers with no socks.
All around us, London was waking up and coming to life. Cafe doors were opening. Shop owners were setting up window displays. Dogs were being hooked on leashes and kids were being strapped into strollers. Even the sun seemed to be thinking about making a rare appearance. Flashy streaks of gold burned through a layer of morning clouds, revealing patches of a luminous blue sky.
“You could always relent and tell me what we’re doing,” I suggested. Joel had insisted on keeping our plans a secret, only giving me ambiguous hints like wear comfortable shoes and you’re not afraid of heights, are you?
His mouth twitched as we walked into the tube station. He stepped onto the downward escalator and turned to face me. “You’ll just have to wait and see.”
I groaned in frustration but, really, that was for show. The anticipation was part of the fun.
The elevator carried us into the bowels of the city where we scanned our Oyster cards and pushed through the electronic turnstiles. Then came a labyrinth of white-tiled underground tunnels. As we neared the southbound platform, we heard the whisper of the train pulling in and we both started to jog.
“Made it!” I said triumphantly as the train doors slid shut behind us.
Joel was flushed. He reached behind his back, found my hand, and guided me past the people crowding the area in front of the doors to a pair of open seats.
Through a rectangular window, I watched London hurtle by in a series of dark tunnels. The train car jostled and every so often, it stopped with a discordant shriek of the brakes and a mess of passengers got on and off.
“I think I’ve seen more people in the past three minutes than live in Libby Park.”
Joel laughed. He was still holding my hand and I twisted my palm up so that our fingers were wrapped tightly together. Like always, I was amazed by how soft and smooth his skin was.
He pointed out the stops, telling me where I could get off to pick up the Jubilee Line or take the Central toward Notting Hill. At one point, I felt my ears start to pop and I looked at Joel in surprise.
“We’re going beneath water,” he explained quietly.
“Oh wow.”
He laughed and I blinked at him. “What?”
“You’re so excited about what’s basically a ride on the subway.”
“Don’t throw shade at me. I’m sure you’d feel the same if you grew up landlocked in Oklahoma.”
His laugh dissolved into a grin. “It’s not shade. I love it.”
I drew in a breath. I knew he didn’t mean love in that way. Still… the word on his lips turned my insides over. My heart kicked a little harder and my face heated. Hoping to hide my absurd reaction, I turned back to the window. Not long after that, a calm and authoritative voice came through the overhead speakers and announced we were pulling into Ladbroke Grove.
“This is us,” Joel said, standing up and pulling me with him.
I followed him off the train and through the crowded station. When we were on the street, I pulled my hand from his grip and found a tube of chapstick in my purse. As I quickly applied a layer, I asked him, “Now are you going to tell me where we’re going?”
He cleared his throat before saying, “We’re going everywhere.”
I just looked at him. “Everywhere?”
“Well, as everywhere as we can get in a day. You’ve been here for almost two months but you don’t really know London yet. I’m going to show it to you.”
“That sounds ambitious,” I said as we turned the corner onto a narrow cobblestone road. The buildings around us were old and a little shabby but they were still charming.
He shrugged. “You said you wanted an adventure.”
“You’re right.” I squinted through my eyelashes and smacked my sticky lips. “And where does this adventure begin?”
He tipped his chin to indicate that our destination was up ahead. “In a spot that is sort of touristy but still a must for any Londoner.”
A few roads later, we turned a corner. When I saw the street laid out before us, I sucked in my breath.
“Welcome to Portobello Road, Hannah.”
It was like a candy store or Santa’s workshop had exploded. The buildings were painted a disorganized rainbow of colors—red, yellow, blue, pink, green—and everywhere I looked was brimming with activity. Clothes and windchimes dangled from the awnings over doorways. Windows were decorated with posters and paint. Vendors packed in every inch of sidewalk space, selling roasted meats and fruits and colorful saris and trinkets for tourists. There was a stand with what I guessed were thousands and thousands of beads in every color imaginable. Behind it, I spotted a haberdashery with a wild array of hats on display in the window.
I felt like Alice must have when she tumbled into Wonderland.
We started at one end of the curved road and threaded our way through the tide of people and shops to the other side. We wandered into antique stores crowded with musty furniture and vintage toys, and we picked through the bright fabric in an outdoor stand until I found a scarf I wanted to send to Caroline. We stopped and clapped for a street magician in a silver hat and suit whose best trick was levitating cards. We ate warm bread with black currant jam from a bakery on the corner and I kissed him before he could wipe the crumbs from his lips. I didn’t care that it was the middle of the day on a busy street. I couldn’t help myself.
After that, Joel showed me Borough Market and Russell Square and Kings Cross and a bunch of other places that I couldn’t remember the names of. He took me to Charing Cross where we sifted through used book stores and had tea in a little shop that boasted the world’s largest collection of ceramic porpoises.
