chapter 5 what do you like most about NY?

When they reached Central Park, Easy was astonished by the immensity of green: it was like they reached a new galaxy, where the buildings, houses and streets were made of green leaves. Easy thought she was breathing now the most oxygenated air of the whole New York city.

 In the six years she has come here, this was only the third time she visited Central Park.

 Eddie tapped her on the arm : “Hey, let’s go to my secret place” Easy couldn’t see how there might be a secret place in such a public place. There were people everywhere.

 But she just followed Eddie.

 Eddie’s secret place was a bench under a big tree, in a little corner that people seemed to have forgotten.

 “Come, have a seat” Eddie said, sitting on the bench.

 “Wow. This place is the most peaceful of the park. How did you find it?”

 Easy asked, amazed.

 Eddie laughed proud: “Well, always trust a true New Yorker when he says he has a secret place! By the way, where are you from?”

 “How do you know I’m not a true New Yorker myself?” Easy answered, trying to copy his voice.

 “Oh, I’d have noticed you before” Eddie said, bending on his knees. Easy smiled and, full of bashfulness, looked down to the grass, praying her cheeks wouldn’t betray her again.

 “I-I mean, with that haircut” Eddie tried to recover. 

He just realized that what he said may have seemed a bit too sentimental, and that was absolutely not what he meant.

 “Oh yeah, sure” Easy laughed, a little bit embarrassed.

 Her haircut was very short, like a boy: she just left a fringe up to her eyebrows.

 Aunt Jo has 17 always disapproved her haircut, because “a nice lady has nice lon always disapproved her haircut, because “a nice lady has nice long hair” as she said.

 “And of course New Yorkers know not to take their precious stuff with them at the sub!” he added, trying to recover. Easy laughed “Can you tell me why did that man tried to steal a violin?”

 “Oh well, you don’t know what people may need. 

One day they’ve stolen my hat. Not this one, it was another one…green” and he took his hat off. 

“I’m from Boston. I come here every summer since six years.” Easy said, answering his question.

 Eddie nodded. He was clearly trying to figure out why without asking. “For my Aunt. I stay with her ‘till college starts over again” she said, clearing up all his doubts.

 “College! And what do you study exactly?” Eddie asked, pretending to be interested.

 He hated college. That’s why when summer comes, he wouldn’t miss a thing. But the face with which Easy answered him knocked him off his feet.

 Her eyes lightened up all of a sudden and she pronounced the word “Medicine” with a wide smile. “I love every job with which I can help people, and I felt Medicine was the best.” She was clearly satisfied and happy with her choice. “What about you?”

 “Oh, me. Yeah, well I study Business. Business and management. Second year.” “You don’t look excited” “Not at all. Business is the most boring course ever. My father told me to go there, but I wouldn’t have chosen it.

” Eddie’s bright, pleasant and affable face darkened and transformed into a serious and a bit sad for a tiny moment, in which Easy felt very sorry for him. 

“Okay, time for me to ask now” she said, trying to bring his grin back. “What do you like most about New York?”

 she’s searched this question a lot of times on Google, usually some days before leaving Boston, hoPing to find something she could enjoy during the vacation. 

“Oh well, that’s the toughest question ever!” he said, looking up to the clear afternoon sky. 

“I like everything of this place: it’s my town! I like hanging around the Times Square at night, and watch the random advertisements on the Big Screens that lighten up better than a lamppost.

 I like the subways that are like salads, for you can find any kind of people coming from any part of the world…and in which you can meet violinists with very short hair- he looked at her, grinning, and she giggled embarrassed: he seemed to enjoy this question, so she just let him go on-I like having a pizza in Little Italy restaurants and feel the sympathy of the people singing old Naples songs.

 And sometimes I just have a walk around Broadway and stare at those artists with strange costumes and make ups, who try their best to take the part in the theatre play: sometimes I even see Jerry out there!

 But actually, my very best part of New York is when I take the Staten Island Ferry, look up at the Lady and feel free. Because this is what New York really is…freedom!” 

Easy looked at him in awe. She suddenly felt ashamed of not loving New York City: every time Aunt Jo asked her to “go around and spend some time to look the streets” she rejected or went reluctantly. She even didn’t try to visit NY.

 “What about you? What do you like about the Big Apple?”

 “It may sound odd, but I never really liked this place”.

 Eddie seemed to have shocked, just as if somebody has died. “Wow! Just…wow! You mean that in six years you never did anything of what I told you?”

 “Not really…” “Okay, so that’s a deal: this summer I’ll show you as much as I can, and I promise you I’ll make you take those words back. Starting from tomorrow!”

 and he offered her his hand. She shook it, for the second time in that day. 

19 Now it was her turn to show her best! So she took the violin out from its leather case and, turning to her new friend, said: “Classic or modern?”

 “What do you mean? Like you know something else than Mozart or Beethoven or whatever? 

No offense, of course.” Easy couldn’t help smile at the little the guy knew of violinists: they weren’t a bunch of boring, stiff people who didn’t know who Justin Timberlake was.

 So she started to play: she pressed her cheek on the brown wood, her long earrings falling gently against the violin. She got her fingertips ready to move quickly along the strings and her arm up, holding the arch.

 As she started the music, Eddie didn’t recognize it at first, but then it sounded familiar. They were nice tunes, which made your neck nod involuntarily.

 But then, as the song has reached a particular point, a light bulb turned on in Eddie’s mind. 

“Hey, I know this song!” Easy smiled softly. 

“Finally!” she thought.

 I'm a shooting star leaPing through the skies 

Like a tiger, defying the laws of gravity 

I'm a racing car, passing by like Lady Godiva!

 I'm gonna go, go, go 

There's no stopPing me!

 Eddie was keePing perfectly the beat with her, and she found his voice really pleasant.

 I'm burning through the sky, yeah! 

Two hundred degrees

 That's why they call me Mister Fahrenheit 

I'm trav'ling at the speed of light 

I wanna make a supersonic man out of you! 

This time, Easy joined him too

 Don't stop me now

 I'm having such a good time 

I'm having a ball Don't stop me now If you wanna have a good time Just give me a call!

 And like a perfect duo, they were singing together: one started, and the other ended - although Easy was singing lightly, for it’s not easy to move your mouth when your cheek is pressed on a plain surface.

 Don't stop me now… ('cause I'm having a good time)

 Don't stop me now… (yes I'm having a good time)

 I don't want to stop at all... yeah! 

When Easy came finally home that day she was exhausted: it was like all of her “inner batteries” ran out. But as she laid down her bed at night, all what she could think of was how beautiful Central Park seemed now, associated with such a song. She never had someone to sing over her tunes, and that afternoon, Eddie and she just sparkled. That’s what it seemed to her: a little sparkle, that would have grown and became an explosion of happiness. Meeting Eddie now became the thing she liked most about NY.