Page 43 of Hairpin Curves

“It’s bigger than I thought.” Scarlett had her coat collar pulled up over her chin as well, muffling her words.

Megan laughed. “You’ve said that for all of them.”

“They’re all bigger than I thought.” Scarlett shrugged.

Megan took her hands out of her pockets long enough to tug her hat down over her ears. Even with gloves on, she was happier with her hands tucked inside the fleece-lined jacket pockets than out in the wind. She was glad for the millionth time today that they’d started their DC visit by buying some proper winter layers. “I can’t believe you’ve never been here.”

“Why not? You’ve never been here.”

“I’ve never been anywhere. You’ve at least travelled.” It was easy to see Scarlett as worldly, with the experiences she’d had, but apparently there were a few gaps in her travel history.

“I haven’t traveled all that much. It’s only in comparison to you that I’ve seen a lot.” Scarlett nodded up at the statue. “And I’ve never come to the National Mall. Never seen a reason to. But you’ve clearly got a reason.”

“I think everybody should see the monuments.”

“Patriotism and all that?”

Megan considered, staring again up at the bearded figure in the giant marble chair. “I’m not really patriotic. I think maybe it’s that sense of being part of things. Seeing them with my own eyes and not just in photographs.”

“Except the photographs you take.”

The irony made Megan smile, especially since she was already pulling out her camera. “That’s different. That’s to remember after I’ve already been somewhere.” She sized up a photo of Lincoln, trying to get the inscription above his head in the shot as well.

The slight crinkle around Scarlett’s eyes indicated her smile, even with her mouth covered. “It’s neat to see it all. I wish we’d come in high school like every other school seems to.”

“I wish I’d done a lot of things in high school.” Megan said it without much thought, the words slipping out unbidden. Not that it was untrue. She had put off so many things for so long. Even now, finally doing things she wanted just because she wanted to do them, her thoughts revolved heavily around what she had missed out on.

Scarlett shifted from foot to foot, and then turned to gaze out over the reflecting pool. “What’s next?”

“This is the last stop.” Megan wasn’t sad about it, though; her feet ached from walking, and her cheeks were frozen with cold. It wasn’t even that cold out, but being outside for most of the day had taken its toll. At least she’d gotten a good night’s sleep in the hotel last night. After a long day of driving from Nashville, they’d both collapsed into their beds with no further innuendo about restlessness or its cure. Megan wasn’t quite ready to let go of the possibility of fooling around with Scarlett, but the time hadn’t been right...and maybe it wouldn’t be again.

Scarlett pulled out the guidebook she’d taken from the hotel that morning, now curling up at the edges from being rolled and stuffed in her pocket all day. “You sure you don’t want to hit any of the Smithsonian museums we missed?”

“We did Air and Space, and Natural History. Those were the two big ones I wanted to see.” Megan could have gone through all of them, obviously, and spent a lot longer at each of the ones they did see, but this was a survey. Not a full trip. “We’ve got miles left to go before Canada.”

The little trolley burger shop where they ended up for dinner had great reviews online, but Megan was skeptical until she started eating.

“This is fantastic.” She sighed in happiness. “It’s so nice to be warm.”

“Didn’t the layers help?”

“Yeah, that’s why I’m not frozen to the steps of the National Mall.” Megan could get used to the warmth of thermals, especially being outside in temperatures far below a typical Florida day. “But it’s not the same as being warm inside.”

The food was amazing, and as she finished the last of her fries, Megan settled into a contentedness that only good food after a long day of walking outside could allow. She could ignore whatever physical tensions had arisen between her and Scarlett, and just enjoy their rekindled friendship. Any complicating factors were just because of her own newness to having a friendship with Scarlett again, and the forced proximity of their time together.

Scarlett had an odd expression on her face by the time Megan stopped her train of thought and brought it back to the table where they were eating. “What?” Megan asked.

Scarlett glanced at the clock on the wall. “It’s a little after six. How are you feeling?”

What was this about? “I’m a little tired, but I’m okay.” Megan was getting to recognize Scarlett’s expression as one that led them into mischief. “Why do you ask?”

“If we left now, we could be in Manhattan by midnight. Or earlier. It’s only four hours.”

Four hours of driving, now, when she was tired...but then to be in New York City tonight. They hadn’t gotten a hotel for tonight yet, deciding to play their DC plans by ear and find something afterward if need be. “Where will we stay tonight?”

“I could find us something in Manhattan. Some place with a parking garage.” Scarlett was already pulling out her phone and typing. “It won’t be cheap, but I know it’s one of the stops you’re most excited about. We could get there tonight.” She held up her phone to Megan, showing her a list of hotels on some booking app. “Look. I could book something for us right now.”

“Are you just saying this for me?” Scarlett was being really selfless, if she was willing to drive another four hours just to get Megan to the city earlier than they’d considered.