Falling in Love in New York (11 page)

“Well, we’ll have to start looking for something bigger soon, or think about a move out to the suburbs, won’t we Zach?” Claire teased. Her husband, a born and bred New Yorker didn’t seem too enamoured of the idea.

“Don’t mention the war,” he muttered, and again everyone laughed.

“So how was ‘it’?” Caroline asked later, when they were all settled and little Caitlyn was back sleeping in her cot. She squirmed. “Never again, right?”

But instead of agreeing enthusiastically, Claire simply smiled and shook her head.

“It was the most unforgettable experience of my life.”

“Well I know
that
,” Caroline rolled her eyes. “No woman forgets
that
–unless they get whacked on the head by something,” she added jokingly, but almost immediately her face went white. “Oh God, sorry Abby,” she gasped, realising she’d put her foot right in it.

“It’s fine,” Abby was completely unperturbed.

“Oh yes, of course!” Claire cried turning her younger sister as if suddenly realising too. “How are you? You look so well, I’d almost forgotten … oh bloody hell… I mean…”

“It’s OK.” Abby couldn’t help but smile at both her sisters’ unfortunate choice of words. “And I’m good … I think.”

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw her mother watching her closely. Teresa had been treating her with kid gloves over the last few weeks, especially since the piano incident.

“I’m grand honestly,” she insisted to Claire, feeling uncomfortable that she’d suddenly become the topic of conversation and had dragged down the celebratory mood. “It was a bit of a shock to the system and I think we can safely say the hospital won’t win any prizes for hairstyling, but hey….” She tried to feign an indifferent smile. “Anyway, enough about me; tell us more about how you’re getting on with Caitlyn.”

As Claire evidently knew better than to push the topic, and Abby was determined not to dampen the mood, they left it at that. Instead, she sat back and listened to her sister discuss in long and loving detail what she considered the most unforgettable experience of her life.

Over the next few days, Abby and her mother spent lots of time with Claire and the baby, while Caroline spent lots of time shopping, often leaving poor Tom alone at the hotel to entertain himself.

On the third evening of their visit, Claire urged Abby and Teresa to follow Caroline’s example. “You’re in New York and it’s Christmas! Don’t feel as though you have to hang around here with me all day tomorrow too. The two of you should go out and do some shopping, or go see the sights.”

“You must be joking!” Teresa scoffed. “There’s no way I’m traipsing around in that kind of cold. Anyway, to be truthful, I really couldn’t be bothered. It could be some time again until I see my only granddaughter and I want to spend as much time with her as possible.” She looked at Abby. “You should though. Caroline is heading out to Woodbury Common tomorrow, she told me.”

The thought of travelling an hour or so upstate to visit some designer outlet mall didn’t appeal to Abby in the slightest. Why travel all this way to end up in the same old places selling the same old brands–brands that could now just as easily be found back home?

It seemed such an awful waste when there was so much else to see and do here. OK, so the department stores such as Macys and Sachs were New York destinations in themselves, and Abby wouldn’t mind taking a look at their Christmas window displays, but unlike her spendthrift sister, she just had no interest in the stores’ actual contents. Still trying to recover from her last utterly
mortifying
shopping episode, she didn’t want to repeat the experience anytime soon! And as tomorrow was Christmas Eve, Abby really wanted to do something a little more interesting.

“Do!” Claire insisted. “I’m sure Caroline would love some company.”

“Well, I think I’d like to do a bit of exploring around the city actually,” she told them. “Don’t worry–I won’t go far,” she added quickly, seeing Teresa’s alarmed expression.

“I just don’t like the idea of you wandering around a strange place on your own, Abby. What if something happens…?”

“Mum, she’ll be fine,” Claire interjected firmly, and Abby gave her a grateful smile. The two had in the meantime had a long chat, and Abby had confessed to Claire that Teresa’s anxiousness since the accident was actually beginning to stifle her, which she suspected, was partly the reason her sister was now insisting they get out and about. Abby really needed that freedom; it was the only way she could start feeling normal again. Being cooped up at home with nothing to do but fret and worry was really starting to take its toll on her, and was making her feel even more despondent about what might happen next. She needed stimulation and distraction, something to help take her mind off of things.

And seeing as she’d never been in New York before and might not get the opportunity again, a few hours by herself in the city that never sleeps sounded like absolute heaven!

