Meanwhile, she didn’t have a clue who Todd was. She didn’t acknowledge him; she didn’t speak to him. She didn’t even know the person standing in front of her was part of her group.
When Todd’s turn came to order, he stepped aside to let Kristen order before him. At that moment, she spoke her first words to him. “Thank you.” Too bad he couldn’t return the favor.
Kristen ordered a Martha Stewart dog, a ten-inch dog topped with relish, onions, bacon, chopped tomatoes, sauerkraut and sour cream. Not exactly the thing you would expect to see somebody who looked like Kristen eat.
Todd ordered a Three Dog Night. That was three hot dogs wrapped in a giant tortilla and topped with three slices of cheese, three slices of bacon, chili and onions.
As he left with his food, Chadwick approached him. “I thought I told you not to bother with Kristen. She’s out of your league. She’ll be back with me by the end of the trip, and there’s nothing you can do about it.”
Todd knew he had the magic for his book. As soon as he added it and presented it to Kristen, Chadwick would disappear from the picture.
Richard and Brianna spent the night at Avalon. He tried to search for the right way to amicably break things off with her. They were having too much fun there for him to do it.
Patricia wanted to see how Richard was doing. When she saw him dancing with Brianna, it made her a bit jealous. She knew she was never going to get back together with him, but he was happy and she wasn’t.
That morning, they checked out and left for the airport.
CHAPTER TWELVE
Four and a half hours later, they landed in Orlando, Florida. They checked into the Gaylord Palms Resort.
Once they cleaned up, they left to go to Kennedy Space Center. An hour later, they arrived. If they had been there a few weeks prior, they could have seen the final launch of the space shuttle.
They saw the launching pads for the space shuttles and for the Apollo missions. They also saw the area where the spacecraft were assembled. At the end of the tour, they saw a museum containing objects from space and artifacts from various missions.
After they finished the tour, they hopped onto I-95 for a two-hour trip to St. Augustine, the oldest city in the United States. They toured the Castillo de San Marcos, the oldest masonry fort in the United States.
After the three hour ride back to Orlando, some of the group rested at the hotel.
Christopher and Leigh went to Medieval Times for dinner and a show. The knights put on a jousting tournament complete with swordplay. Christopher wanted to get involved, but he knew he would be embarrassed by the competition.
Todd added that initial attraction to “Unforgettable”. It was ready to be printed.
His story was about two people who meet in various locales in New York City. He was strongly attracted to her; she was repulsed by him. Then, they were forced to share a cab. She left her phone as she fled the cab. He returned her phone to her.
The story was separated into three parts. The first part was from his point of view. The second was from hers. The third part was when he returned the phone.
To celebrate, he went to eat at Bubbalou's Bodacious BBQ.
Richard and Brianna went out to Arabian Nights, where the show featured acrobatics and many different breeds of horses. Richard knew it was best to break up with her in public, so as not to cause as much a scene. After dinner, he told her it was over.
She burst into tears. Richard felt bad about making her feel that way, but he knew he would have felt worse if he stayed with her.
That morning, they checked out and left for the airport.
Two and a half hours later, their plane landed in New York City. They checked into the Trump International Hotel and Tower. Chadwick was thrilled to be in the hotel named after his idol.
Once they cleaned up, they left to take a ferry to the Statue of Liberty. The statue itself stood one hundred fifty-one feet tall. With the pedestal, it stood three hundred five feet tall. Those that could took the staircase to the crown.
Inside the statue was a history of how it was built, as well of the renovations that have been done since it was dedicated in 1886.
From there, they took another ferry to Ellis Island, where millions of immigrants entered this country. As they entered the Immigration Museum, Leigh started to cry.
Her grandparents came to this country from Ireland and met on Ellis Island. They met at the Kissing Post, waiting on their relatives. She searched the American Immigrant Wall of Honor for their names. After looking for a few minutes, she found them. She ran to her husband and threw her arms around him in happiness.