“I guess we aren’t really able to corroborate the claim,” I said, eyeing one of the shelves of porpoises with skepticism.
“I think you’re right. I doubt the Guinness people have ‘porpoise figurines’ as an entry.”
I set down my teacup and sat back in my chair. “So, where to next?”
Joel smiled wanly. “A scavenger hunt.”
“A scavenger hunt?” I did nothing to tamp down the excitement in my voice. “What kind are we talking about?”
His smile grew wider and he teased, “You’ll see…”
Ten minutes later, we were back on the street. It was already late afternoon and to my surprise and satisfaction, the sun was still shining, making even the dull grey buildings that surrounded us seem friendly. I liked to think of the unusually good weather as a cosmic sign or some sort of blessing from the universe.
“The area we’re in is called Soho,” Joel told me as we walked past a music club.
“Soho? Like in New York?”
He nodded. “But this is the original.”
“Okay. Is this where we start the scavenger hunt?”
“Yes.” He stopped, gazed up. “We start right here.”
“What are we looking for?” I asked, turning my body.
“Noses.”
I scoffed loudly. “Come again?”
He pointed to the
side of the building across the street from where we were standing. “Do you see it?”
“Do I see what?”
He stepped closer and lowered his head so that our vision was aligned. “The nose.”
I followed his finger. Sure enough, I could just make out a sculpture of a nose jutting from the brick wall. I laughed hysterically. “I thought you were having some kind of break from reality. Why noses?”
“Around twenty years ago, an artist hid a bunch of plaster noses all over the neighborhood.”
“But why?”
Joel looked at me. “Who knows.”
I felt myself smile. “Did you just make a really bad nose pun?”
He shrugged off the comment. “Maybe.”
I laughed. “So, how many schnozzes am I looking for?”
It was his turn to chuckle. “Schnozzes?”
“Yes, schnozzes!”
He shook his head. “So far, I’ve only found three of them but my stepfather told me that there are at least five more hidden around this area.”
“And what do we get if we find them all?” I asked.
“Wealth… love… good fortune… eternal happiness… Isn’t that the kind of thing you always get when you complete a task?”
I lifted my eyebrows. “Then we better get started looking for noses.”
“A phrase I’m sure you never thought you’d say.”
We scouted the streets, peeking down narrow strips between the buildings, under awnings and even in the sewers. As we looked, we talked. Joel talked about his mom and his stepdad and his first and only real girlfriend, who had broken his heart and who, incidentally, I decided I hated by default.
I told him more about my life in Oklahoma—about summers at the lake and nights scouting out the sky with my dad and sometimes Caroline.
“Astronomy is his hobby,” I informed him. “He’s a total star freak.”
“And you?”
I shrugged modestly. “I know my way around the sky.”
“And the stars?”
“And the stars,” I confirmed.
“So, what’s the coolest thing I should be aware of about the universe?” he asked.
I twisted my mouth to the side as I thought. “If you threw Saturn into a big enough body of water, it would float.”
His forehead bunched. “No.”
I nodded and smiled, pleased with myself. “Yes—wait!” My eye caught on something above an archway “Is that…?”
It was a nose. Joel had already shown me the three he’d known about so this was a new discovery.
“Good ca—”
My growling stomach interrupted him. I flushed but he just laughed and linked our hands.
“I’m calling the search off,” he said, pulling me down the road in the opposite direction.
“But, we haven’t gone down that—”
“Hannah,” he said as I strained against him, “we’re getting food.”
“What happened to eternal happiness and good fortune?” I protested.
“That comes after we eat.”
My stomach growled again—loudly—which was answer enough for Joel. We rode the tube south toward the Thames and when we exited the station, evening was settling over the city like a downy blanket. Not wanting to waste time on a long dinner, we stopped at a fish and chips stand. The guy behind the counter spoke little English and had a wide handlebar mustache that made me think of a time-traveling Wyatt Earp. The food was served in a paper cone and Joel encouraged me to sprinkle salt and malt vinegar over it.
As we ate, we walked on a paved boardwalk, following the river east so that I could see the outline of St. Paul’s Cathedral and across the Millennium Bridge. The water was opaque—more black than blue—and in the falling dusk it shimmered with mellow hues of pink and orange. Everything looked so beautiful and Joel stopped halfway across the bridge to ask a woman in a lemon-yellow pea coat to take our photo.
My fingers were sticky from eating and I quickly used the napkin in my hand to wipe them off. I was touched that he wanted a memory of the day. Joel showed the woman how to use the camera on his phone. Then he scooped me into his side and I put my hand on his chest just above his heart. The wind picked up and blew my hair into his face. I heard him laugh and felt him tuck the long blonde strands between our bodies.
