Part 7 (1/2)
Annie took a glug from her bottle of water and tried to run calming hands over her hair. But it was no use: static from the blanket, from the fuzzy velour seats, from the very atmosphere of the plane was making her hair crazy. She poured a little mineral water into her hands, then smoothed wet fingers over her short blonde bob.
'Better?' she asked Lana.
But Lana didn't even turn; her eyes were glued to the window. She pointed with her finger and her mouth dropped open in awe.
'That's it,' she whispered, 'the skyline. OhmiG.o.d! We're here. Look, Mum. LOOK!'
Lana moved her shoulder back so that Annie could see out of the little gla.s.s oval. There was a tiny, postcard-perfect view of a jagged square centimetre of Manhattan skyline. Now Annie had to gasp too.
'Oh look! Look at that!'
'The buildings are so big. The island is so small. Oh this is amazing.'
The plane wheeled around in the sky and suddenly they were looking at blue ocean, tiny toy s.h.i.+ps and- 'There! It's the Statue of Liberty! So small!'
'But it must be so big! Compared to that s.h.i.+p ...'
'We are nuts.'
'This is soooooo brilliant.'
'I can't believe we've done it!'
'I can't believe we're really going to New York!'
'We're going to New York, we're going to New York!'
'I still can't believe it.'
'This is the best trip I've ever, ever been on,' Lana announced, grin right across her face.
'Babes, we've not even landed yet. We might still crash ... or land up in some flea-pit with c.o.c.kroaches ... or get mugged murdered, even.'
'Mum, this is the best ever trip. The best ever idea. Thank you!'
To Annie's amazement, her sulky, grumpy, slouchy, grouchy teenager was suddenly throwing her arms around her.
'Thanks, Mum.'
'It's OK. I would never have been brave enough to come on my own, babes. Thank you for forcing me onto the plane,' Annie admitted.
As they hugged, Annie dared to stroke her girl's hair, just as she'd done when she was little. A p.r.i.c.kle of tearfulness welled up in her eyes and nose.
'We're going to have a ball, babes. A totally wonderful ball.'
All the horror of queuing for two entire hours in the cramped, windowless s.p.a.ce of JFK's arrival hall evaporated when Annie and Lana got into their bright yellow New York cab and began the journey into Manhattan.
When the Brooklyn Bridge and then the skysc.r.a.per skyline came into view, they began to shriek at each other in a fever pitch of excitement.
'There's the Empire State!'
'No that's the Empire State!'
'Look at that!'
'Look over there!'
'This bridge is amazing!'
'Everything's amazing. Look at the size of the buildings.'
'Look how many cabs. How much traffic.'
'We have to shut up. The driver is laughing at us. He thinks we've come in from a farm or something.'
The driver did begin to laugh at this. 'Where yo from?' he asked, pus.h.i.+ng back a sweaty baseball cap.
'London,' Annie admitted.
'No skysc.r.a.pers in London?!'
'Not like this. Not all jammed together like this,' Lana told him.
It was hot. They hadn't been prepared for the wave of heat s.h.i.+mmering off the tarmac as they'd climbed down the aeroplane steps. And now, inside the taxi, the black plastic seats were sticky with heat and humidity. Annie had brought choice items from her autumn wardrobe; she wasn't prepared for the knockout heat of high summer.
'Is it always like this in September?' Annie asked the driver.
'No ma'am, for September this is hahht,' he replied.
'Hahht,' Annie repeated, enjoying the accent. She couldn't stop looking out of the cab window at the looming Manhattan skyline, hazy in the early afternoon heat.
This was heaven.
She'd only been to New York once before for a magical long weekend with Ed and she'd forgotten how brilliant it was: the excitement, the hustle, the crazy feeling of everything at once being brand new because she'd never been before and yet so strangely familiar because she'd seen it all so often on the screen.
'Wow ... wow ... double wow ...' Lana repeated in a reverential whisper.
'Here and loving, loving, loving it! Thank you. Could not be here without you.' Annie texted Ed.