Chapter 8
Andrew had left the place for their date up to Maya, so she met him at 9 am on Saturday at the carousel at Central Park. "Hi Maya" he greeted her with a huge smile as his face lit up, "great choice, it's really beautiful here, do you want to ride the carousel?" Maya hadn't been on the carousel since she was 6, it was just a meeting point since the park was huge, but the look in Andrew's eyes drew her in. "Yeah, why not" she responded as they got in line and found side by side horses. Once the ride was over she picked the direction, heading away from the playground and toward the zoo. Andrew took in the numerous chess players as they passed, all deep in conversation, waiting until they were clear before speaking. "They looked pretty serious, I've never played chess, have you?" Maya laughed, "no definitely never played, but yes, anyone playing chess at 9 am on a Saturday is pretty serious." Desperate to learn more about him, she asked "I see you writing all the time, what are you writing about?" Andrew gently shook his head no, "sorry, I don't really show my writing to anyone, not yet anyway, it's not finished." A chilled silence came between them, Maya was a little resentful that Andrew was so secretive. He paused as they came to a flower garden, still in full bloom in mid-September. "It's so pretty here" he commented, "it's hard to believe this is in the middle of the city." "I know" Maya melted a little, "I love it here, always have." She smiled up at Andrew, who without warning suddenly reached down and kissed her, gently, no tongue, no pressure. Maya wrapped her arms around his neck, feeling safe and relaxed, something she never felt with guys. "Wow" she whispered as the kiss broke. Andrew grinned, "I was going to wait until the end of the date, but you were so beautiful looking at the flowers, I just really wanted to kiss you, was that ok?" Maya nodded eagerly, her lips still tingling. "Yes, definitely ok". Before things got awkward, Andrew took her hand, "I heard there's a great zoo here, can we see it?" "Actually, that is where I was taking you" Maya responded, "I love the penguins". Still holding hands she led him to the zoo. On the way there she saw a father playing frisbee with his daughter, who looked around 8. She stopped walking, her hand gripping Andrew's tighter and a fleeting look of anger playing across her face. She couldn't help it, she really liked Shawn, but she was still mad that her dad took off, the strain her mom had to go through to raise her alone, the fact that he didn't want her. Even though Mr. Matthews tried, she was even more angry that she still blamed herself. Andrew noticed the look but wisely ignored it, saying only to prod Maya along "I love penguins too, can we see them first"? They made their way into the zoo with Andrew still talking, keeping Maya's mind from wandering back to the father and daughter.
Three hours later the two emerged hand in hand from the zoo in search of a hot dog vendor. They had talked the entire time they were in the zoo, and Maya had mentioned always getting a hot dog when they came here, so Andrew wanted to try one. She had told Andrew about her painting, how she and Riley met, and how Mr. Matthews had somehow been their teacher since the 7th grade. Andrew had told Maya more about growing up in Pittsburgh, what he missed and what he didn't, and the few things he had done in New York in the past month since he had arrived. As they sat down to eat, Andrew finally let go of her hand and checked something quickly on his phone. "Wow Maya you were right, these hot dogs are pretty good" he said, sounding surprised. Maya gave him a knowing glance "of course they are, NY hot dogs are the best in the world, not that I've ever actually had a hot dog anywhere else". "Listen Maya, do you have some more time, there's somewhere I want to take you" Andrew asked. Maya, curious, agreed and they headed to the subway.
When they reached their destination, Maya found a room full of a bunch of random junk, hard hats, bats, and safety glasses. "What is this place" she asked. "It's called a rage cage" Andrew responded. "I went to one a couple of times in Pittsburgh. You go in, put on the safety gear, and just destroy whatever you feel like for 15 minutes." "Ok that sounds cool" Maya jumped in gleefully, beating up old phones, plates, stereos, and whatever other random items were near her. By the end of the 15 minutes, she was exhausted, but the simmering anger she had felt since earlier was gone. "That was really great" she told Andrew, "your turn". "Nah I'm good" he replied, taking her hand, "I just wanted you to try it. I got into some trouble with fights when I was a kid, then a friend showed me a place like this. It was a great way to get the anger out, but its just temporary. Eventually a teacher referred me to a counselor, who advised me to write my feelings, I've been writing ever since". "Oh" said Maya, realizing that Andrew might have just let slip what he was writing about, "so what were you so mad about"? Andrew gave her a sidelong glance "my dad leaving, my mom struggling, same thing you are I imagine". Maya flushed a deep shade of red, was she really that easy to read? Trying to change the subject she interjected "today was great, thank you, but I should be getting home". Andrew put his arm around her shoulder "I'd really like to take you home if that is alright". Maya was torn, part of her wanted to get far away from Andrew and his perception, but part of her wanted to spend more time with him. "You think you could find your way back to your apartment from my place" she teased. Andrew smirked, "well the subway and I have had our differences, but maybe you could help me". He rattled off his address which Maya realized was only 4 blocks from her new apartment. "That's actually not far from me, if you want, we can get off at your stop and walk to my place". "Sounds perfect" Andrew said. They headed for the subway and then walked to Maya's apartment. At the outside door, she stopped him. "This is me, thank you for a wonderful day". She started to turn to the door then changed her mind. Reaching up she wrapped her arms around Andrew's neck and kissed him, then hurried inside before she blurted out how happy he had made her.