“One more stop,” he told me as we passed by Tate Modern, a large art gallery at the base of the bridge.
“What is it?” I asked.
“Patience, grasshopper.”
I stomped my feet in jest.
He grinned and looped my arm under his elbow. His long fingers brushed gently over the back of my hand. “You won’t be disappointed.”
And, when we stopped just west of Jubilee Gardens and I craned my neck upward, I knew he was right. I wasn’t disappointed in the slightest.
“The London Eye,” I breathed in awe. I’d read about it and looked at photos, but this was the first time I’d seen the giant ferris wheel that overlooked the Thames in person. It was dark now and the entire circumference was trimmed in a garland of white lights.
Joel paid for our tickets and after a short wait, we boarded one of the egg-shaped glass domes attached to the wheel. There were about twenty other passengers in the carrier, but pressed against the cool glass, with all of London lit up below us, Joel and I could have been the only ones.
When we reached the top, I wrapped my hands around the metal rail and leaned away from the side.
“Are you scared?” He was watching me.
I didn’t say anything; just shook my head.
Joel tenderly pried my right hand loose and pulled me closer. He turned my hand over and I felt him draw a shape on my skin with the tip of his index finger. It was a star.
I released the faintest sigh and curled into his body. I touched my lips to his neck where his Adam’s apple bobbed in his throat. His skin was warm and salty and I could feel the papery rasp from where he shaved.
My pulse rippled. Quietly, I said, “It takes your breath away.”
I wasn’t only talking about the view from the Ferris wheel and Joel probably understood this.
As we fell back to earth in our glass cocoon, his mouth found mine and he placed whispered words on my lips. Yes it does.
By Saturday morning, my face hurt so much that I think I must have been smiling in my sleep. It was still hard to believe that I’d finally gotten over whatever sort of stage fright had been inhibiting me for almost a month and had my first successful rehearsal last night.
To: Caroline
From: Hannah
Date: October 17
Subject: Helloooooo!
Just in case you were thinking about me... Know that I’m on a date with Library Boy and as I type this, we are walking the streets and searching for noses.
____________
To: Hannah
From: Caroline
Date: October 17
Subject: Noses?
Uhhhh… Was that some epic autocorrect or are you really searching for noses? Noses on, like, people? Animals? Am I missing something?????
-C
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I laughed as I pressed send. Then I placed my phone on my nightstand and threw my covers off. It was Saturday morning and by the bright sunshine pouring through my window, I could tell it was going to be a nice blue-sky kind of day. Unfortunately, I’d be spending most of that day inside a mall looking for a dress to wear to Homecoming. The thought was enough to dull my good mood. Fashion wasn’t exactly one of my areas of expertise.
My phone vibrated on the nightstand and I reached for it thinking that it was Hannah explaining why she and Library Boy are looking for noses. I nearly dropped the phone when I saw who just emailed me.
To: Caroline
From: Owen
Date: October 17
Subject: Re: Hey Friend!<
br />
Hey,
Yeah, I guess I owe you an apology. It was a shitty thing to do and I don’t really have an excuse other than Hannah didn't want me to tell you what was happening. She wanted to be the one to break the news and I didn't know if I'd be able to be around you without you knowing the truth.
But I do miss you and I think a coffee date sounds good. Except you know I hate coffee. :P
____________
I couldn’t believe I’d finally heard from him. Not wanting him to have a chance to change his mind, I closed my email account and sent him a text.
I have to go to the mall in Tulsa today. Wanna meet me there?
His response came quickly.
What time?
We texted back and forth a few more times, working out where and when to meet. I was so excited that Owen was talking to me again that I practically skipped down the stairs to the first floor. Dad was reclined in his favorite armchair in the living room reading the newspaper. A football pregame show blared in the background.
“Hey, um, Dad?” I asked tentatively.
He didn’t look up from the paper. “Hmm?”
“I wanted to go into Tulsa to do a little shopping and was wondering if I could borrow your truck? I'm meeting Owen there.”
That got a slight reaction. “How is Owen these days? He hasn’t been around much.”
“Well, you remember his parents moved last year? And he’s really busy with lacrosse and his new school, but, yeah… he’s good.” I cleared my throat. “So can I borrow the truck to go shopping?”
He looked at me. “How long do you think you’ll be? I told Bob Poole I’d head over to his place this evening to have a look at his water heater. It’s giving him trouble again.”
“I’ve got to get a dress for Homecoming, but I can be back early afternoon so it won’t be a problem.”
Dad nodded slowly. “You’re going to the Homecoming dance?”
Steering the Stars Page 19