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"No no." Teddy retorted quickly, hardly about to agree with the fact that she was kind of totally acting like a dork. But she seemed to accept it, like it wasn't a bad thing.
Talking of traveling about had her reminiscing over where she'd gone in her own time before being here. She had to wonder what kind of life it was that this woman had been through before she got to this point. If Teddy had to guess without any help, she'd say their worlds were so vastly different. Yet here they were, in a bus like normal people visiting an abnormally indulgent city. Together.
"I always thought I wanted to, but I jumped from St. Bethany to college to law school to my father's firm all in pretty tight succession." She explained. And as it sounded, it left little to no time to develop an abundance of hobbies, let alone the time to travel. "That kind of dedication doesn't usually come around when you're young."
That somehow sounded negative to her, and she didn't want to leave it at that. "I have been to New York before. Once, with my father, when I was in law school. It was a very short trip and strictly for business, as I understand it. I never did anything like this. He wasn't the type." And if the last few days hadn't made it clear, she stood directly in his footsteps on that front.
She gave Teddy a grateful smile when the other woman tried to deny the claim Olivia so readily offered. The other woman then had a pensive look on her face before responding to Olivia's question.
Her answer didn't quite surprise Olivia but she thought the lawyer would have at least traveled for work. When Teddy offered a small insight to her family, Olivia somehow understood her a little more. Apples don't fall far from the tree after all.
"Well, I'm glad we're doing this together then." She smiled and turned back to her guide book. The bus moved through the city while the tour guide pointed out many significant spots and Olivia drank it all up.
They finally arrived at the ferry that would take them to the Statue and as they exited the bus, Olivia was hit by the sudden cold. "Jesus Christ it's cold." She exclaimed, taking out the gloves she brought and jamming it over her hands, grateful for the brief reprieve. She pulled the coat tighter around her and followed the tour guide as the group walked up to the ferry.
"I'm going to go to the front." Olivia told Teddy when the tour guide allowed them to break away. "Kenny's going to want pictures." She remarked with a grin as she walked up to the bow of the ferry and leaned against the railing, taking out her phone and taking pictures of the scenery and herself. She still hadn't mastered selfies despite the many lessons Kenny forced on her.
Silently, Teddy was glad to side-step the topic of her father. Relief washed over her internally, and to everything else, she just offered a slight smile. She had to be grateful for the company. She certainly hoped that much was obvious by now.
Once they stepped off, the cold clearly got to her counterpart incredibly quickly. She had to laugh at that, tucking her hands into her pockets and planning to keep them their given the weather.
There she was, talking about her family and it caused such an obvious light in her eyes. Teddy followed suit, bright eyes following the line of the water with every step she took. Every person near her held a camera out; some outward, and some inward. When she finally reached her, she saw Olivia indulging like everyone else. She wasn't kidding about the whole tourist thing. It was absolutely endearing; she couldn't stop herself from smiling even if she wanted to.
"Here, let me." She offered, holding her hand out to take her phone from her with every intention of taking her picture.
When Teddy offered to take the picture for her, Olivia laughed and handed her the phone. "Maybe you'd have better luck getting a good one." She leaned against the railing and smiled widely. It was probably the best pose she could do.
She got distracted by a pelican flying close to the water and momentarily forgot her phone was in someone else's hands as her eyes were drawn to the looming iconic statue. "Oh wow." She breathed. She hadn't really ever seen anything like it up close.
Pulling her beanie down over her ears, she turned back to Teddy, her cheeks pink from the cold. She smiled excitedly at her companion. "Picture! Take a picture of me and the Lady."
One or two pictures sufficed before Olivia got distracted. Again, Teddy laughed, though not at her expense. Something about the way she looked so carefree managed to be infectious in its own way. Following her gaze, she caught sight of the looming monument they were here to see so close.
"The Lady." She repeated with yet another laugh, holding her phone up again to catch a decent picture. At least she'd have something to send to her niece to keep her pleased. "Perfect." She declared, finally handing it back to her so she could see.
Hiding her hands in her pockets again, she glanced up to the famous statue standing so high above their heads. "So this is it, huh." She mused, lips parted as she sought the right words to give; "For me, she stands for freedom from oppression." And she wasn't even from this country. But given her line of work, it was the best reasoning that fit her.
She took her phone from Teddy and pocketed it without looking at the results. She can look at it later. Right then, she was just awestruck by the statue they were approaching.
"I read somewhere that she's struck by lightning about 600 times a year." Olivia responded. "Her resilience speaks more to me than anything else." She turned to Teddy with a smile. "She stands for a lot of things for different people. But yeah, it makes sense that you see that."
As they inched closer to the statue, Olivia went silent, just enjoying the view. And when they finally stepped off the boat, the tour guide offered them to go up. She looked at Teddy with raised eyebrows. "Are you game? I'd probably die taking the stairs but there's a viewing point on a lower deck that's accessible by a lift."
Resilience. Teddy looked at her the second the word passed her lips. She caught the way she smiled, and felt almost humbled by the way she spoke about it. Resilience was an interesting thing for her to draw from this, and it was something she wanted to hold onto. Any information she could get about this woman, she'd take it.
She glanced briefly at where they were headed, eyes following the guide who stepped further and further away from them. There was no point in saying no, was there?
"I'm game." She declared finally. "You're going to need a lot more pictures. I can tell." But it was hardly a bad thing.
Olivia laughed and nodded. "I'm afraid I have shown too many of my cards much too early in this friendship." She joked as they followed the group.
They ascended in a cacophony of oohs and aahs and clicks of their cameras and Olivia couldn't help the wide smile that appeared on her face. She leaned against the window to the lift and enjoyed the view first. Picture taking can wait.
