Of Carriage Rides and Tourists

I was seventeen when I met them.

It was Thursday… and the bell simply wouldn't ring.

I repeatedly found myself glancing at the clock and wishing that the second hand would complete its rounds for the final round of the day. Unfortunately, it seemed as though time was standing still. It wasn't, it just seemed to be traveling at such a slow rate because I expected it to progress so much faster than it really was. Since time progressed, my second theory was that time simply slowed down to a pace just above standing still when I wasn't looking and then picked up the pace to a snails crawl when I was looking.

Around me, my classmates seemed to be indifferent to the lackadaisical progression of time. Their glazed expressions showed the reasons why. It was Thursday, and my unfortunate classmates had two more classes to go while my day was over as soon as the bell of dismissal rang. That was an advantage of being an advanced placement junior (currently stuck in required course studies)… we got to take periods out.

Since it was the final term of the second semester, I was getting a jump start on my summer job. With my early dismissal from school I was able to add a few hours onto my after school hours which opened doors to other possible jobs beyond simply flipping burgers at the local fast food joints. Instead, I chose a more romantic way to spend my time… driving those carriage tours through the old down town district and around the Arch.

The job could get messy cleaning up the waste bag that hung behind the horse, but the hours to simply enjoy the architecture of the city while showing the tourists from all over the country, and the occasional International visitor, the beauties of my home town was well worth the misery of a few minutes.

Finally! The monotone signal sounds that life can begin and I am off to see who I'll meet today. Will they be travelers from the other side of the state, perhaps they will come from boring places like Nebraska, or maybe I'll get lucky enough to meet a foreign exchange student. I had one of those last week, the foreign exchange student not the boring Nebraskan, and she was amazing to talk to. She was French and here to live with a family for a semester to work on her English. (She enjoyed my humor about how she should have tried England if she wanted to learn proper English). As I drove her around, she taught me some rudimentary French while I shared tips of how to avoid street slang in the local jargon. It was one of my most memorable rides (driving a beautiful young college girl was a bonus).

In a matter of moments I have navigated my way through the rushing under classmen and glided around the languishing seniors to reach my locker. A quick transfer of my needed books and assignments to my back pack finds me ready to go. In the parking lot, I quickly throw my pack into the back of my car and head for work.

Arriving at the stables I can see that the day is unusually busy for this time of year. Normally, the tourist season doesn't pick up until mid-June so until then we only have a few carriages out to avoid having drivers waiting around for someone interested in a lift or tour. Today though, every carriage appears to be out except for mine. Continuing around the parking lot, I find a place in the shade and grab my work bag. I have just enough time to quickly change in the locker room before I am expected to be at the stable to pick up my horse and carriage.

Luckily for me, I was able to make friends with the stable hand and he agreed to set up my ride until the end of the school year in order for me to be able to have a decent amount of time on the streets. In exchange, I am to do the occasional painting for him to give his girlfriend as gifts. She has a cultured taste for art, but as a college student he can't afford to buy her the big names ("Yet" he always tells me). That's where I come in. I am able to do my own original work of things she would like to see that don't exist, or I can do copies of any original master she would like to see (of course I sign them in my own name to avoid legal entanglements and because it would be bad form for a future cop to forge).

Reaching the stable, Jim hands me the reigns and grins that he has another commission for me. With an interest I ask what he has in mind. "Oh, a silly picture of me sliding down the side of the Arch like a giant amusement ride. It would only be a simple sketch for my own amusement, so nothing more than an hour of your time, but I had a dream with an image like that and I can't stop smiling about it." Laughing at his quarky sense of humor I promise to have it for him within a day or two.

Heading out on to the streets I find myself bored for the first few hours. My passengers included a business man whose boss "encouraged" him to see the sites so he decided a quick touristy ride would pass muster, another was a tourist couple who simply sat in the back taking pictures without saying a single word, while yet another set was a duo who couldn't be bothered with walking the distance from the parking garages up to the Arch. As I was beginning to lose hope for getting an interesting passenger, I got the couple who would change my life. Agent Peter Burke and his girlfriend Elizabeth Mitchell.

It was amusing how I picked them up.

Peter was bored with the city and tired of stumbling over the old cobble stones original to the area while Elizabeth was in love with the old architecture and the romantic notion of a horse and carriage ride with her boyfriend. Seeing Elizabeth's eagerness to get a ride and being eager to look somewhere besides his feet, Peter decided to go along and pay the fee for me to take them for a ride. As we started out, I asked them where they would like me to take them. Elizabeth took the lead and answered that they wanted to see the Arch and the downtown district with its quaint tourist shops and old architecture. While I drove them along, Elizabeth began to ask me questions beyond the usual touristy nonsense. I highly enjoyed discussing the local culture, history, arts, and anything else she wanted to discuss and before I knew it they ranked right up with the French student that I had driven last week. What put them over the top was when Peter began to talk to me as well. When one of my stories involved an old police tale, Peter started to lead the conversation for a while. He and I talked about the local police force, their history, and general law enforcement. I was impressed to discover that he was an agent in the FBI with plans to make his way up to DC someday, so I took his words to heart.

