FA+
Shop
Time Travel, Pt 2/10
12 years ago
This is our last night, but it's late and I'm trying not to sleep, 'cause I know, when I wake...
I woke up to Thursday. Thinking it was still dark outside and having no idea of the time, started to stumble to the bathroom and... tripped over a balloon! Oooh, hello, balloons... I remembered. It put a silly smile on my face to see them quiver as I walked around them. I showered and relished in the particular scent of the travel soaps and shampoo the hotel had provided. When I came back to the bed, Terrana was awake and the curtains were open, letting the rainy-day light splash all about the room. I curled my body around her waist as she sat on the edge of the bed to wake up.
"Rrrrrl." I said.
"You were extra cuddly last night," she noted, smiling.
I only whimpered 'yeah' and tried to curl myself around her tighter. She had to know why. I wanted this one last night to be many more. I get greedy that way, I guess.
She got up to look at the rain splashing down even harder than it had the previous day. We opened the window to look at the little sparrows and feel the rain. Sometime during the night we'd decided to take a walk in the harbor that day... but it was much cooler than the day before. It felt more like fall, now. We made a joke about the weather being more British now because she was going home soon.
Whimper.
She put on a sweatshirt today. I was still in short sleeves, but had my super-long hippie jeans on, which I would later come to know as a mistake and tragic attractor of puddles. After a bit of breakfast (and, of course, tea), we decided to drive to the station nearby and take the train to the inner harbor. This was a wise choice; the traffic was terrible that day once we got in the city proper.
It was hard to find a parking spot at the light rail station that morning, too. I circled the lot until I found a place to park and did so with abnormally high skill. It's rare. She congratulated my improvements again and it made me feel rather good about myself, so, after I made sure we had all the things we'd need (including the leaky umbrella), I strutted to the fare kiosk. She got a paper ticket which actually never got checked the entire trip. I just used what was on my CharmCard. As luck would have it, a train going our way happened to go by while I was paying our fares. Blast.
No worries, though, because another one came by not even ten minutes later, but I had time to show her where I used to sit to go in to work and where Light Rail Mouse lived. It was very drizzly, though, and we didn't see him. Terrana noted how strange it was that we just could cross right over the tracks here instead of having an elevated walkway. I told her we're not fancy like that. I was reminded about how, a few times, the metro had been stopped by people deciding to end all their worries using the tracks. We agreed that was terrible to do to all the other commuters, because it is. The sky started to taste more silver. It rained a bit harder and the wind blew in nearly random directions. Terrana huddled next to the station shelter and I smiled at her. I felt the tracks vibrating a bit earlier than I had expected and looked northward -- it couldn't be our train already. No train from that direction, actually... it was our train... huh.
We found a spot for both of us to sit and cuddle and I told her about the character of some of the stops and even how some tasted and smelled to me. We talked about borrowed names and indigenous names. I wanted to remember every little thing we said and saw. I pointed out the Chesapeake, the M&T stadium, and we got off at Camden Yards. We skipped timidly over railroad tracks and followed camouflaged crosswalk signals to get to the harbor. I pointed out the convention center and we talked about how flag-happy this bloody place is. I like flags, but... wow. I have to agree. Even Baltimore City (like most any large city) has a flag. I meant to point out the place where I once collected a bit of Baltimore breeze off the bay, and to point out the dragon paddle boats I like, but we got distracted by a 10,000-pound Kugel Ball made of granite. It was spinning and floating on a thin layer of water and was A BIG ROCK so we both had to touch it. It was so smooth and wet and cool and swirling with glittering earthy colors that we had to touch it before we left the area one more time. Written over the ball were phrases about Baltimore, "It is illegal in the state of Maryland to mistreat an oyster." I actually knew that, for some reason. We only got as close as to see the huge sculpture of Bumblebee made from car parts and the Mini Cooper made up with millions of Swarovski crystals, because the blaring music turned us away. I wish I would have been able to stand the loud music, though, because there was some neat stuff inside.
We discovered a new McCormick store inside the mini-mall there, right across from the old fudge shop and the Noodles. According to the spice and flavor personality test, I was cheesy-flavor. I was surprised! (Not really.) We saw huge tins and pour-your-own spices and EVERY flavor of Old Bay there was. Why we didn't pick up a container right there, I don't remember. We went into a shop where the salespeople were too overly-friendly for Terrana, who is not used to such ridiculous flamboyance in a shopkeeper. It made me giggle a little. So many new shops in there! It was getting to be lunchtime, though, so we splashed out to the purple line to get to Cross Street, even though it'd have been easier and more comfortable to walk, really. The free buses were a lot more crowded than when I started using them. Word travels fast about free services!
