Out of Town: A Spot Conlon Story

II

I reach under my seat to pull out my two suitcases, a garment bag, and messenger bag of all of my belongings throughout the years. While waiting for the train to stop I pull out some photos of Pittsburgh, with Olivia and Wendy. We were unstoppable back home. I look at the photo of the Duquesne incline with Olivia on my back. She was wearing the skirt I made for her twelfth birthday. That was almost four years ago now. I really am going to miss it in Pittsburgh, even though there are things I want to escape from. I put the photos away when the train pulls into the station. I push the smelly man slightly to wake him so I can get out. He reluctantly gets out of the cart to let me though. Reality is starting to set in now, I am moving away from everything I know to a whole new place. I can be whoever I want here, and not a soul will know.

I finally step off of the train and into my new life. After gazing upon the rather large crowd that is forming around the train exit I see a blond woman holding a sign with my name that must be Aunt Medda.

"Are you Aunt Medda" I say to the woman holding the sign. She gives me a look up and down for a second before pulling me into a bonecrushing hug.

"Oh, (Y/N), sweetie, it is so nice to finally meet you" she says to me. After a minute or two of a hug she picks up my two suitcases and motions for me to I follow her.

She gives me the inside tour of Manhattan. We walk by a rather tall building called The World with a bunch of boys circling around it. "Those are the newsboys if 'Hatten, one of them named Jack Kelly, he'll stop by the theater a lot." Medda states, "He's quite the looker too" she nudges my arm a bit.

I crack a little bit of a smile, "It takes more than a pretty face to win me over".

She spins me around, "Happy to hear you have some standards. That's one thing your mom had, unbelievably high standards for everyone". Wow that was really passive aggressive, true, but passive aggressive none of the less.

"You could say that again" I simply state not to get into a discussion about my mom's choices on my first day of my new life.

That's behind me now I can go on living my new life without her. I have Aunt Medda now she can teach me the ropes now. New York is set up on a grid so walking around aimlessly should be easy enough. Finally we make it to Irving Theater.

"This is home" Aunt Medda simply says. It's her home I think to myself, but I can make it mine. She shows me to a newly renovated dressing room in the basement below the stage. Since the apartment upstairs is only one bedroom she had to get creative. Besides, since she lives upstairs I get a taste of living on my own.

She leaves me alone to unpack my belongings for a bit. As I am making my bed, I realize that this isn't my room. Looking around it is covered in my things but it isn't my room. I don't have any memories here. There is only one thing to do about that though, to make new memories. Why not start now?

As I am putting my clothes away I start thinking. I can be whoever I want to be in this city, my past cannot hold me back.