SOMETHING OLD, SOMETHING NEW
Chapter Ninety Five The next morning, Rose woke early when she felt Alan shifting against her. She opened her eyes and saw him smiling at her. “Good mornin’” he said. “Happy November the 1st.” “Yeah, you too,” she said. “Like I said last night, hard to believe its November already.” “Yup another month and three quarters and it’ll be Christmas time with the Harris family.” “Happy, happy, joy, joy,” Awinita mumbled from her bed. “Remember we also have Thanksgiving to celebrate as well,” Rose said. “Oh yeah, we do. Can’t forget that,” he said. “When is it?” Rose yawned. “November 27th,” she said. “We gotta be mindful of that since the date changes every year.” “November 27th is being filed away in my database for safe keepin’” Alan said, pointing to his temple. “Oh, I know you’ll keep track of it especially since turkey’s involved,” she said. She looked at him and pulled the cover down slightly. “I miss your cow costume already,” she said as Awinita giggled. “Well, maybe I can keep it and put it on for special occasions,” he said with a wink. “I hope you have enough room in your rucksack for it once we ditch the van.” Alan thought for a moment. “Did you ever see the Charlie Brown Christmas cartoon?” he said. “Years ago.” “I remember a scene where Lucy was threatening Linus with getting rid of his blanket because he wanted to keep it when he got older and when she asked him how he was gonna keep it around, he said, “Maybe I’ll make it into a sport jacket.” Rose raised her eyebrow. “Yeah, I’d love to see that thing as a sport jacket,” she said as Awinita laughed. She kissed him. “So, what’s on the agenda today?” she asked him. “I wanna use my gift certificate and take you guys out to dinner.” “Alan, you don’t have to use it right away.” “I want to. It’s time you were rewarded for being so good to us,” he said. Rose smiled and stroked his cheek. “Okay, well, we’ll try to find this Applebees then.” “You guys don’t have it in England?” Awinita said. She shook her head. “No. Is it any good?” “Yeah, it’s pretty good. They have steak and chicken and seafood. It’s like a family restaurant that’s decorated with all these odds and ends on the walls.” “Yeah, I remember you saying that about Bocca di Beppo, how it was an Italian Applebees.” “Yeah, the walls were kinda like what they have at Applebees. Just tons of stuff all over the place, all kinds of memorabilia. It won’t be too hard to find, there’s tons of them in the US.” “Okay, well, we’ll go tonight then for supper. What about the rest of the day?” “I wish that one tour thing wasn’t 400 dollars,” Awinita said. “Yeah, me too, it would be a nice change of pace from all the museums and things.” “You gettin’ tired of seein’ museums?” Rose asked him. “I like museums but sometimes it’s nice to have something different to do like last night.” “Do you have any ideas then?” “Well, there’s the El train. We could take a ride in that just to say we’ve ridden in it.” Rose shrugged. “Okay, we can do that but to where though?” “Just ride it and kinda see the sights that way,” he said. “Okay, we could do that. Um…there is something else but I don’t think you’d be interested.” “Try me.” “They have all these shops lined up on one street. They call it the Magnificent Mile.” “You wanna shop?” “Well, not go wild but just kinda walk around and look a bit.” He shrugged. “I could do that,” he said. “You sure?” “Yeah, it’d be interesting. Plus, we’d be out among other humans listening to them and seeing them shop.” Rose smiled. “More human lessons?” He grinned. “Exactly.” “Okay, we could go ride the El and see if it gets off at the shops or near the shops and go and spend some time there. Also…” She rose from the bed and grabbed a booklet that was resting beside the TV. She brought it back to the bed. “This lists things to do, maybe we can find something in here,” she said, lying on her stomach. Alan turned onto his stomach and looked with her. “Hey,” Rose said. “They have Wicked playing downtown. You guys wanna go see that tonight?” “The show?” Awinita said. “Yeah, the musical about the wicked witch and Glinda. You guys wanna see that?” They nodded. Rose giggled when she read further. “Or we can go see Mamma Mia and hear Alan’s rendition of Waterloo,” she said, rolling her eyes. “Hey, I’m a talented singer!” he protested. Rose looked at Awinita. “You missed that as well. That was in a hotel in New York. I was trying to make reservations for this steakhouse and Alan’s in the shower singing ruddy Waterloo at the top of his lungs while I’m trying to talk.” “And once again, that does not surprise me,” Awinita said. “I don’t wanna see Mamma Mia, I’d rather see Wicked if we’re gonna see anything.” “Yeah, me too,” Awinita said. “Okay, let me call and see if I can get us tickets then. Hopefully they aren’t sold out.” She got up and got into her rucksack for her mobile and credit card. They listened while she rang the box office and purchased tickets for them. After she finished buying them, she hung up. “I got us balcony, they were 29 dollars each,” she said. “The floor was 134 dollars so