I'd be a liar if I said that getting off the bus into the rain in Federal Hill wasn't a relief. So humid and stuffy and full of breath! (We walked back to the inner harbor and had a much more pleasant, though wet, time.) I stepped on the bricks in the sidewalk on tiptoe, but corrected myself before reaching the alley that hid The Abbey Burger Bistro. I need to stop literally walking on tiptoe all the time. The alley smelled like ketchup and beer too much. I quickly pointed out Keytech before ducking inside.
We seated ourselves and I gave in to impulse and got waffle fry nachos. I had smoked angus and had chickened out of trying the duck, rabbit, or camel. I think if I had been braver I would have tried camel. Apparently the kangaroo burger was good. Next time we won't put salsa on it, though. Spicy, juicy delicious. And a big carafe of cold water. We talked about sports, of all things. I can't believe I talked about sports. I "hate" sports like I "hate" cats: I'll say so until there is one in front of me and then, "Here, kitty! Kitty-kitty! Awww, kitty!" or "Oooh catch that pop fly- YES!" Apparently the fierce defending of one's home team is not an American phenomenon. Tater tots, on the other hand, are.
I skipped Cross Street Market -- too busy for such a nice rainy day. I kept turning to make sure she was beside me every few feet. We twisted and turned down alleys to get back to the harbor, my being assaulted with familiar scents between bursts of exhaust and soggy-sky-smell, making everything taste a bit ochre to me. I wandered us over to the big Barnes & Noble store in the 100-year-old Power Plant. I told her about Dick's Last Resort. If you are a troll, you'll like that place. That's all I'll say. We were greeted by a pleasant security guard inside. It was drier inside the 3-story bookstore. I was enjoying the new-book scent. In lieu of taking her to the aquarium (the dolphins are depressed after the loss of their calves this past year, sadly) we looked at the aquarium-sponsored tank next to the café. Neon tetras are beautiful and glowy. We marveled at the transparent escalator covers, which I'd not noticed before. Though the inner works of the escalators were entrancing, we didn't linger very long; I didn't have the storage for any more books! Temptation!
Little sparrows kept us company on the way back to the convention center stop. Hello, little sparrows.
We had some time, so off to- Quick! Catch the train to Mt. Washington! I had gotten on the wrong side, but Terrana saved the day by running to catch the door for us.
"You're well trained in trains, aren't ya?" I said. Gods, I love her smile.
Mt. Washington was more for my sense of nostalgia than to show her new things. Little had changed since Chris and I had lived there. We ordered hot drinks to drive a bit of chill away. The bottom of my pants, my shoes, and my socks were soaked with chilly rainwater. It made me feel sleepy and sore and ... mmmm coffee. I got a free pumpkin spice sugar cookie with my Pumpkin Spice Latte! I split-I-mean-ate-most-of-it with Terrana. Time for going back and snuggling on the train again. Not that I minded. For future reference, the ride is much nicer with a cuddle buddy.
While at the train stop waiting to get on to go back to the car, Terrana asked which stop we'd need. "North Linthicum," I said. "I wonder if that word is indigenous, too..."
"It sounds like medicine... Add 3 drops of Tincture of Linthicum to the eye... shake vigorously... wait for screaming to stop."
I was a mess of giggles. "'Shake vigorously'?!" I whipped my head around, making sure to make that puppy head-shaking sound, then tried to make a mock screech through my giggling. It didn't sound like screaming, but I will bet the people in the train shelter next to us thought we were nuts.
And maybe we are, a little.
I even remember which stores we went to in order to find her a lovely toy she couldn't find back at home. The salesman at the electronics store was so very awkward and nervous, it was rubbing off on me! It was actually quite late by the time we got back to the hotel with it. Knowing it was our last full night together, I thought of a way to dispose of the balloons that would make for a nice way to end the evening: we spent an hour or so quietly popping each one to something new we'd found out that week. I remember all 70 things we said. It was wonderful and better than unceremoniously throwing them away. Sometimes, when I think of the things we said, I can remember what color the balloon was. Some sputtered, some whooshed, and some spun in crazy circles when we let go of them. It was the most silly and tender and meaningful. It's a memory that tastes ivory, of mint cacao tea... with a little splash of milk.
