Jennie was excited when she saw Central Park and our hotel. “There’s Macy’s,” she exclaimed when she saw it. “Wow, you can see how big the store really is from here. Oh, Doug, thank you so much for bringing me here.” She punctuated her remarks with a big hug and kiss, much to the amusement of those nearby. We stayed there for more than an hour, buying cheesy tee-shirts with King Kong climbing the side of the building.
Out on the street we stopped at a food truck for hot dogs before hailing a cab to pier 83 at 42nd and 12th for the Circle Line cruise around Manhattan. Down the Hudson we traveled around the Statue of Liberty and up the East River past Wall Street and the South Street Seaport. On our way north we saw the Chrysler Building and the old Brooklyn Navy Yard as we passed under the Manhattan and Brooklyn Bridges. Jennie was spellbound when we entered the ship canal at Spuyten Duyvil—Dutch for Devil’s whirlpool–where the currents are extremely treacherous. We finished the tour at two and returned to the hotel for a brief rest.
“Where to next, Darling?”
“We’re going to the Bronx again to one of my favorite places. Actually, that’s not quite true since I’ve never been there. I went to the old one plenty of times though.”
“Doug! Please don’t tease me.”
“Sorry, sweetheart—we’re going to Yankee Stadium for the game tonight. Maybe we should take a cab, although the subway from here is a breeze. I’ll have to think about getting back to the hotel because the subway is always jammed. We’d have to wait for maybe four or five trains just to get on the platform.”
“Are we taking Lady?”
“Yes, we definitely are. I even bought a ticket for her. We’ll be right behind the Yankees’ dugout. Maybe we can get a souvenir ball. Oh Hell, let’s go now so we’ll have plenty of time.” Once out the door I decided we should take a cab. It was safer and we had plenty of time. Cabbies always know all the best routes. We had just piled in when I told the driver, “Yankee Stadium…and step on it.” The driver was a foreigner like most so I prayed he knew English.
While in the cab I asked Jennie if she’d like to stay another day and maybe go to a spa. “I’m sure the concierge could arrange it.”
She smiled and leaned over to kiss me. “Thank you, Doug, but I think I’d like to go home. I need to see my doctor and I’d like some time to plan our trip to Iowa.”
“That’s a good idea. We also have to decide whether or not you should confront your mother or stepfather. It might not be a good idea because of your name change. Damn, I never gave a thought at the time that you could go home.”
“I am going home, Doug—to our house…to our home. Going to Iowa is just so I can smirk at that asshole.” I grinned in response then sat back to watch where we were going. Cab drivers have been known to take extra long routes, even driving in circles, to jack up the tab. Fortunately, we were taking a fairly direct route.
We were early so we walked directly through security, enjoying a laugh when the admissions agent saw that Lady had her own ticket. “You don’t need a ticket for a service dog, especially for tickets like these.”
“I know, but I wouldn’t want the other patrons to be squeezed in because I need my dog. This way she’ll have her own space and so will everyone else.”
“I guess…anyway, Section 14B is that way.” He pointed left. We went right—straight to the Yankees Team Store where we bought tee shirts and caps. The shirts we had worn went into the bag. Next we walked up to the Food Court where we bought two hand-cut prime steak sandwiches and Cokes from Lobel’s. I’d read online that these sandwiches were really good and they were—delicious, in fact. Once we had used the rest room we walked down to our seats in Section 14B right behind the dugout. Jennie took our souvenir program down to the fence and got autographs from A Rod, Brett Gardner, Chase Headley, and Mark Teixeira. Amazing what batting one’s eyelashes will do, especially when they’re attached to someone who looks like and is built like Jennie.
The game was fun, especially since the Yanks won, beating the Bosox 5-3. We had a blast, even catching a foul ball. Okay, we didn’t actually catch it—it looked like it went a mile high–but when Jennie went to grab it off the floor two guys tried to push her away. They might have succeeded if Lady hadn’t growled in their faces. Interest in a possible souvenir suddenly vanished. Jennie was all grins as she rejoined me. “This is going on my dresser,” she told me as she dropped it into her purse.
We took our time after the game and found a cab easily. Thirty minutes later we were in our suite where we began packing. Even after expanding our bags to the max Jennie still had plenty that wouldn’t fit. She put the remaining clothes in one of the large bags from Macy’s and we ambled slowly, but contentedly, to bed. The boutique manager had indeed phoned, telling me that we were in luck. There had been a very limited number of dresses produced, but the designer, after hearing our story, agreed to make just one more for Jennie. I had to pay, of course, but once done it would be sent directly to us by Fed Ex.
NEXT: Jennie confronts her stepfather then we take a long honeymoon.
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