She turned to her traveling companion and grinned. "How cool is this, though?" She jerked her thumb as the buildings started becoming smaller. Once they reached the top, Olivia finally took pictures before tapping Teddy on her shoulder. "Hey...take a picture with me?"
Cool was not a word frequently used by Teddy; it was one stereotype she fit well. But even she had to let her smile grow a little wide. She had every intention of staying in the hotel all day, and now here she was. "It's certainly something." She said; it was as close to agreeing as she'd get.
Like most other times, in her quiet moments she found herself watching others. They'd been stuck in a glass case with a myriad of strangers who obsessed over every minute detail of where they were. With eyes like hers, she didn't need pictures to remember where she was.
The tapping on her shoulder might have been the first instance of contact that Olivia had initiated. The thought wasn't lost on her. "Of course. How could I say no?" And with that allowance, Teddy eased in next to her as close as possible to ensure she fit in her picture.
She let out a small giggle at Teddy's refusal to agree to her word choice. She was too proper anyway.
Glad that Teddy said yes to the picture, Olivia worked her phone so the camera was facing them. The screen showed their position and for a moment, Olivia froze at how close they were. Good Lord, she thought to herself, not again. Pull your self together, Dawson. She turned back to the camera and smiled before pressing the circle at the bottom of the screen. She looked at the captured picture and found herself staring at it a bit longer than she should have before turning to Teddy. "Thanks."
The rest of the tour had them visiting eateries made famous by the chef and also by the people that have eaten there and soon enough they were back to the hotel. As far as tour guides went, it was subpar but Olivia enjoyed herself thoroughly. She was glad they were back at the hotel though and after making dinner plans with Teddy, not forgetting to set an alarm, she threw herself on to her bed and was out like a light.
She didn't sleep long but when she woke up, she was oddly refreshed. The quick shower she had also helped before she stepped into warm clothes for the night. She didn't know how fancy or how casual the food truck would be so she dressed in jeans and a dark knit sweater over a tank top and the coat she used from before. She did braid up her hair to the side so that was something.
Knocking on Teddy's door, she called out to her boss, asking if she was ready.
What should have come as no surprise was that Teddy wasn't someone who slept at all during the day. Rest, as she believed, could come from the simple fact that she wasn't walking around the cold streets of New York. Sitting and settling worked wonders, even if she had her laptop open to reply to the various emails she'd been ignoring all morning. She wished for the ability to feel like time stood still in a foreign city, but she'd never been that lucky.
When time passed and there was a knock at the door, she closed the device and moved to stand. Gone were the dark jeans she'd dared to pull out of her luggage. Most people might have found them comforting but to the high profile lawyer, nothing was better than a dress and impossibly high heels. Why she went to such great lengths to ensure she looked perfect was beyond her, but it was worth it. If everything went according to plan, they would be out of here in a day.
As she opened the door wide, she gave Olivia the once over.
"What, no towel?" Teddy offered lightly, providing a small frown for good measure, "I'm disappointed, Olivia. I thought you were making a statement."
The comment had Olivia rolling her eyes and snorting, though a faint blush coloured her cheeks. She blamed it on the central AC. "If the statement is hypothermia, I'd much rather not." She took in what Teddy was wearing and had to hold her tongue.
"Shall we make a move?" She smiled at Teddy before moving towards the door.
Per the front desk's instructions, they easily found the food truck. Well, trucks. They had combined four food trucks in the open space with tables set up all around with fairy lights dangling from the four lamp posts set around the compound. Olivia raised her eyebrows in surprise and grinned at her boss. "Wow. Didn't actually expect this." It was a lot fancier than she had anticipated and judging by the looks of the people around, the place was as glowing a recommendation as the front desk had hyped.
They went straight up to the trucks and looked at the chalkboard menu before deciding what they wanted to eat. They placed their orders and got a number before they went to sit. "Not digging eating outside but if the food is good..." Olivia shrugged and looked at Teddy. "You're okay with this, yeah?"
There was a sliver of relief that Teddy refused to wear after she spoke. It was nice to know she could take a joke about the day's earlier accident and get away with it. She doubted she'd be so quick to do so out of the bubble of New York, so it was best to do so here.
Her own expectations wasn't all that far off how Olivia felt, and there was obvious surprise in her eyes at the setup they'd been instructed to go to. "It's smart." She added, almost enthusiastically. It was hard to get out of a business mindset when a money making setup was staring her in the face.
Sitting down across the little table, she crossed her legs and brought her attention back to the woman who asked her a question. Narrowed eyes glanced across the table at the person who seemed to question her. She was scrutinising her a little bit now. Sure, she didn't look like the type to eat outside. A decent jacket meant she could handle the cooler weather of the night, "I'm okay with this." She replied finally, tilting her head up a fraction. Curiosity filtered into her bright eyes, and she couldn't help but ask; "Does that surprise you?"
The answer did surprise Olivia, if she were honest and she said just that with a nod. "A little bit, yeah." She smiled before holding a defensive hand up. "Not in a bad way. You seem more of a...sit down indoor restaurant type of person." Olivia confessed.
"This trip is kinda blowing my mind a bit...outside of being in another state." She chuckled, fingers of her left hand toying the end of her braid. "In a really good way, I think." Her dark brown eyes settled on her counterpart and gave her a smile.
Olivia wasn't the first to expect a certain set of requirements from Teddy based on how she was. "For the most part, you aren't wrong." She admitted. She just tried to be the type of high class lawyer who didn't automatically decline every opportunity.
She very quickly had to consider what Olivia could mean by that. To say this entire experience was blowing her mind had to be about so much more than wandering around the city, or simply flying to another state. Now that she had her eyes, Teddy absolutely wanted to keep them for longer than she usually got to.
"Tell me more." She asked lightly, smart to inject obvious interest into her tone.