All the tastes and smells and colors and sounds and touches and feelings... I want to remember everything and keep it forever.
I woke up to Thursday. Thinking it was still dark outside and having no idea of the time, started to stumble to the bathroom and... tripped over a balloon! Oooh, hello, balloons... I remembered. It put a silly smile on my face to see them quiver as I walked around them. I showered and relished in the particular scent of the travel soaps and shampoo the hotel had provided. When I came back to the bed, Terrana was awake and the curtains were open, letting the rainy-day light splash all about the room. I curled my body around her waist as she sat on the edge of the bed to wake up.
"Rrrrrl." I said.
"You were extra cuddly last night," she noted, smiling.
I only whimpered 'yeah' and tried to curl myself around her tighter. She had to know why. I wanted this one last night to be many more. I get greedy that way, I guess.
She got up to look at the rain splashing down even harder than it had the previous day. We opened the window to look at the little sparrows and feel the rain. Sometime during the night we'd decided to take a walk in the harbor that day... but it was much cooler than the day before. It felt more like fall, now. We made a joke about the weather being more British now because she was going home soon.
Whimper.
She put on a sweatshirt today. I was still in short sleeves, but had my super-long hippie jeans on, which I would later come to know as a mistake and tragic attractor of puddles. After a bit of breakfast (and, of course, tea), we decided to drive to the station nearby and take the train to the inner harbor. This was a wise choice; the traffic was terrible that day once we got in the city proper.
It was hard to find a parking spot at the light rail station that morning, too. I circled the lot until I found a place to park and did so with abnormally high skill. It's rare. She congratulated my improvements again and it made me feel rather good about myself, so, after I made sure we had all the things we'd need (including the leaky umbrella), I strutted to the fare kiosk. She got a paper ticket which actually never got checked the entire trip. I just used what was on my CharmCard. As luck would have it, a train going our way happened to go by while I was paying our fares. Blast.
No worries, though, because another one came by not even ten minutes later, but I had time to show her where I used to sit to go in to work and where Light Rail Mouse lived. It was very drizzly, though, and we didn't see him. Terrana noted how strange it was that we just could cross right over the tracks here instead of having an elevated walkway. I told her we're not fancy like that. I was reminded about how, a few times, the metro had been stopped by people deciding to end all their worries using the tracks. We agreed that was terrible to do to all the other commuters, because it is. The sky started to taste more silver. It rained a bit harder and the wind blew in nearly random directions. Terrana huddled next to the station shelter and I smiled at her. I felt the tracks vibrating a bit earlier than I had expected and looked northward -- it couldn't be our train already. No train from that direction, actually... it was our train... huh.
We found a spot for both of us to sit and cuddle and I told her about the character of some of the stops and even how some tasted and smelled to me. We talked about borrowed names and indigenous names. I wanted to remember every little thing we said and saw. I pointed out the Chesapeake, the M&T stadium, and we got off at Camden Yards. We skipped timidly over railroad tracks and followed camouflaged crosswalk signals to get to the harbor. I pointed out the convention center and we talked about how flag-happy this bloody place is. I like flags, but... wow. I have to agree. Even Baltimore City (like most any large city) has a flag. I meant to point out the place where I once collected a bit of Baltimore breeze off the bay, and to point out the dragon paddle boats I like, but we got distracted by a 10,000-pound Kugel Ball made of granite. It was spinning and floating on a thin layer of water and was A BIG ROCK so we both had to touch it. It was so smooth and wet and cool and swirling with glittering earthy colors that we had to touch it before we left the area one more time. Written over the ball were phrases about Baltimore, "It is illegal in the state of Maryland to mistreat an oyster." I actually knew that, for some reason. We only got as close as to see the huge sculpture of Bumblebee made from car parts and the Mini Cooper made up with millions of Swarovski crystals, because the blaring music turned us away. I wish I would have been able to stand the loud music, though, because there was some neat stuff inside.
We discovered a new McCormick store inside the mini-mall there, right across from the old fudge shop and the Noodles. According to the spice and flavor personality test, I was cheesy-flavor. I was surprised! (Not really.) We saw huge tins and pour-your-own spices and EVERY flavor of Old Bay there was. Why we didn't pick up a container right there, I don't remember. We went into a shop where the salespeople were too overly-friendly for Terrana, who is not used to such ridiculous flamboyance in a shopkeeper. It made me giggle a little. So many new shops in there! It was getting to be lunchtime, though, so we splashed out to the purple line to get to Cross Street, even though it'd have been easier and more comfortable to walk, really. The free buses were a lot more crowded than when I started using them. Word travels fast about free services!
