Chapter Eighteen
Arthur
On the sixth of May, Arthur was waiting for Jesse at the intersection of Sixty-Fourth Street and Stony Island Avenue, intermittently rubbing his hands together while constantly shifting his stance.
Dear God, the fair was only a few feet away!
And in less than half an hour, Arthur would finally be able to experience it.
Over the last several weeks, Arthur’s heartache over his rejection from the fair had slowly waned, and even though he sometimes still found himself feeling foolishly wistful about what might have been, he was mostly able to focus on what was.
More precisely, he had managed to shift the energy he’d been spending on trying to secure a spot in the fair over to rekindling his relationship with Jesse and fixing things with Emma.
All in all, Arthur was trying to view his rejection as a blessing, rather than a curse.
Finally, he was free to let go of his obsession to reclaim the prestige of his family name. At least, temporarily.
Arthur hadn’t completely abandoned his hopes surrounding that just yet.
He still hadn’t managed to rid himself of the desire to be more than the nearly ruined son of Warren Hughes, for instance.
Neither had he freed himself from the profound yearning to win his parents’ love.
Or, if not their love, then at least their respect.
Consequently, Arthur still hadn’t invited Jesse to visit him at his home.
Instead, he and Jesse had been spending their Saturdays in Bridgeport, just as they had been prior to that extremely unfortunate night in February.
It wasn’t that Arthur was ashamed of Jesse, exactly.
Rather, Arthur mostly only wanted to avoid potential ridicule from either his parents or his neighbors over his and Jesse’s friendship.
In truth, he hadn’t wanted to broach the topic of him having a male companion with Gertrude, either.
Quite simply, Arthur just wanted to enjoy his relationship with Jesse in relative peace for as long as possible.
Luckily for him, newspapers were predicting that the fair would be extraordinarily crowded.
And so, Arthur hoped that he and Jesse might spend their time there unnoticed by others in Arthur’s social circle.
Hopefully the other families from Prairie Avenue would be too consumed with the fair’s wonders to pay them any mind.
Yes, it was Arthur’s sincerest hope that the World’s Columbian Exposition might provide him and Jesse with some temporary anonymity in public. And Arthur was oh-so-ready to revel in it.
Fifteen more minutes passed before Arthur finally caught sight of Jesse walking toward him. Bouncing on the balls of his feet, Arthur held his hand up high and waved.
“There you are!” he exclaimed.
Jesse’s soft laugh only barely reached Arthur’s ears while he was still so far away. Once Jesse was finally close enough to touch, Arthur wasted no time taking the opportunity to do exactly that. He placed a hand on Jesse’s shoulder and squeezed.
“I missed you,” he whispered.
Jesse’s cheeks reddened in that wonderfully familiar way of his.
“God, I love that blush of yours,” Arthur said, keeping his voice low.
Jesse sighed. “You’re incorrigible.”
“I know.” After one more firm squeeze, Arthur removed his hand to search for the tickets inside his inner breast pocket, raising his eyebrows a couple of times in a playful manner while he fished for them. “I’m so excited!”
“I can tell,” Jesse replied as Arthur retrieved the tickets.
Arthur handed one to Jesse, who immediately began studying it with interest, his eyes focusing on the printed image of Benjamin Franklin. After a moment, his eyes flitted over to the portrait on Arthur’s ticket.
“George Friedrich Handel,” Arthur explained.
“I know. He’s a composer, right?”
Arthur grinned. “He is! Mr. O’Connor, have you been studying up on the fair?”
“Only so that I might keep up with you.”
Humming, Arthur said, “I bet it’s more than that. I bet you’re excited.”
“Not in the least,” Jesse said with a smirk. “But we’re here, so . . .”
“We are here! I can’t even believe it!” Arthur sucked in a fast breath. “We’re here!”
Jesse huffed a laugh as he started toward the entrance. “Yes, well, let’s get it over with.”
Arthur knocked Jesse with his elbow in retaliation for his horrible comment. Good God, the World’s Columbian Exposition was an experience meant to be savored! Not something to rush through. Hopefully Jesse would learn that for himself once they were inside.
Thankfully, there were only ten people ahead of them in line at the entrance.
It wasn’t long before they showed their tickets to the man at the booth and stepped through the break in the fence.
Arthur held his breath for the first few steps, only finally releasing it when he realized that, from this particular spot, the fair wasn’t exactly thrilling to look at.