As they got off the return ferry, they were greeted by men in tuxedoes. They were told that each person was given a ticket to the Broadway show of their choice.
In an awkward moment, Patricia, Richard and Brianna each chose tickets for The Lion King. Brianna spent the first half of the show pleading with Richard to take her back. It got to the point where he called for an usher to escort her out.
Douglas and Mei-Xing chose tickets for The Phantom of the Opera.
Again, Christopher and Leigh chose to go their separate ways for the evening. Leigh went to see Rock of Ages, while Christopher went to see The Book of Mormon, from the creators of South Park.
Kristen chose a ticket for Mamma Mia! Todd chose a ticket for Spiderman: Turn Off the Dark.
Chadwick chose a ticket for Chicago. However, unlike everyone else who chose to attend their show, he chose to scalp his ticket. He had no interest in seeing a Broadway production. He took the money from the ticket and went to Scores, the famous strip club.
The next morning, they got up and left for the Metropolitan Museum of Art. The museum showcased a wide variety of work, from American artists to European and Egyptian to Asian. Among the many works they saw there were Washington Crossing the Delaware by Emanuel Leutze, View of Toledo by El Greco, Last Communion of St Jerome by Botticelli, and Autumn Rhythm (Number 30) by Jackson Pollock.
Next, they went to the Empire State Building. At one time, it was the tallest building in the world. It now ranked as the third tallest building in the United States.
They took an elevator to the observation deck on the 102nd floor, 1250 feet above the streets. You could see all of Manhattan from there.
Christopher asked, “Has King Kong been here recently? Do we get to see Mount Olympus?” The latter was a reference to Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief.
Their last stop in New York was the site of the former World Trade Center, where two airplanes crashed into the buildings on September 11, 2001. Now, there was a memorial that was set to open in a few weeks.
They were to be given a private tour of the 9/11 Memorial. They would be the first to see the inside of it.
Richard took exception to this. He felt that the first people to see this should be the family members of those who died that day and those who went into the wreckage to save others.
Patricia agreed with him. There were others who deserved to see this before them.
Chadwick wanted to see it. He didn’t care about the policemen and firemen who died that day or were hurt saving others. He wanted to be the first to see it.
The decision was put to a vote. Majority would decide. By a two-thirds to one-third vote, it was decided that they would not go inside for the tour. Instead, they would just view the outside.
They saw the names of the 2977 people who were killed not only in that attack but also the attack on the Pentagon and in Pennsylvania that day, and also those who died in the bombing of the World Trade Center in February 1993. They were inscribed around the edges of the two Memorial pools.
They also saw the construction of One World Trade Center, which would stand taller than the Empire State Building when completed in 2013. Its spire would reach 1776 feet.
That night, Todd took his flash drive to the nearest Kinko’s. He printed out “U
nforgettable” and the cover. He asked them to bind the story and cover together.
Back at the hotel, he stopped at the gift shop to buy wrapping paper, tape, and a card. He went back to his room and wrapped the story in a neat box.
Douglas and Mei-Xing couldn’t decide where they wanted to go. Douglas wanted to go to Birdland to hear some jazz; Mei-Xing wanted to go to Carnegie Hall. In the end, they decided to just take a carriage ride through Central Park after having dinner at Serendipity 3. On their ride, they saw Cleopatra's Needle, a red granite obelisk approximately sixty-nine feet tall. It was originally erected at the Temple of Ra in Egypt around 1450 B.C.
Christopher went to Dangerfield’s for a night of comedy.
Patricia wanted to make up for standing Kristen up a few days ago. They went for a ladies night out at Cielo. Leigh didn’t want to stay home alone. She went with them.
Chadwick went to Gray’s Papaya for a few hot dogs.
Richard wanted to see the lights of New York. He hailed a cab and asked him to just drive around the city, over the Brooklyn Bridge.