I hope you guys don’t mind.” “Starlight, you could put me in an Extreme World harness and hang me from the chandelier, just as long as we are going, I don’t care where we sit,” Alan said. “Yup, same here. You don’t need to pay out the nose to get us in, just as long as we get to see it.” She nodded. “Well, it’s starts at 8 tonight, so if you want to take us to eat, it’ll probably have to be around 6.” He nodded and kissed her. “Thank you, Rose.” “Yeah, thanks Rose.” “You’re welcome. I can’t wait to see it too.” She looked back at the booklet. “Lot of museums but you guys want something different than that…so…let me seeeee...” she murmured, flipping the pages. She paused on a page and read an entry. “Alan?” “Yeeeeees?” “How do you feel about classical music?” “Love it.” “The University of Chicago has a concert tomorrow night. Their orchestra is playing selections from Beethoven and Brahms. All you have to do to get in is make a monetary donation of any amount. You guys wanna do that?” “I do,” Alan said. “I can do that,” Awinita said. “That’ll be fantastic! We can give them a penny and go see a show,” Alan added. Awinita laughed when Rose eyed him. “You said they take any amount,” he said. She grinned. “I think I’ll donate more than a penny though just to be polite,” she said. “They also have a museum on campus that has artifacts from different periods of history. That’s free, wanna go see that?” They nodded. “Anything that’ll save you money is a-okay in my book,” Alan said. She scratched her chin while she looked over the booklet. “Aha!” she said. Alan looked at Awinita. “Aha, what?” She grinned. “Untouchable Tours, Chicago’s original gangster tour.” Alan’s eyes widened. “How much?” “Only 27 dollars per person!” She touched noses with him. “You get to see stuff like the building where the St. Valentine’s Day Massacre took place. A violent dangerous threat to the universe like yourself should enjoy that!” she teased as Awinita giggled. “Interested?” “Do I have one heart and a great big stomach?” Rose pretended to think. “Hmm, I don’t know, do ya?” He grinned and seized her around the middle. “Yes and yes,” he said. “Because I realize it’s not that serial killer house but it does involve killing. Or…I’m giving you a choice here…” “And choice number two is…” “They have a haunted Chicago ghost tour that is different from the 400 dollar thing. It’s 28 dollars per person.” Alan and Awinita grinned at each other. “Do that?” Alan said. “Do that definitely,” Awinita said. “Sod Al Capone! I wanna see some corpses!” Alan said. “Oh, but Al Capone is a part of the tour,” she said sweetly. “Along with our good friend, Mary. And they also cover the site of the St. Valentine’s Day Massacre which is where Al comes in.” “That’s it, I’m sold,” Alan said. “Ditch the gangsters and bring on the ghosts!” “Yeah, I’d rather do that!” “And according to this, they’ll let you get out and explore the sites and see if you can find the ghosts for yourself…including Resurrection Mary’s gravesite.” “So, if we pay good money, does that mean Mary will wake her decayed arse up and actually show herself this time?” Alan said. “Or are we gonna get another wanker with a torch?” “Who knows? I guess we’ll have to find out. You were the one who wanted to do our own personal Most Haunted show, right, Derek?” He snickered. “Yes, indeedy.” “Well then, we now have Wicked, the symphony, a museum and this ghost tour. See, I’m able to find more than museums when I really put my mind to it.” “You are brilliant, Rose. I will never get tired of saying that,” he said. “You always come through for your friends!” “I try,” she said, shrugging. “Well, what’re we waiting for?” Alan said, “Let’s get up and get movin’!” “After taking a ride on the El train and seeing some of downtown Chicago and the outlying areas, they found the Magnificent Mile and spent a day window shopping and wandering in and out of the stores looking at all the different items. As they walked around the stores, Rose began to think of what she could get Alan and Awinita for Christmas. She figured Awinita would be easy to shop for, but Alan? She wanted to give him something special, something just as unique as her Stitch ring. Something that was his and his alone. She made a note to look up personalized items online when she got the chance. Around 5 p.m. they decided to go ahead and go to Applebees. They located one downtown a few blocks from the theater. They walked inside and looked around. The interior was dark with wood paneling and a bar that sat in the middle of the restaurant. Around it on all sides were raised areas that had the tables on them. It was fairly crowded but they were able to be seated quickly in a booth by a huge plate glass window. The waitress took their orders for Cokes and handed them menus before walking away. Alan looked up at the wall beside the booth. There was a huge framed movie poster of The Wizard of Oz and all around them in their section were different types of movie memorabilia. The waitress returned with their Cokes and left again. They scanned their menus. “Get what you want,” Alan