Eventually they began asking questions about me. I told them that my name was Danny and I was a student at the local high school working until I could graduate and go to the academy. Peter was curious as to which academy I planned to apply at. When I told him the police academy he had some tips for me and asked why I wanted to be a cop. My reply was based on the stories that I had been told all of my life about my father. "Because my father was a cop who died a hero when I was two. I want what I do to have value, to help people, and being a cop is a good way to do that. There are other ways to help, but being a cop is a connection I can have in common with the father that I never knew… carrying on the family name as my father's son if you will. In time, I hope to live up to his legacy." Elizabeth asked what I would do if that particular plan didn't work out, say… (heaven forbid), I was injured in the field and unable to serve, then what? "I am told that I am an art prodigy. If law enforcement doesn't work out, I have art and other skills to fall back on." We continued to have an enjoyable conversation for the rest of the ride. When I got back to their parking garage, it was time for a bittersweet goodbye.

I had meant the best father figure role model that I might ever have the luck to encounter and his girlfriend who had the air of the big sister that I never had or missed. It felt like I had known them for a life time and I wondered if I would ever have the fortune to meet them again.

As they disembarked from the carriage, they each had their own parting words. Peter told me that he hoped I would do well with the local police force and that if I ever wanted to join the FBI that I should look him up as they could always use a good man. His final pieces of advice was to avoid temptation and to always do the right thing and let the pieces fall where they may. Elizabeth said that she wished me the best and that no matter what my future might bring that she was sure I would be successful with my intelligence, kindness, skills, and charm to back me up. She also encouraged me to never forget the desire to help others, that I should keep that innocent desire to better those around me.

There was a couple waiting for the carriage as Peter and Elizabeth got out. Before relinquishing their time with me, Elizabeth decided to request that the next passengers take a quick picture of us together as a group. Agreeing to her request, I stepped down and they placed themselves one on either side of me. We smiled for the camera and Elizabeth checked to make sure she was satisfied with the picture. When Elizabeth was sure she had what she wanted, she and Peter said goodbye again before walking away.

My next passengers climbed up into the back while I got back up into my seat. Once they were settled and I had a direction, I couldn't help but take one last look toward my prior passengers. Peter and Elizabeth waved one final time to me as they got into their vehicle and drove away. I nodded to them in acknowledgement and proceeded down the road.

Despite the brevity of our acquaintance, I knew it was an encounter that would stick with me for the rest of my life. Peter would always be my father figure role model guiding me down the right path while El would be the big sister's guidance reminding why I need to keep my head on straight…

For Peter and Elizabeth, it was a vacation that would always have fond memories and the vacation that set the stage for future events that they could never imagine.

Peter came away with the hope maybe someday the kid would be FBI and they could work together. He had enjoyed talking to the kid with his intelligence, creativity, and zest for justice and genuinely meant the request to look him up should Danny ever join the FBI. (The kid might possibly be the makings for the smartest person he had ever met).

Over time though, Danny faded until he was a fond memory when Peter happened to think of the Arch, St. Louis, carriage rides, or potentially promising young agents. In the back of his mind, the kid was his standard of the perfect partner…

Elizabeth came away from the day with the feeling that she had just met her long lost little brother. She couldn't believe how similar they were with their dark hair, blue eyes, and love of the artistic elements of the world around them. And, for him to be so compatible with Peter was just another reason why she wished they had kept in touch. For a long time she found herself wondering what had become of the charming young man. Did he become a legendary cop, would she show case his art someday, or did he chose another of those skills that he hadn't detailed?

Eventually, the kid became the Danny who encourage her to meet new people, the handsome young man in her St. Louis travel pictures (she took others when she was taking pictures of the city), and the missing piece of her life that she wished they could find again someday. She never thought that he would come into her life again in reality…

The usual disclaimer: I'm playing in this sandbox with other people's sand and the only credit that I can take is my particular sand creation.

Also, I was in St. Louis, DC, and New York this past summer (the inspiration to write this story), but I didn't really try to stick to reality too much as I was simply passing through in a short period of time so anything that doesn't mesh is me taking creative alternatives.

Finally, another thanks to Quinis and my family for talking ideas through with me or listening to me yammer about the latest fan fictions I'm writing/reading.