Chapter Twenty
F or some reason, the entire time Thatcher was waiting for Vickie, he’d been on the lookout for a girl in a blue dress. But when she walked up, he was thankful to see that she was wearing her ranger uniform. There was no question that this was a business meeting and it made him feel much more at ease. “How was work?” he asked.
“Good. Long day though.” She smiled. “I’m still adjusting to working these ten-hour shifts.” She motioned up at the Washington Monument. “But this is my favorite site to work, so in all, I can’t complain.”
He grinned. “Don’t you get sick of saying the same things over and over?”
She wrinkled her smooth forehead. “Do you get tired of teaching the same topics to your classes each year?”
“Point taken.” This girl was smart.
Vickie grinned, revealing even, white teeth. “I’m always amused at the questions people come up with. They certainly keep me on my toes.” She shrugged. “Besides, we’re encouraged to develop our own ranger talks, and with so many monuments to cover, it’s easy to switch things up.
“I guess I hadn’t thought of it like that.” It sounded a lot like teaching. Funny, he’d never thought teaching had anything in common with being a park ranger. But it did made sense. They were both trying to share a knowledge of history.
“Did you have anywhere in particular for our meeting tonight?” She asked.
“Not really. I guess we can sit here if you want.”
“Actually, I need to swing by Survey Lodge for a second. It isn’t far from here. Is that okay? It won’t take long and then we can walk toward the other end of the Mall while you explain the project.”
“That sounds great.” He always felt more comfortable, even in his classroom, when he was able to walk around rather than sit in one place.
She picked her backpack up from where she’d dropped it. “Ready?”
“Lead the way.” He fell in step beside her once they reached the sidewalk.
“Excuse me,” an elderly man said to Vickie as they passed him on the sidewalk. “Can you tell me where the nearest restroom is?”
Vickie gave him directions then turned back to Thatcher. “So, are you ready for classes to start?” she asked as they continued walking.
He shook his head. “Will you think badly of me if I say no?” He laughed. “People think teachers have it so great, having summers off. But it seems like they get shorter and shorter.” He shrugged. “I had several projects around the house I wanted to get to but didn’t. To tell you the truth, I probably spent a little too much time at my fishing cabin.” And loved every minute of it.
“I guess that would be nice. If you like that sort of thing.”
“What, you’re not a fan of fishing?” He glanced over at her profile and was struck by how perfect it was. Her slightly upturned nose and full lips would’ve been at home on any movie star.
“Let’s just say that I don’t do a whole lot of outdoorsy activities.”
He burst out laughing. “If that is true, isn’t it a little ironic that you’re a park ranger ?”
“I know. Everyone has this image of park rangers being outdoorsy people who love to hike and fish and be out in nature.” She looked up at him and grinned. “Tell you what. I won’t judge you for not being ready for school to start if you won’t judge me for being a non-outdoorsy park ranger.”
“Deal.”
“Here we are,” she said as they reached the building. “Fun fact, Survey Lodge was originally a boiler and steam house for the machinery that powered the Washington Monument’s elevator.”
“That’s cool,” he said.
“Now it’s a ranger station.” She smiled as they stepped inside. “If you’ll wait here for a minute, I’ll be right back.”
He watched her hurry off, then turned to look at the assortment of maps and brochures that were on display. Her career choice impressed him. The variety of monuments and memorials along the National Mall was vast. She must be very intelligent to be knowledgeable about each one.
“Okay, I’m ready.”
He turned toward the sound of her voice. She’d changed out of her ranger uniform into a pair of khaki shorts and a green tank top. Her shoulder-length dark hair was pulled back into a low ponytail. “You changed?” As soon as the question left his mouth, he knew how stupid he must sound. Clearly she’d changed.
“I brought a change of clothes with me. Believe me, if we’re going to be in the National Mall area, you don’t want me to still be in uniform. Otherwise we’d never be able to have a conversation because of the questions.” She smiled.
“I didn’t think about that. I guess you’re right.” He held the door open for her to walk through.
“Just like that man earlier wanting to know where the restroom is, we’d get questions about the nearest Metro, the nearest refreshments, and the list would go on.”
“Don’t you ever get sick of talking to people?”
She nodded. “Sure I do. But as long as I have that uniform on, it’s part of my job.” She led him back to the path where they’d come in. “How about we walk toward the Lincoln Memorial? It’s pretty cool at night.”
He nodded. “Okay.”