I'd be a liar if I said that getting off the bus into the rain in Federal Hill wasn't a relief. So humid and stuffy and full of breath! (We walked back to the inner harbor and had a much more pleasant, though wet, time.) I stepped on the bricks in the sidewalk on tiptoe, but corrected myself before reaching the alley that hid The Abbey Burger Bistro. I need to stop literally walking on tiptoe all the time. The alley smelled like ketchup and beer too much. I quickly pointed out Keytech before ducking inside.
We seated ourselves and I gave in to impulse and got waffle fry nachos. I had smoked angus and had chickened out of trying the duck, rabbit, or camel. I think if I had been braver I would have tried camel. Apparently the kangaroo burger was good. Next time we won't put salsa on it, though. Spicy, juicy delicious. And a big carafe of cold water. We talked about sports, of all things. I can't believe I talked about sports. I "hate" sports like I "hate" cats: I'll say so until there is one in front of me and then, "Here, kitty! Kitty-kitty! Awww, kitty!" or "Oooh catch that pop fly- YES!" Apparently the fierce defending of one's home team is not an American phenomenon. Tater tots, on the other hand, are.
I skipped Cross Street Market -- too busy for such a nice rainy day. I kept turning to make sure she was beside me every few feet. We twisted and turned down alleys to get back to the harbor, my being assaulted with familiar scents between bursts of exhaust and soggy-sky-smell, making everything taste a bit ochre to me. I wandered us over to the big Barnes & Noble store in the 100-year-old Power Plant. I told her about Dick's Last Resort. If you are a troll, you'll like that place. That's all I'll say. We were greeted by a pleasant security guard inside. It was drier inside the 3-story bookstore. I was enjoying the new-book scent. In lieu of taking her to the aquarium (the dolphins are depressed after the loss of their calves this past year, sadly) we looked at the aquarium-sponsored tank next to the café. Neon tetras are beautiful and glowy. We marveled at the transparent escalator covers, which I'd not noticed before. Though the inner works of the escalators were entrancing, we didn't linger very long; I didn't have the storage for any more books! Temptation!
Little sparrows kept us company on the way back to the convention center stop. Hello, little sparrows.
We had some time, so off to- Quick! Catch the train to Mt. Washington! I had gotten on the wrong side, but Terrana saved the day by running to catch the door for us.
"You're well trained in trains, aren't ya?" I said. Gods, I love her smile.
Mt. Washington was more for my sense of nostalgia than to show her new things. Little had changed since Chris and I had lived there. We ordered hot drinks to drive a bit of chill away. The bottom of my pants, my shoes, and my socks were soaked with chilly rainwater. It made me feel sleepy and sore and ... mmmm coffee. I got a free pumpkin spice sugar cookie with my Pumpkin Spice Latte! I split-I-mean-ate-most-of-it with Terrana. Time for going back and snuggling on the train again. Not that I minded. For future reference, the ride is much nicer with a cuddle buddy.
While at the train stop waiting to get on to go back to the car, Terrana asked which stop we'd need. "North Linthicum," I said. "I wonder if that word is indigenous, too..."
"It sounds like medicine... Add 3 drops of Tincture of Linthicum to the eye... shake vigorously... wait for screaming to stop."
I was a mess of giggles. "'Shake vigorously'?!" I whipped my head around, making sure to make that puppy head-shaking sound, then tried to make a mock screech through my giggling. It didn't sound like screaming, but I will bet the people in the train shelter next to us thought we were nuts.
And maybe we are, a little.
I even remember which stores we went to in order to find her a lovely toy she couldn't find back at home. The salesman at the electronics store was so very awkward and nervous, it was rubbing off on me! It was actually quite late by the time we got back to the hotel with it. Knowing it was our last full night together, I thought of a way to dispose of the balloons that would make for a nice way to end the evening: we spent an hour or so quietly popping each one to something new we'd found out that week. I remember all 70 things we said. It was wonderful and better than unceremoniously throwing them away. Sometimes, when I think of the things we said, I can remember what color the balloon was. Some sputtered, some whooshed, and some spun in crazy circles when we let go of them. It was the most silly and tender and meaningful. It's a memory that tastes ivory, of mint cacao tea... with a little splash of milk.
All the tastes and smells and colors and sounds and touches and feelings... I want to remember everything and keep it forever.
*hugz*