A New York State Of Mind.
In September the weather is more humid and less hostile. September doesn't possess the euphoria of a new beginning; it's not enlightened by a spotlight either, unlike summer, season characterized by youth and adventure. It's not fall season at all, since pumpkins are harvested in early October. September was just, September; simple as that. It was the ideal time to visit NYC, it's still warm and there aren't many tourists around.
He could swear he was inside a dream. He could breathe the humidity of the nature that surrounded him, he knew the moment he opened his eyes he would find an attractive amount of lights, since the brilliance had managed to pierce his eyelids. Over all the soil, his nose caught the smell of a fine perfume with a hint of lavender and vanilla. He was in the greenhouse of the Botanical Garden. A wonderful passageway next to the lagoon that looked like something out of Monet's Water Lilies, which ended in a high glass dome.
High leaves arches surrounded the passageway, illuminated by a blue neon light. Suddenly, the bustle and the sound of insects were replaced by skate blades crashing into ice. He opened his eyes to find a bright ice rink surrounded by people of all ages that seemed to be having the time of their life with their families and friends, his eyes fell on a young girl dressed in black leather leggings, a beige oversized sweater and a matching coat. Her red curls jumping around as she tried to keep her balance by skating in circles on her own axis.
He had compassion on her and fondly approached her, taking both of her hands. The girl lifted up her gaze and flashed a smile. Following the music that came from the speakers of the rink, he moved their arms in an attempt to dance. Baby I don't need dollar bills to have fun tonight, he sang, his dancing partner laughing all the way. He could swear he was inside a dream.
And he was. Of course he was, the shrill sound of the alarm on his phone just proved it.
Jack sat on the bed and grabbed his phone to turn off the loud noise as his roommate turned under the covers. When he managed to switch the alarm from postpone to dismiss, he had the chance to look at his lock screen; a picture of a couple of teenagers/young adults hugging in a corner of the Chelsea Piers Sky Rink. The taller boy dressed in jeans and a black jacket which made him look thinner, his blond hair a mess as he wrinkled his nose and stuck out the tip of his tongue. His arms around the smiling 5'6 teenager, who was about to fall when the picture was taken.
It was not a dream.
A couple of hours later, the class of the Royal Marine School was mingling in Times Square, cheerful to have an hour and a half lunch break. Fabrizio had been planning to ask Helga out all morning, now it was his chance.
"Hey Helga" He said with the charm that characterized him
"Yes Fabrizio?"
"I heard Juniors has the best cheesecake in the world, would you like to go with me?"
Helga nodded with a smile. The boy was happy because he didn't need help from anybody, he had just asked a girl out on his own. He was proud of himself; his English didn't stutter a bit. Not too far from him, another conversation was taking place...
"Jack, we're all going to Manhattan Mall! You comin'?"
"Sure, let's go!"
"Jack! Wait! Are you going to the mall?" Tommy rushed
"Yeah, i'm going with the Arts guys, wanna come with us?"
"Uh no, but can you buy a video game?"
"Why not?"
"Not in the mood to hear about anime. Anyways... you guys brought any games? If not we could buy..."
"What's that supposed to mean?" Jack laughed "They don't talk about anime... that much"
"Yes, they do, what should we buy for the trip? PS5? Xbox?"
Jack stared at him
"Pick one, I don't mind which one"
Jack kept his clueless stare until he realized Tommy wouldn't know he didn't know anything about consoles.
"I... I don't know... I've only owned a PSP when I was younger..."
"Right... okay buy a Play Station and two or three video games that catch your eye, I'll pay you when we get to the ship, i didn't bring that much cash..."
How do I tell him...
Jack sighed "Tommy I... I didn't bring any money"
"Your student card is connected to a credit card, right?"
"Well, technically yeah... but I don't have that credit card with me..."
"Jack! Are you coming?" Jack's classmate, Chris, shouted from a distance
"I'm coming! I'm coming!"
Tommy looked around to find Fabrizio not too far from them. He didn't think if he was interrupting or not when he shouted his name and told him to come to where he was. Fabrizio shook his head, hinting that he was busy, Tommy insisted.
"Oh c'mon! Hurry up! I'll be quick!"
The young one rolled his eyes and asked Helga to wait for him.
"Ma vaffanculo! Ma sei idiota? What do you want?"
"Ah cheers mate, remember we talked about getting a console? Well Jackie here is going to buy it, but we don't have enough cash so..."
"I can't spend my dollars, i'm going out with Helga"
"Your card then"
"My momma told me to use it for emergencies only"
"Oh c'mon, we'll pay you back as soon as we're back on the ship!" Tommy promised, Jack just nodded, now that he thought about it, those on-board jobs didn't sound bad after all.
Fabrizio hesitated but ended up handing them his mother's credit card.
"We'll repay you" Jack insisted
"Just buy a good one"
Jack ran before his group finished getting in the cab and left with them to the mall. Tommy got back with his group as well and Fabrizio and Helga headed to Juniors. Luckily, there wasn't many people ahead of them, so they were assigned a table pretty quick. They ordered cheesecake in a cup which didn't take long to arrive.
"Are you enjoying the trip so far, Helga?"
"Yes. I like travel. I've never been outside Norway"
"I've heard it's beautiful"
"It is. Very beautiful"
The boy watched fondly as his date took a spoon of cake and her face lit up when she tasted it. Her pale cheeks turned into a slight pink when the boy said
"You are too"
Fabrizio didn't know where that came from, but he liked the new him. As long as he didn't get an insecurity attack all of the sudden, he would be fine.
Helga took the compliment gracefully and returned it by admiring Fabrizio's charm and personality, as well as his looks. He didn't take long to be hypnotized by the way her wavy blonde hair fell on her bare shoulders, the deep blue of her eyes and her freckles, especially her freckles. As they talked, he discovered that both had a lot of things in common. For example, they both were raised in a house of strict parents and had taken the voyage to become more independent. They also enjoyed listening to the same genres of music and liked the same movies, which varied from Nicholas Sparks to Twilight.
The hour and a half had passed too quickly, to the couple's dismay, so they had to go back to Times Square to reunite with the rest of their group. To everyone's surprise, they showed up holding hands and refused to separate from each other the rest of the day.
As the group continued their tour of the big apple, the Hockley's were discussing the fate of the DeWitt's Construction Company in a coworking space Caledon's brother owned not too far from Wall Street. Of course Rose and Ruth weren't present, they thought running a business was a task only men could do successfully, hence the root of all their problems...
"They have the assets we need, if both companies came together as a Joint Venture, it would be a great expansion"
"It would be the next step after the exclusivity contract that declares they cannot buy steel from any other company"
"I agree, but shouldn't we be worried about the lack of projects they have been dealing with since last year?"
"Nothing a re-branding can't fix, call the marketing and public relations team, we're going in a different direction. Less projects, higher prices, more exclusivity. We need to choose very carefully the people they're going to work for. They must be willing to pay for the best steel there is"
"I agree, the family business tale is getting old... the new image must reflect nothing but luxury and quality"
"And that starts with EVERYONE in the organization. Cal, you need to control your girlfriend's social media. She is the daughter of DeWitt, basically the face of the company"
"Why don't we make Caledon the face of the company?"
"Because numbers say that girls are more approachable. Just make sure her image reflects what we want, okay?"