Do we have to tell them where we are going?” Caitlin asks as we descend the escalator to the Metro.
“We give the machine our money and then we can go where we want to.”
As we make our way to the landing, I skim the sign to determine which side to stand on. “We’ll take this to the Metro Station and then switch lines to get to the Mall.”
Caitlin scrunches her nose up.
“The area from the Capitol to the Lincoln Memorial is referred to as the Mall.”
She is relieved. “I brought a disposable camera so I could get a shot of the White House and the Washington Monument.”
“Are you going to be okay in those shoes? It’s a lot of walking after we get off the Metro.” I stare at Caitlin’s plum suede heels.
“These things? Piece of cake. Besides, I paid a small fortune for them from Isabel’s collection. Figured I’d show her my great taste. I want to arrive wearing them tonight.”
“If you’re sure, we’ll walk by a few of the museums, and then we have to see the Lincoln Memorial. There’s a hot dog stand nearby. We can grab lunch on the way and have a picnic by one of our forefathers.”
“Who are the other three?”
The train arrives with a gust of air. “Three? This is our ride, so get ready to enter when the doors open.”
“Lincoln is one. Who are the other three?”
I shake my head in amazement and point to an open orange seat. I have the feeling that seeing the city through Caitlin’s eyes and mind will make for a most interesting day, not the kind you read about in travel books.
“I strained my neck looking up at that thing,” Caitlin says, pointing to the Washington Monument.
“Do you want to go up? They have elevator rides to the top.”
Caitlin gulps and pretends to look at her watch. “Gosh, I would, but I don’t want to miss the other sights.”
“I hear ya. Let’s keep walking, and in just a minute you will see my favorite stretch in all of this area.”
We follow a walkway to the crest of the hill and soon we are viewing the reflecting pool that leads dramatically up to the statue of Lincoln, seated and grand. A line of grade school kids marches in front of us. They each hold a sack lunch and the hand of their field trip buddy.
“It’s so pretty. I never would have imagined this many trees and green lawns. You were lucky to grow up around here, Mari. It’s breathtaking.”
“This city is fantastic.” I breathe in the air and take in the splendid view. “I’ve avoided coming down here until today.”
She glances over at me, “It’s been good for you to be home. I can see it on your face. You seem happier and more together—peaceful, I guess.”
“I do?” I hate to tell her how lost I feel.
“Yes, but we need you back in Tucson.”
“Tell me everything that is going on. My conversations with Sadie are always rushed; she seems stressed for obvious reasons. And Angelica is getting harder and harder to read. One time she seems more stable, and the next she is sounding overburdened and a bit cuckoo. What’s up with that?”
“I’ll start with Angelica because I have a bit of gossip.”
I rub my hands together in anticipation.
“The three of us got together for breakfast, which was a drag without you, I must say—and Angelica said that she is seriously considering dating again.”
“Peyton, I hope.”
“She wouldn’t say. Sadie asked directly and reminded Angelica that Peyton was invited to the wedding because he and Carson have become friends over the past year. In fact, those two and Beau were meeting for weekly golf games.”
“Beau never mentioned that.”
“Well, I hope you don’t take this wrong or anything, but I guess Beau has been kind of flaky. He cancels a lot and lately hasn’t even called. He just doesn’t show.”
“Beau is super busy these days. That grant project he and—his mentor—are working on is really big for him and for Golden Horizons. He will do so much good for the residents. And there is extra pressure because if he does a good job with this project, he has a chance at getting on with the state board. So the flakiness isn’t his nature; it’s just that…”
Caitlin holds up her hand. “You are overselling.”
I pause for a moment. She is right. “Welcome to the dialogue of justification that frequently runs through my mind.”
“Don’t worry. Everyone still holds him in high esteem.”
“What’d Angelica say about Peyton being invited to the wedding?” I steer us back on track while half of my mind stays stuck on Beau’s behavior.
“She actually smiled. That is when we knew we were on to something. But you are totally right; she is a bit unpredictable. However, since she started going to a counselor at her church, she has fewer crazy days.”
“Glad to hear it.”
The kids start running up the stairs to the Lincoln Memorial and so we do the same. Even the wildest of the field trip clan seem to be calm and reverent in the space surrounding the statue. Silence covers us all, and we just take a few minutes to soak up the grandeur.
“Was he the fifteenth president?”
“Sixteenth. Between James Buchanan and Andrew Johnson.”
“So you’re the student who actually retained that information.”
“No retention. Several of the kids are learning the presidents this year, so I told them that if they learn the list before I do, I will do their chores for a week.”
“They must love you.”
I look at the kids, who are now quietly reading aloud the inscriptions on the wall of the memorial. One of them reminds me of Wallace, all serious and earnest. “They are growing on me, that’s for sure.”
After some photo ops, we head to a food shack and load up with hot dogs, chips, sodas, and plenty of mustard packets.
“Does life get any better?” Caitlin bites into her relish-covered dog and closes her eyes in rapture.
“I’m telling you—after walking all morning, this is the most satisfying meal imaginable.” I wipe a bit of mustard off my chin and get comfy on the backless cement bench. “Sadie update now.”
Caitlin takes a swig of soda. “Yeah, right. Okay, Sadie is gearing up for Harry’s visit. They got the whole living situation figured out. Harry will stay with Carson and Harry’s mom will stay at Majestic Vista.”
“Perfect. She’ll feel pampered and not excluded, and Sadie will be a lot more comfortable than she would have been had they all been with Carson.”
