Vittoria

19. Theodore

During breakfast, Theodore and I talked about the basics. His favorite color is green, he loves winter, he's a cat person, his birthday is November 27th, he hates spaghetti noodles, and he loves all things spicy.

Honestly the questions I asked him were quite boring so I wasn't expecting him to answer them all but I'm glad that he did. I know a little bit more about his personality despite his lack of emotion and interest when answering.

We're now walking through the busy streets and I'm finally getting a good look at New York. The heavy traffic flow, thousands of people, skyscrapers, pigeons. These are all things I didn't really get to experience living back at home. Papa hardly ever let me leave the house, and when I did it was always at night with Zarina and we had a specific location to go to.

I told Theo that I wanted to see the Statue of Liberty and he promised me we'd go sometime today before heading home. We're making our way to Central Park, side by side, barely talking besides the occasional question from me.

"How long have you lived in New York?" I ask him just as the park comes into view.

Theodore types feverishly on his phone before slipping it into his pocket and turning his head to me. "6 years," his jaw is clenched tightly as he answers. Veins poking out his forehead and anger dares to break his emotionless facade.

"Why did your family move here?" I ask.

We cross the street and begin walking into the park, heading towards an empty bench in the center.

"Work," was all he said.

We sat down quietly. I watched as people jogged by, kids ran around playing, people playing fetch with their dogs. An old lady sat on the ground feeding the pigeons at her feet.

Theodore pulls out his phone as it buzzes in his pocket. Answering, he listens to the person on the other end with an intense look on his face. I stand from the bench silently and make my way over to a pond placed delicately between a row of trees. I run my hand through the water as I hear Theodore spit into his phone.

"Thélo na tous akolouthísoun. Thélo na mátho ta pánta mésa stin óra." He hangs up the phone and walks over to me.

I want them followed. I want to know everything within the hour.

"What would you like to do now?" He asks hovering over me as I still sit facing the water.

I take a moment to think before shrugging my shoulders. "Just sit. Tell me more about yourself."

***

We spend the next few hours discussing more of our favorites. Shows, movies, holidays, etc. We ate lunch at a cute local restaurant and visited several sights. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Empire State Building, The Brooklyn Bridge, 9/11 Memorial, pretty much everything you could think of.

It's currently 6:30 and we're finally heading to the top of the Statue of Liberty.

"Do you ever just spend a day out in the city?" I whisper as we begin walking up the set of stairs leading to the Statue's crown.

"No," He responds from behind me.

"Why?"

After a moment of silence he says, "I don't ever have time. I'm always working. It's hard to enjoy a day out when there's always someone trying to kill you."

I roll my eyes at the truth behind his words. We ascend the rest of the stairs in silence and eventually we make it to the top floor.

Walking into the crown I realize there's no one else up here.