“So that’s settled then,” Claire continued. “We’ll all do our own thing tomorrow and then meet up back here in the evening for a nice family dinner before heading onto St Pat’s for midnight mass. How does that sound?”

“Absolutely perfect,” Abby replied with a grin.

On Christmas Eve morning, she woke up early, eager to get going.

It was a bright, crisp but again, startlingly cold day so she made sure to wrap up well. Having borrowed a beautiful and wonderfully warm cream-coloured duffle from Claire, and teaming it with her own red bobble hat and matching red scarf, she felt and looked suitably Christmassy as she let herself out of the apartment and headed south towards Midtown.

Although it was desperately cold, there really was a magical feel about the place at this time of year and the
neighbourhood was festooned with Christmas finest. Wreaths hung on brownstone doorways and pine boughs wound luxuriously around wrought-iron fences and as Abby neared the shopping districts, she spotted Santas on almost every corner, heard Christmas music ringing out from all directions, while shoppers bustled in and out of nearby stores and markets.

This
was what New York was really about, Abby smiled and despite the cold, was much preferable to being cooped up in a centrally-heated department store, aimlessly seeking out bargains that (in Caroline’s case) would probably never even be worn!

No this was pretty special, she thought, darting out of the way of a deliveryman carrying a consignment of what looked like freshly baked bagels into a nearby café. Abby’s stomach rumbled, reminding her that she hadn’t yet had breakfast, and seeing as the café looked nice and warm …

A minute later she was sitting at a table trying to choose from the café’s mouth-watering menu–raspberry or pumpkin waffles, cranberry and pear bread pudding, omelettes, bagels and a whole rainbow of different flavoured muffins. While normally, she’d balk at such an unusual selection of food, today she was fully determined to throw herself into the full New York experience. To hell with it, for once she was going to order something more interesting and exciting than just plain old bread rolls and coffee!

Eventually, choosing French toast covered with chocolate, pistachios and strawberries, Abby spent a pleasant half-hour drinking coffee and watching the world go by from her window-seat. It was absolute bliss, and she couldn’t remember the last time she’d enjoyed herself this much. Back home in Dublin, she rarely did things like this, in the last year or so she was lucky if she found to energy to get dressed in the mornings, let alone leave the flat other than to go to work.

It struck her again how much she’d withdrawn from life in the aftermath of the break-up, and how much she’d closed herself off from everything. When was the last time she’d spent a morning in Dublin like this, sauntering along Grafton St, or O’Connell St without a care in the world?

Eventually tearing herself away from the warmth of the café, Abby then decided to head along Fifth Avenue, hoping to soak up the festive atmosphere, and take a look at some of the department stores’ world famous window displays. The display at Bergdorf Goodman’s was a Christmas Angels theme and Abby marvelled at the immense thought and effort that went into the exhibit. Intermingled with clothes and what looked like genuine antiques were a selection of handcrafted angels and amazingly lifelike miniatures of some of New York’s famous landmarks–the Chrysler Building and the Empire State–and the whole window was decked out in snowflakes and sparkles. While on Fifth Avenue she also paid a visit to the eponymous Tiffany & Co store, and stared in the window at the stunning jewellery in awe, wondering if she would ever be so lucky as to own such a piece.

The shops were magical as well as suitably festive and Christmassy, but all too soon the incessant crowds became difficult to handle, so instead Abby decided to head for quieter surrounds. She left the busy shopping area and continued walking along the avenue for a while before eventually reaching Central Park South.

The tourist carriages were lined up outside the entrance, the horses dutifully waiting for their next passengers, and while the notion was tempting, particularly after all the walking she’d done that morning, Abby decided against taking a trip on one, although she was sorely tempted.

There was just something a little depressing about doing something like that on her own, wasn’t there?  Horse and carriage rides around Central Park were the preserve of couples on a romantic Christmas break here, and not for sad, singletons like her. Not that she felt sad at the moment–if anything this had been one the nicest days she’d experienced in ages, and rather than let such thoughts get her down, Abby was now doubly determined to enjoy it even more.

But first, she thought she might grab something from one of the coffee stands nearby. Despite her hearty brunch earlier, she was once again quite peckish, so a sandwich and a coffee would do her just fine. She’d take her lunch into the park, sit on a bench and just take it easy for a while, maybe do some people-watching while she was at it.