said. “I have a thirty dollar gift certificate and a hundred and twenty dollars to boot.” “Good, in that case, I’ll order everything on the menu twice,” Awinita said. “Correction, get what you want as long as I’m not forced to take out a small loan to pay for it,” he said as they laughed. He glanced at the menu and looked at Awinita. “Burgers any good here?” he asked. “Yes.” “I’ll get that then,” he said. “Cheeseburger and chips sounds good.” “I think I’m getting the chicken parmesan,” Rose said, “that sounds good to me.” “I think I’ll get the filet mignon with lobster tail and maybe some goose liver pate with some black caviar and sushi and…” Rose giggled when Alan gave Awinita a long, hard look. “Show me where any of that stuff is on the menu and I’ll be happy to pay for it, Harris,” he said. “Or are we special ordering it just for you?” “We’re special ordering it just for me.” “Uh-huh, well you can use your 10 dollar gift certificate for that then,” he said. “Oh alright, if I have to get something here, I guess I’ll settle for the Grilled Chicken,” she sighed. Alan glanced at Rose. “Yup, you’ve definitely rubbed off on her, Alan,” she said as Awinita laughed. The waitress returned five minutes later. She took their orders and left again. The three of them tucked into their meal, enjoying every bite of it. They chitchatted while they ate, making small talk and also brainstorming other places to go when they left Chicago. A half hour later, they finished and let out contented sighs. Alan leaned in to Rose. “Okay, is there anything I have to do to this gift certificate such as sign it?” he asked her. “No, just give it to her when they come with the bill and…let’s see, we’ll also have to tip so you have to wait till the bill comes to see how much to leave. And usually you leave 15 to 20 percent of the total bill.” “Yes but unfortunately people don’t always do that,” Awinita said. “I know, which is why I do. Servers don’t make much money and they work hard, they deserve a full tip,” Rose said. The waitress came back. “Can I get you anything for dessert?” They shook their heads. The waitress laid a small black tray on the table. Inside it was the bill. “I’ll be right back,” she said. Alan took the bill and studied it. “29.76,” he muttered. “20 percent of 29.76 is…” “Alan, it doesn’t have to be exact to the last penny. Just round up, it’d be much easier on ya,” Rose said. He nodded. “So, 6 dollars then,” he said, reaching into his pocket. He pulled out a five dollar and one dollar bill and laid it on the table while Rose laid his gift certificates on the tray. Alan put the bill back on top of it and waited patiently while the waitress returned. She took the tray and returned a few minutes later with .24 cents in change. They thanked her, Alan pocketed the change and they left to go to the show. The three of them sat in the balcony watching Wicked. Alan was in between his girls and Rose was lying against him, their hands were clasped together while they listened to the show. He smiled as he listened to the woman playing Glinda sing… I've heard it said Alan smiled when he heard that and kissed Rose on the forehead. She smiled in return and snuggled closer to him. So much of me They squeezed each other’s hands. Alan’s thoughts were kept on Rose during the song but oddly enough he found himself thinking of the Doctor when he heard… And just to clear the air He sighed inwardly wishing suddenly that he could talk to the Doctor and mend fences as much for Rose’s sake as for their own. He briefly wished that he could see the Doctor again, to show him how much Rose had changed him and healed him and ask for another chance to prove himself. After all, he was willing to forgive the Master and he committed far more atrocities than I ever did, he thought. It would be nice to bury the hatchet and be his friend instead of his enemy. He sighed softly. But that’s probably just a pipe dream, he thought bitterly. He’s gone now and he probably won’t be coming back. I need to just concentrate on what I have here and take care of the precious angel he entrusted to me. As if Rose could read his mind, he suddenly felt her lips on his cheek in a tender kiss. He looked at her and his heart swelled with love as he pulled her closer to him. “I love you, Alan,” she whispered. “I love you too, Rose, now and forever,” he whispered back. They shared a brief kiss on the lips before both of them turned their attention back to the show.
That people come into our lives for a reason
Bringing something we must learn
And we are led
To those who help us most to grow
If we let them
And we help them in return
Well, I don't know if I believe that's true
But I know I'm who I am today
Because I knew you.
Is made of what I learned from you
You'll be with me
Like a handprint on my heart
And now whatever way our stories end
I know you have re-written mine
By being my friend.
I ask forgiveness
For the things I've done you blame me for
But then, I guess we know
There's blame to share
And none of it seems to matter anymore.
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