‘Are you going to meet up with your friend while we’re here?’ Scarlett took a bunch of fries from the cardboard container and dipped them into the tomato sauce.
‘Of course. But he’s busy, he works hard.’
‘That’s the job, right?’
He shuddered, remembering how he’d yelled that at Dawn more than once when Scarlett was young. It was true, a job as an investment banker didn’t come without a lot of hard work and commitment. Often, he’d been in meetings, and that was why he was putting in more hours, but at other times he’d been socialising and avoiding the responsibilities waiting for him when he got home. ‘It’s hard work, but well paid, so all worth it.’ He hoped his summation would stop this from escalating into an argument. ‘And I’m sure Myles and I will get together soon – I need to buy him a drink to thank him for his help in finding us a good hotel.’ Myles’s wife, Darcy, co-managed the Inglenook Inn where they were staying, and earlier they’d got to meet her when they checked in. Darcy had captured Myles’s heart when he’d never once so much as hinted he was the type to settle down, and Nathan found she was every bit as kind and welcoming as he’d been told.
‘I’m so glad I got out of school already,’ said Scarlett, dragging another fry through the sauce.
‘Don’t get used to it. You’ll have to work extra hard when we’re back.’
‘Relax, Dad, we get three weeks anyway, I’m only missing five days.’
Nathan had taken leave from work and had it agreed by the powers that be at Scarlett’s private school, for which he paid through the nose, that she could have the extra time off. He’d expected them to make a fuss and was ready with arguments about how this trip would be educational, but they’d not objected at all. Maybe that was one thing that truly was all about the money. And, now, he hoped this would be a trip that cemented their relationship some more. If he could, he’d give his daughter the world. Except of course he couldn’t, because Dawn wasn’t around anymore.
He bit into his double cheeseburger that oozed with flavour and left him in no doubt as to whether he’d have a few more of these before they returned to the UK in a month’s time right before New Year’s. ‘Valerie at work was right, these are the best burgers ever.’
‘Valerie seems nice,’ said Scarlett with a hint of mischief he chose to ignore. Scarlett had met Valerie at the office a few weeks ago when she came in to collect Nathan’s house key after losing her own, and Nathan hadn’t missed the way his daughter had looked at the woman, hoping that perhaps there was something going on romantically between the two of them.
‘She’s coming to New York. And she’ll be staying at the same inn as us for Christmas.’
‘Are you and she…?’
‘Don’t get any ideas, we’re just colleagues. She’s planned a last-minute trip and I sorted the accommodation side out for her, put her in touch with the manager of the inn. That’s all,’ he reiterated.
‘Are you sure? She always seems to be after you.’
‘If you’re referring to the phone discussions we have, or when we go out for drinks, that’s because we’re friends.’ And Valerie had a daughter slightly younger than Scarlett who was doing the same things as Scarlett, pushing her parent away, making her wonder if one day she’d leave for good. Between them they weren’t sure whether it was regular teen behaviour or if their daughters were being particularly brutal. But he and Valerie understood each other and it was a relief to have another adult who completely got where he was coming from.
‘Can you believe we’re actually here, in Manhattan?’ He directed the conversation away from his love life, smiled across at his daughter and she didn’t glare at him or roll her eyes as she might have done at home.
She grinned, a megawatt smile in place. ‘Thank you for bringing me here.’ She offered him the last of the cheesy fries but he declined. ‘It’s amazing, and all decked out for Christmas too. I feel like a kid again.’
‘You’ll be wanting a stocking on Christmas morning next.’
‘Of course I will. I’ll never be too old for a Christmas stocking.’
‘I’d better get thinking of some gift ideas then.’
‘Don’t let me down.’
He’d done that too many times, he never wanted to again. ‘I won’t. Are you happy with the Inglenook Inn?’
‘I love it. I’m so glad it’s a brownstone, I feel like a proper New Yorker. I thought we’d be staying in a dive of a bed and breakfast. Remember that place you took us to on the Isle of Wight a few years ago?’
‘How could I forget?’ It was what you might class as an epic fail. Run by an odd couple who liked to bicker in front of their guests, the accommodation had a poky bathroom with cracked tiles and a stained sink that made him gag when he cleaned his teeth, and the owner insisted on vacuuming first thing every morning, usually when they were still in bed, the vacuum whacking up against their door every time she moved it back and forth across the carpet outside.
Their accommodation here in New York was everything he’d hoped for. He’d seen enough pictures on the website for the Inglenook Inn to know that it would be, but he hadn’t shared them with Scarlett – he’d wanted to see her face as they crossed the city in a cab, made their way to Greenwich Village and saw the exterior of the brownstone building they were going to stay in. And her reaction hadn’t been a disappointment. She’d been in disbelief, gasping, saying she felt like Carrie fromSex and the City– he dreaded to think which of the female characters that one was – and inside they’d been greeted by Darcy in the communal lounge at the front with its stunning Christmas tree that could be seen from the street outside and an inviting, cosy fireplace that guests were free to enjoy should they want to, perhaps with a drink from the small bar in the corner near the office desk. Nathan already had his eye on that if Scarlett turned the teenage angst to full volume during their holiday, and it was slightly less sad than getting a bottle of something in a brown paper bag and drinking it all alone. On the top floor of the inn was their suite, which was enormous and ideal for a man and a teen who really didn’t want to be living on top of each other for the duration of their stay, and Nathan was kind of glad he’d missed out on staying at Myles and Darcy’s rental property in the East Village, which had already been reserved for another friend. The Inglenook Inn was perfectly situated, they’d got a reasonable discount for their stay, and Darcy was a hostess who had already made them feel more than welcome with the little tray of treats in the suite upon arrival. Scarlett and he had devoured the croissants with jam and some fresh fruit before unpacking and finally setting off here to Madison Square Park.
They finished their burgers and fries and it was time to do some more exploring. Scarlett took a ton of photos of the tree in the park first, the Shake Shack itself, bystanders and characters she thought looked interesting. ‘Where to next?’ she asked when she finally put her phone away. No doubt she’d be posting the photographs all over Instagram later tonight, but it was good to see the enthusiasm.
‘What would you like to do?’
‘Everything,’ she grinned.
‘Let’s leave the art galleries for now.’
‘I know you’re not keen, I can do those on my own.’