Having picked up some food, Abby went inside the park and found an unoccupied bench near the lake. She sat back, sipped her coffee and allowed herself to simply relax and take it all in. This place really was a haven from the hustle and bustle of the city streets and although the park too was a hive of activity, with joggers, walkers and tourists out enjoying the open spaces, the lake and woodland areas were a peaceful contrast to the frantic commercial activity outside.

She could see why New Yorkers loved the park and why it was so important to them, but at the same time, she hadn’t anticipated the sheer size of the place, or the strangeness of having such a huge green area amidst all these soaring skyscrapers.

As Abby struggled to open the packaging of her sandwich through her heavy woollen gloves, she realised she’d attracted the attention of a couple of nearby grey squirrels, who evidently sensing the promise of food were now gathered cheekily around her feet. When entering the park, she’d initially been a little taken aback by the sheer numbers of them darting here and there with impunity, and amazed to find such an abundance of wildlife in the middle of the worlds’ busiest city.

Now one squirrel in particular seemed especially interested in her lunch, as he sat near her feet on his hind legs and focused his shiny eyes on her, his bushy tail twitching from side to side.

“Go and get your own,” she scolded him, tickled by his bravery. “Or even better, go and find some nuts for yourself!” 

Then she looked to the side and reddened, realising that while she was wrestling with her sandwich wrapper, someone else had sat down on the same bench. And here she was yabbering away to the squirrel like an eejit!

“Yeah Phil here,” she heard the man say into his mobile phone and breathed a slight sigh of relief when she realised his attentions were obviously elsewhere. “No, I’m still here, bloody flight got cancelled …yeah, I’m booked on a late one, much later tonight though. Sorry, I hate to do this to you–especially today too. No, it’s not fine, but what can you do?”

Abby tried not to listen in, but yet she couldn’t help it. From what she could make out, he seemed pretty annoyed, but then again she supposed she couldn’t blame him. Having your flight cancelled on Christmas Eve sounded like an absolute nightmare.

She’d become so focused on what the guy was saying that her concentration had strayed completely. As a result, the squirrel at her feet saw his chance and almost before she realised what was happening, he’d hopped up onto the bench and snatched away her sandwich.

Abby’s eyes widened. “You divil!” she cried, amazed at the departing squirrel’s brazenness.

“Cheeky little fellows, aren’t they?” the man beside her said, putting his phone into his pocket. 

Abby turned to look at him, completely bemused. “You saw that?”

“Yep,” he said, his eyes shining with amusement.

“I can’t believe they could be so brazen! I didn’t even know they could
do
that.”

He shrugged in the manner of someone who was well used to the squirrels’ antics. “They’ve been known to–especially around here.”

He was probably a native, Abby thought, although it was difficult to tell from his accent. “I suppose they’re so used to being fed by tourists that they start to expect it, and if they don’t get it, they help themselves.” They he smiled. “Something similar happened to me one time in Thailand, except this time it was monkeys doing the stealing.”

“Really? What did they take?”

He chuckled again. “Well, it was my own stupidity really. They were in a touristy spot, and I decided to go to a shop nearby and buy them some bananas. While I was there I bought myself a couple of snacks, nachos, chocolate, that kind of thing.” He smiled at the memory. “So I came out of the shop, and held out the banana to a little monkey standing watching me, but this guy had
no
interest in bananas. Nope, he was much more into my bag of snacks and before I knew it, he reached up and grabbed the lot!” He chuckled in admiration “Leaving me standing there open-mouthed with the banana.”

Abby laughed too. “Good to know that these kind of things don’t just happen to me then,” she said with a groan.

He was nice, she thought, childishly pleased at the unexpected encounter. Not to mention
very
cute, in that clean-shaven American kind of way. He looked to be about the same age as she was, possibly a bit older, and had dark but rather unkempt-looking hair, a strong jaw-line, and striking deep mahogany eyes.

Woven into all of this was a gentleness that Abby sensed put people at ease–it certainly had in her case anyway, which was why she didn’t mind carrying on a conversation with a complete stranger in a strange place. She liked the way he’d just started chatting out of the blue like that too–it wasn’t something she’d expected in such a huge city, but perhaps it was so huge that people found it easier to talk to strangers, safe in the knowledge that they’d probably never see the other person again. But she had to laugh at the mention of Thailand, considering that not too long ago she’d been bemoaning the country’s weird food.

“Is Thailand nice?” she asked, more out of politeness than anything else.

“Amazing,” he replied with a shake of his head. “Granted, it’s been a while since I was there, and I keep promising myself I’ll go back, but I just haven’t got round to it.”