My Life Would Suck Without You
Page 26
~*~
After a dinner of beef and broccoli and sweet and sour chicken, the two friends strolled around the theater district absorbing the atmosphere. Jillian bought some postcards and T-shirts to take back home.
A few hours later, Jillian threw up her hands in defeat. She leaned over, hands on her knees. “Stop, stop. I can’t walk anymore.”
Jake laughed, taking her shopping bag. “I’m impressed you lasted this long. Tell you what. Let’s stop at that bakery around the corner from the hotel and get some cheesecake, grab an Orange Julius, and head in. We can talk over your ideas and if you get your second wind, we can always go back out.”
Jillian nodded.
Armed with the dessert and drinks, they head to Jillian’s room. With the AC on low, she and Jake sprawled across the bed brainstorming. Jake liked Jillian’s new ideas and expanded on them.
Unfortunately, even the best plans have flaws. The fresh air and exercise, coupled with the rich dessert and cool air in the room, the friends fell fast asleep amid the notebooks and crumpled pages.
Jillian, rolling over, awoke with a start, yelping as she grabbed at the covers. Jake opened his eyes just in time to see her disappear off the side of the bed. He sat up laughing, offering his hand.
Sheepishly, Jillian stood, but seeing the bed covers in total disarray, started giggling. “What time is it?” she asked.
Jake looked at his watch. “Almost midnight.” He stretched. “Want to go out?”
She looked at him. “Now?”
He shrugged. “Sure. Why not? It’s New York City. The night life is just beginning.”
“No. I don’t think so. I’m really wiped out.” She looked at the open notebooks. “Did we accomplish anything?”
“Yeah. A lot. You came up with some awesome ideas. Some will work for the group, but you had a couple ideas I would consider turning into two-act plays. I think we could do it.”
“Really?”
“Jillian, do you know how brilliant your writing is?”
She reddened. “Brilliant?” she shook her head. “No, I don’t write that well.”
“You do. Believe me. If I had that talent…”
“You do have talent Jake. You sing and dance. You kept the group going. You came up with all the skits we used when I joined up. And now we collaborate.”
“Yeah, we do. So, do you want to go out?”
She shook her head. “I’m too tired. Besides, we have Central Park to conquer tomorrow.”
“Okay, but I think I’m going out for a bit. It’s a shame to sleep when you’re in the City. I’ll see you in the morning. “ He gathered his notebook and headed to his room.
Jillian locked the door behind him. Tossing out the discarded crumbled pages, she piled up her notebook and straightened the covers. Taking a quick shower, she sat on the bed mulling over Jake’s comments to her.
Am I really that talented? Is Jake right or is he just joking with me? She shook her head, punched the pillow into a puffy blob and fell fast asleep.
The next morning, after a breakfast of bagels piled high with cream cheese, the best friends headed up Fifth Avenue, past the Plaza Hotel and the statue of General Sherman, into the park.
Jillian was amazed at the transformation from city to country.
“The park is awesome. I love it here.” They walked off the main road to the pedestrian paths circling around the pond to Wollman Rink. “Over there,” he pointed east, “though you can’t really see it, is the zoo.”
“Really? With animals?”
He laughed. “You need animals for a zoo.”
“Duh,” she shrugged. “Lead on, McDuff. Where to now?”
“Heckscher’s Playground, then up to the carousal.”
After checking out both sites, they continued north up The Mall, eventually reaching Bethesda Fountain.
“This is so beautiful. I love it here.”
He nodded. “So do I. I want to move here.”
“So would I, someday,” Jillian agreed.
“Come on. There’s so much more to see.” He took her hand and they ran up the path past the Boat House and The Ramble towards Belvedere Castle. From there, Jake showed her Delacorte Theater. “This is where they do Shakespeare in the Park.” Then, heading east, they hit Cleopatra’s Needle.
Jillian stood at the base of the obelisk and looked at Jake. “This is really from Egypt?”
He nodded.
She walked around the tall stone block several times, finally reaching out to touch it. “Awesome.” She glanced around. What’s that building over there?”
“The Met.”
“It’s actually right in the park?” She looked around. “What cross street are we at?”
“Um, Eightieth or so, give or take a block.”
“And we came in at Fifty Seventh. What’s beyond here?”
“Once you pass Eighty Sixth Street, you’ll hit the reservoir, North Meadow, another lake, then the north end of the park—One Hundred and Tenth Street.”
“Isn’t there’s a movie called--.”
“Yep. Across 110th Street.”
“And there’s more?”
“Not Central Park, but plenty more of Manhattan. Harlem… um Cathedral of St John. Oh, there’s a really cool place called The Cloisters. Next trip, we’ll go there.” He looked at his watch. “Are you packed?”
“Yes.”
“Good. We have more time to play. Let’s head south.”
Together, the friends found a huge outcropping of basalt and climbed to the top.
“Do you have your notebook?” he pointed his chin at her bag.
“Of course.” She pulled it out.
“I have a couple more ideas.
“Okay, Kemo Sabe. Shoot.” They sat on the smooth rock for several hours. As Jake dictated, Jillian wrote and together, they plotted out a new play.
Scribbling the last of the notes, Jillian looked at her watch. “What time is the dinner?”
“Two o’clock, but we need to get our luggage out of our rooms by noon. We gotta go.”
They climbed down from their perch, reluctantly heading back to the hotel.
They departed for home right after dinner. The bus was initially noisy, with all the passengers chatting about their weekend. Eventually, the motion of the bus lulled people asleep. Even Jake had his eyes closed. Jillian pulled out her notebook and started embellishing one of their plays.