“No kidding. So that is working out. But Sadie’s sister and mom are making her bananas. They are coming in early also. When they heard about the Majestic Vista arrangement Carson had made for Harry’s mom, they jumped on that bandwagon.”
“They’re good people, aren’t they?”
“Yes, but they get under her skin. And we all know Sadie’s sister is a bit strange.”
“We do?”
“Hello? The dresses?”
I throw up my hands and smatter ketchup on my sweater. “How could I forget the dresses?”
“I remember them every day. I seriously have to cover mine up at night so I can sleep.” Caitlin burps and wads up her hot dog wrapper. We both have finished in record time.
“I think we should set her sister up for a psychiatric evaluation.”
“My guess—jealousy. She is not married and is a bit older than Sadie.”
“Well, at the bachelorette dinner we can keep an eye on her.”
Caitlin slaps her forehead. “I knew I forgot to tell you something. That elegant dinner at the Chateau d’Or is now a Western-themed outing. Complete with horse rides and chicken potpie.”
“Chicken potpie?”
“Or whatever they serve out of chuck wagons.”
I shake my head a few times in an attempt to to retrieve logic and sanity once again. “Don’t tell me—the sister?”
“Yes. She said that she and the mother never get out to Tucson, and they want a real Southwestern experience.”
“I should think Majestic Vista and an order of quesadillas would be sufficient.”
“Sadie has the disease to please, as they say.”
“Don’t we all. What is it about women especially? Guys don’t seem to worry about pleasing everyone else all the time. They don’t develop ulcers if someone isn’t happy with their decisions or actions or how they wore their hair that day. Beau is a perfect example. He is barely available to talk to me and dodges golf games with his new friends, but he probably isn’t up all night worrying about letting me—them—down. We take on all that. We practically beg for it.”
“Hey, you’re preaching to the choir. I grew up trying to please my parents, but by age sixteen I understood it was impossible to do that and be myself. Either they were going to know and like the real me, or they would have to settle for a very civil relationship.”
“And it is quite polite.”
“Positively proper. We never have conversations about dreams or purpose or life’s meaning. Nothing that could involve opinion or dissension. I’ll bet your mom and dad are very real. I could tell by looking at them.”
“They are very authentic people, but I still had to go through the same rebellion.”
“How’d you rebel? Did you refuse to do extra credit in one of your classes?”
“Let’s walk over by the pool on our way back.”
“Good tangent. Spill the goods.”
“I broke up with Marcus, for one.”
“That was to rebel against your parents? You lose a perfectly good relationship because you happened to be dating someone they liked?”
“It was more complicated than that. They had our whole future figured out. I felt trapped. I wanted to see the world. You have to understand that the Urban Center was not exactly the coolest of addresses to call home. My whole childhood was spent waiting to be old enough to break out on my own and live someplace I chose. But my parents practically had Marcus and me married off and stepping in line behind them. I couldn’t see the great part about what they did. I could only see me in ten, twenty, forty years, stuck in the home I grew up in. I thought my only out was to break up with Marcus and start applying to colleges far, far away.”
“Mission accomplished. Tucson is pretty dang far away.”
“And Tucson has really grown on me.” I stop walking and fold my arms across my chest. Suddenly, the air seems chilled. “I’m torn, Caitlin.”
“You are considering staying, aren’t you?”
“It has crossed my mind. I thought it was just the good feeling of being back around family, but lately I’ve wondered if my Tucson life was about running away. I adore Golden Horizons and when we are on track, Beau and I are fantastic. I just don’t know if it is enough. How messed up am I? I don’t know which life I am running away from.”
Caitlin hugs me. “Didn’t you think things would be easier by the time we hit thirty? Here I am moving clear across the country to finally do what I love. You are torn between two lives. Angelica is still finding out who she is. And Sadie is trying to stand up for herself and create a new life with someone who has been married and who has a child. It’s like we are all just beginning to live.”
“I like the perspective that we are just beginning to live. It does feel like a birthing experience. Painful and scary.”
“And yet hopeful, right?”
As I agree with Caitlin’s words, I’m wondering when my crazy friend became so darn sane.
She continues. “I’m excited about my decision. And you will be excited no matter what you end up doing, Mari. How great that you have people who love you and support you in both places. You are blessed.”
“I am. Thanks for the perspective.”
Caitlin looks around at our surroundings. “Could you get a picture of me by the water? Get the monument in the frame, too.”
I reach for her camera and direct her toward the reflecting pool. As I am about to take the shot, Caitlin starts to wave at someone behind me.
“Sir, could you take a picture of me and my friend?”
An elderly gentleman wearing a baseball cap and suspenders over his flannel shirt is most agreeable.
“I’ll take my heels off so we are the same height,” Caitlin hollers as I hand off the camera to the man. I’m showing him the point-and-shoot method when I notice the accident about to happen. Caitlin has one shoe in her hand and is bending over to unhook the other shoe’s strap. I think she will regain her balance until the first shoe is flung into the air. Caitlin would never throw away a perfectly good shoe.
The splash directs the attention of countless tourists and the laughter of several school children. Caitlin flounders about in the murky water until the man, Hank from Wisconsin, and I can fish her out.
“This is suede, dang it. I love this dress.” She starts crying from embarrassment and over the loss of a fabulous outfit.
Now this is the Caitlin I know so well.
“Caitlin, you poor thing. Let’s get over to those restrooms. Hank, thanks for your help, but we won’t need to record this moment.”
Hank hands me the camera and reluctantly walks away once I convince him we are going to be fine.
And while Caitlin is distracted by the sound of her green dress sloshing against her thighs, I steal a photo of my mermaid friend.