Chapter 31 #2
The following day, I gave Matteo the grand tour of my city.
The only time he’d visited, he’d done super touristy things like visit Times Square and go to the Statue of Liberty.
So I decided to show him the places I loved.
A few were still touristy—Bethesda Fountain, St. Patrick’s Cathedral, a walk across the Brooklyn Bridge.
But some were places visitors didn’t know about, like the garden we were currently en route to in the Village.
We were in Grand Central, walking through the arched entryway nearest the Oyster Bar. The vaulted ceilings overhead echoed the steady sound of commuters going in all directions as we headed to the six train.
“Wait, come here.” I tugged Matteo over to one of the corners, standing him up against the tile. He immediately wrapped his arms around my waist and pulled me to him.
“Nice,” he said and lowered his mouth to mine. “This is my favorite attraction of the day.”
I laughed and gave him a chaste kiss. “I almost forgot about the whispering walls. I haven’t told them any secrets in a long time.”
Matteo’s brows furrowed. “You tell secrets to the walls?”
“I know, it sounds strange, but it’s a thing.
If you whisper a secret here…” I pointed to the wall diagonally across the wide hall.
“I’ll be able to hear it all the way over there.
It’s the way it was built. The vaulted arches create the perfect acoustics for sound to travel.
When I was a kid, my friends and I used to take the train to school together, and we’d change trains here in Grand Central.
We’d collect gossip all week, and then on Friday afternoon, my best friend, Bridget, and I would each take a corner, and we’d take turns whispering all the dirt to each other through these walls. ”
Matteo looked at the constant flow of people walking by. “Even with all these people?”
“Yup. I’ll show you.” I pointed to the adjacent corner. “You stay here, and I’ll go over there and tell you a secret.”
He looked amused but shrugged. “Okay.”
I dodged people to cross to the entrance to the other hallway—it had to be at least fifteen feet away, and there was no shortage of people talking and train sounds.
Once I was in the corner, I looked over at Matteo and gestured for him to turn around and face the wall. Then I leaned close and whispered.
“I love showing you New York.”
Matteo’s head turned toward me with a smile. I cupped my hands around my mouth and yelled across. “Your turn. Tell me a secret.”
He laughed, but nevertheless leaned toward the wall. I pressed my ear close to the tiles, and his whisper came through loud and clear. “I don’t think it’s a secret, but I’m falling for you, Allegra.”
Warmth spread through me. I walked back to him with the biggest smile plastered on my face. Taking his hand, I swung it. “I’m falling for you, too, Matteo.”
Hours later, we arrived at the last stop of the day.
The timing was perfect because the sun was just starting to go down.
Jefferson Market Garden was tucked behind an old courthouse.
We entered through the wrought-iron gates at Sixth Avenue and 10th Street and walked along one of the brick paths that meandered through lush greenery.
“I grew up uptown in Lenox Hill,” I said. “At least until my parents died. My aunt, who I moved in with after, lived here in Greenwich Village, a few blocks away.”
I led us to my favorite spot, a bench tucked behind a curtain of ivy, overlooking a koi pond, and Matteo and I took seats next to each other.
“The first week I moved in with my aunt, I came here every day and sat on this bench before school started and cried. I’m not sure why, but I didn’t want my aunt to see me.
She worked weekends, selling her artwork at local fairs and markets, so I could cry in the safety of my room then. ”
Matteo squeezed my hand.
I smiled. “The tears only lasted maybe two or three minutes, and then I was fine for the rest of the day. It was really kind of strange. I guess I just needed to let it out. Anyway, my parents died in December, and school let out for the holidays a week or two later, so that was the first time I was home in the morning with my aunt. I was in the living room when the emotions hit, and my aunt walked in while I was crying. She looked at me, turned around, and walked straight back out.” I exhaled a hollow laugh.
“That sounds awful, so I want to tell you that she was a good guardian—always made sure I had what I needed, and I knew she loved me. But she didn’t have kids, so maybe she had no clue how to handle a crying teenager, or perhaps she thought I needed privacy.
Either way, after that, I came to my little secret spot whether she was home or not, until a few months later when one day the crying stopped.
” I pointed to the koi pond. “I would sit here and stare at the fish until my face was clear enough to go home.”
Matteo squeezed my hand. “I’m sorry.”
“A lot of kids who lose parents go through way more than not having someone to comfort them when they were crying, so I was lucky, really. But I think that was the first time I realized I couldn’t depend on anyone emotionally.
Maybe the second, since my parents left one day and never returned.
” I shrugged. “I came back to this spot a lot over the years, whenever I had a case at work that I couldn’t seem to find a solution for, or if someone let me down.
That sounds pretty depressing, but this little magical place tucked in the middle of the busy city has helped me find myself countless times, so I love it here. ”
I paused, feeling Matteo’s eyes on me, though I was looking straight ahead.
I turned to face him. “I brought you here today because when I found out I had a sister, I ran straight to you. When I went to meet her and learned my dad had been living a secret life, I ran straight to you. I didn’t run away because I knew I could count on you. ”
Matteo’s face softened. “You can, bellissima. It’s an honor, and I will always be here, for as long as you want me to be.”
I reached for his hand and laced my fingers with his. Resting my head on his shoulder, I sighed. “That means so much to me.”
His thumb brushed against my skin. “I have a confession to make. I think I lied to you at your secret wall. I said I was falling for you…but the truth is, I’m already there.”