Brianna just wanted to be alone. She went to walk Times Square. She wouldn’t be alone there, but she would be away from everyone in the group. She imagined it was New Year’s Eve and the ball was dropping.
The next morning, they checked out and left for the bus station.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
It took two Greyhound buses two hours to drive from New York City to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. They caught a shuttle from the bus station to the Rittenhouse Hotel.
As they checked into their rooms, Todd looked to see which room Kristen was staying in. He had a plan to get her his gift.
Once they cleaned up, they left for Independence Hall. It was in this building where the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution were signed.
Some of the group thought the Liberty Bell was still in the bell tower. They were told that it was replaced with the Centennial Bell and later the Bicentennial Bell. The actual Liberty Bell resided across the street in Liberty Bell Center.
Before they left, they saw the two wings of the hall. They saw the Old City Hall to the east and Congress Hall to the west. Congress Hall saw the ratification of the Bill of Rights and the inaugurations of Presidents George Washington and John Adams.
After they saw the Liberty Bell, they went to the Philadelphia Museum of Art. Christopher led a group of people running up the steps. When he got to the top, he yelled out, “Yo Adrian! I did it!” sounding like Rocky Balboa.
Among the work they saw in the museum were Prometheus Bound by Peter Paul Rubens, Vase with Twelve Sunflowers by Vincent Van Gogh, The Concert Singer by Thomas Eakins, and Soft Construction with Boiled Beans (Premonition of Civil War) by Salvador Dalí.
That evening before Todd left to explore Philly, he stopped by Kristen’s door. He thought about leaving his gift at the door. Then he thought, “What if someone takes it? This is too important to leave to chance.” He left it at the front desk with orders to give it to Kristen and only to Kristen.
Once he dropped it off, he went looking for the best cheesesteak in Philly. He asked around. Everyone gave him a different answer. He looked online for the best rating. Again, he was unsure. He wound up going to Cosmi’s Deli.
Douglas and Mei-Xing had dinner at Chifa. Then, they went to see the Pennsylvania Ballet.
Patricia and Kristen went dancing at Fluid. They were followed by Richard and Chadwick. The friendship had been rekindled between Patricia and Richard in New York. As a result of that, Chadwick tried to distance himself from them.
He tried to pull Kristen away from the group, but she refused to budge. She was done with him, and nothing he could do would change her mind.
Christopher and Leigh had used most of the remainder of their gift cards on the wedding. To keep things simple, they went to Geno’s Steaks for dinner.
Brianna chose to stay in her room for the night.
As Patricia and Kristen returned to the hotel, the desk clerk told Kristen she had a package. He handed her Todd’s gift.
She waited until she got back to the room to open it. She opened the card first. Inside, he wrote a message.
“I wanted to talk to you the whole trip, but I was afraid I would say the wrong words to you. I hope you like these. – Todd Wickham”
She opened the gift to see his story. She started reading it. She was moved by it.
“A smile that could brighten up the darkest of rooms.” “She was that single rose growing in the desert.”
She couldn’t put it down. She got to the part where he finally poured out his heart to her as he returned her cell phone. He left her a text message to read after he left. “If you want to see me again, just say ‘yes’.” After that, Todd left a blank page.
This was a gift unlike any other she had ever received. All the other gifts were materialistic, an attempt to buy her love. This was from the heart, an attempt to win her love. Every other guy wanted to be with her only because of how she looked. She could see Todd was different from any other guy she dated. She was intrigued.
The next morning was her birthday. As they checked out, guys lined up in the lobby. Each had a gift in the hopes of being her birthday date. Chadwick was there with a dozen roses.
As she walked through the lobby, she brushed each of them aside. She had to find the man who wrote that story. But she didn’t know who he was.
Then, she remembered Patricia talking about him. She knew who he was. Kristen went to Patricia.
“Who is Todd Wickham? He wrote me the most amazing story, and I just wanted to thank him.”
Patricia led her to him and introduced them. “Kristen Dougherty, meet Todd Wickham.”