They walked in silence for a moment. “Okay, tell me the story behind this research project.” Vickie said as they were waiting to cross Seventeenth Street. “Did you find out more information?”
“A little bit. I’m still trying to find more though.” They strolled slowly past the World War II Monument. It was a large open monument, different than most of the others along the Mall. In the center were bubbling fountains and the sound of rushing water filled the air. He stopped near one of the large archways. “Can you tell me any interesting tidbits about this monument?” he asked.
Vickie laughed. “I guess I only thought I was getting out of answering questions by changing out of my uniform.”
He couldn’t tell if she was mad or not. “Oh. You don’t have to tell me. We can keep walking.”
She stopped and touched his arm. “Don’t be silly. I was kidding.” She pointed to the large stone archway they were next to. “See that? There’s one on each side of the memorial. One for the Atlantic and one for the Pacific. To symbolize the war was fought across two oceans.”
“How about all the pillars?” There were a number of stone pillars that formed two semi-circles surrounding the archways.
“There are fifty-six of those. One for each state, territory and of course, the District of Columbia.” She pointed at the nearest one. “See how each is inscribed with the name of the state? And that circle on each one is a wreath of oak and wheat.” She met his gaze. “To emphasize our industrial and agricultural strength during the war.”
He was impressed. “For the first time, I’m starting to doubt my career choice. I think your job seems fantastic.”
She laughed. “It is fantastic, most days.” She paused. “Shall we keep going?”
“Yes, lets.” He followed her to the dirt path that was right beside the reflecting pool. The Lincoln Memorial loomed large ahead of them, and the great statue seemed to glow.
She waved her hand in the direction of the rectangular reflecting pool. “I can’t tell you how many times a year I see someone pretend to be Forrest Gump right here.”
Thatcher burst out laughing. “Is it awful that I always think of that scene when I’m here, too? I’m always tempted to yell ‘Jenny’ in my best Gump impression.”
“Well, you might be able to resist, but you’d be surprised at how many people don’t have your self-control.” She giggled. “Stuff like that makes my job interesting though.”
They walked in silence for a moment. “So, back to the project,” he said, telling himself he wouldn’t get off track again. “One of my colleagues has reason to believe that there are a series of letters written by Abraham Lincoln that have never been found.”
“Letters? To whom?” she asked.
“Have you ever heard of a woman by the name of Ann Rutledge?”
Vickie shook her head. “I don’t think that name sounds familiar.” She stopped. “But if you’re going to tell me that you want me to help you prove that Honest Abe was a philandering cheater, I don’t think I can be involved.”
He couldn’t help but chuckle at the adamant expression on her face. “No. Nothing like that. Do you think I’d want to go down in history as the man who tried to give Lincoln a bad name?”
She looked relieved. “Good.”
They resumed their walk. “Ann was a young lady who Lincoln met when he was in his early twenties. Way before Mary Todd was even on his radar, if that makes you feel better about things.”
“It sure does.” She grinned up at him.
“Anyway, there has always been a rumor that Abraham and Ann were secretly engaged and that he considered her his true love. But then she was stricken with a fever and died suddenly.”
“That’s terrible.”
They stopped at the bottom of the stairs leading up to the memorial where the huge stone figure of Lincoln sat, illuminated in lights, stoically keeping watch over the Mall.
“Do you want to walk up?” he asked.
“Yes. I’ll show you my favorite, super-secret spot.” She smiled over her shoulder at him. “Come on.” Vickie motioned for him to follow.
They climbed up the steep stairs until they reached the very top. Instead of going inside where the statue was, Vickie turned to the right and walked all the way to the space between the last two columns.
“It’s so quiet over here.” He was amazed. Just a few seconds ago the air had been filled with the sound of voices and laughter of the people milling about. But now it was almost silent. Even though they weren’t far away, it was as if they’d somehow stepped through some kind of sound barrier.
“I know.” She sat down and let her legs dangle over the edge of the concrete. “Sit down,” she said.
He sat down beside her, next to a large column.
“I’ll let you have my favorite seat,” she smiled at him. “If you lean against that column, the groove fits your back just like a seatback.”
He shimmied a little closer to the column. She was right. It was perfect. “Nice.”
She sighed. “Look out there. Isn’t it beautiful?”
From their perch they could look out and see the reflecting pool, the Washington Monument and the Capitol Building in the distance. It was a breathtaking sight. And one he would have missed if he hadn’t met Vickie here tonight.