Arthur looked over at his companion as he fought back a frown. Jesse was staring up at the building to their left, his brow furrowed and eyes narrowed.
“What’s this one?” he asked. “I thought the buildings were supposed to be white.”
Arthur fumbled for his map. Immediately after unfolding it, he realized where they were and remembered what the building was.
“It’s the Transportation Building! Well, the back of it, anyway. It’s supposed to be beautiful!” Arthur beamed.
Jesse crooked an eyebrow. “Doesn’t look very beautiful to me.”
Arthur’s smile faltered. “I’m sure it’s more elegant out front.”
Goodness, it had better be.
Jesse hummed and nodded, seemingly not convinced.
Arthur and Jesse wandered around some more, unsure of where they should go.
Eventually, Arthur’s gaze settled on the building to the right of them.
It was large and white, with five square-shaped pillars, one in each corner and one taller one in the center.
It looked a little like a castle, though perhaps more industrial than medieval.
“What about that one?” Jesse asked, looking up at the building, too.
“Ehm . . .” Arthur checked the map. “Cold storage.”
Jesse began to laugh.
“Goodness, Arthur, this fair sure is impressive,” Jesse said.
Arthur huffed. “Oh, come on, Jesse! We’ve only just got here.
” He had to save this somehow. Had to prove to Jesse (and to himself) just how wondrous the fair truly was.
“And, well, the cold storage building is sort of impressive in its own way, isn’t it?
I mean, I’ve never seen an ice box that’s several stories high. Have you?”
“No?”
Arthur ignored the teasing lilt in Jesse’s tone.
“See? It’s The Greatest Refrigerator on Earth! We’re witnessing magnificence already.”
“Whatever you say,” Jesse replied in a singsong tone.
Arthur sighed. Oh, why was Jesse so resistant to letting himself have fun sometimes?
“I’m certain that things will be more spectacular when we reach the main buildings.”
“I thought the Transportation Building was one of the main buildings,” Jesse countered.
Arthur threw his head back with a groan. “We’re only looking at the back of it!”
“I’m teasing you,” Jesse said through a chuckle.
He took hold of Arthur’s sleeve and started for the front of the Transportation Building, pulling Arthur with him.
“Let’s keep going. I’m sure I’ll be wowed very soon,” he said.
Arthur really hoped so.
After walking past a whole cluster of train tracks to their right, the two men reached the front of the Transportation Building, which, as Arthur had predicted, was a lot more impressive than the back.
Romanesque style, the building was painted in an array of colors—crimson and wheat and sage—with winged figures, perhaps meant to be angels, perched between the building’s arched windows.
Arthur and Jesse squinted up at them, both men walking sideways together toward the building’s entrance.
Despite Jesse’s earlier teasing, Arthur could tell that the man was starting to see the fair’s splendor.
Arthur was starting to see it too.
“Do you remember these from the guidebook?” Arthur asked, pointing up at the winged figures.
Silently, Jesse shook his head, seemingly still in awe. Arthur stood up straighter, puffing out his chest a bit. He felt less silly for having wanted so fervently to be part of it now.
“Spirits of transportation,” Arthur explained, proudly. “Magnificent, aren’t they?”
“They’re . . . interesting,” Jesse said, though his burgeoning smile betrayed him, revealing the fact that his lack of enthusiasm was merely a facade.
Arthur clapped Jesse on the back and laughed. Jesse was convinced now! Arthur was sure of it.
“I knew you’d like it here,” Arthur said. “Follow me.”
Arthur rushed forward into the crowd of people, heading toward the building’s front door, which he knew would impress Jesse beyond measure.
Oh, he could hardly wait to see Jesse’s reaction!
Arthur had read about the Transportation Building prior to coming to the fair.
Its design was utterly unique. And Jesse was sure to find the entrance much more than merely interesting.
Once Arthur reached the front of the Transportation Building, he gestured toward the building with a flourish.
Jesse’s mouth fell agape the moment he saw the beautiful entryway.
Gold-plated, the entrance was made up of a five-layered archway, its complex-but-elegant construction unlike anything that Arthur had ever seen.
“Isn’t it incredible?!”
“It . . . is.”
Arthur let out a boisterous “Ha!” and then tried to rein it in. “Shall we see what’s inside?”
“Uhm, sure.”
Arthur chuckled.
He and Jesse walked into the building, which was teeming with people. Immediately next to its entryway, there were the first of the exhibits. On the right were exhibits from Great Britain, and on the left were those celebrating vehicles from France.