When she saw him, she remembered him as the guy who let her ahead of him at Pink’s.
Even though he wanted to impress her, he was still surprised when she wanted to meet him.
“Todd, I really liked your story. I had a question I wanted to ask you.” She grabbed his hand. “Would you be my birthday date?”
Everybody turned to look at them in disbelief.
“It would be an honor.”
The two walked to the shuttle hand in hand. As they boarded the Greyhound, they sat next to each other. They could talk the whole trip to Washington, D.C. and get to know each other better.
Chadwick sat across the aisle from them, making sure he could keep an eye on them at all times.
Three hours later, they arrived in our nation’s capital.
This was the happiest Kristen had been the entire trip. She had just spent three hours having a genuine conversation with someone who was genuinely interested in her as a person, not an object.
They checked into the St. Regis. Todd helped carry her bags to her room.
They took the metro to Arlington National Cemetery. In this cemetery were soldiers and nurses ranging from the Civil War through Afghanistan and Iraq.
They saw the eternal flame that burns for the memory of President John F. Kennedy and crosses for the memories of his brothers Robert and Edward Kennedy.
They saw the Tomb of the Unknowns. The soldiers entombed represent World War I, World War II, the Korean War, and the Vietnam War. It was guarded by the 3rd U.S. Infantry Regiment.
Near the Tomb of the Unknowns stood a mast from the USS Maine, a memorial to the two hundred sixty-six men who lost their lives aboard that ship. There was also a memorial for those who died in the explosion of the Space Shuttle Challenger on January 28, 1986, and another for those who died in the Columbia disaster on February 1, 2003.
They saw a memorial to the one hundred eighty-four victims of the September 11 attacks on the Pentagon.
Throughout the tour, Todd and Kristen were inseparable. And Chadwick’s jealousy started to show.
Next, they saw the Lincoln Memorial, built to honor our sixteenth President. It was in the form of a Greek Doric temple and contained a large seated scul
pture of Abraham Lincoln and inscriptions of two of his best known speeches, The Gettysburg Address and his Second Inaugural Address.
As they left the Lincoln Memorial, to their left was the Vietnam Veterans Memorial. The memorial consisted of three separate parts: the Three Soldiers statue, the Vietnam Women's Memorial, and the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall.
The Memorial Wall was two hundred forty-six feet, nine inches long. Inscribed were the names of servicemen who were either confirmed to be killed in action or remained classified as missing in action when it was constructed in 1982. One half pointed toward the Washington Monument; the other pointed toward the Lincoln Memorial.
The Three Soldiers was a bronze statue depicting three soldiers: White, African American, and Hispanic American.
Todd and Kristen looked on the wall for his uncle Henry, who was killed in action in 1971. After a few minutes, they found him and made a pencil rubbing of his name.
From there, they saw the World War II Memorial, consisting of fifty-six granite pillars, each seventeen feet tall, arranged in a semicircle around a plaza with two arches forty-three feet tall on opposite sides. Each pillar was inscribed with the name of one of the forty-eight states as of 1945, as well as the District of Columbia, the Alaska Territory and Territory of Hawaii, the Philippines, Puerto Rico, Guam, American Samoa, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. The arches were inscribed with “Atlantic” and “Pacific”.
On the west side of the memorial was the Freedom Wall. The wall had four thousand forty-eight gold stars, each representing one hundred Americans who died in the war.
This made Patricia cry. Her grandfather was killed in the Battle of Normandy.
Next, they walked to the other end of the Reflecting Pool to the Washington Monument, built to honor George Washington, the father of our country. It was both the world's tallest stone structure and the world's tallest obelisk, standing five hundred fifty-five feet, five and one-eighth inches.
Because of an earthquake just a few days before their arrival, they couldn’t climb to the top of it.
The last sight they would see today would be the Jefferson Memorial, built to honor our third President and author of the Declaration of Independence.