Off the Record (Record #1)(92)

That was all right with Liz. After spending all day walking in the summer heat, she was pretty tired. She would have to muster the energy to go out tomorrow. As it was she was ready to pass out from exhaustion.

Liz slept in pretty late the next morning, and then they went out to look at some of the monuments they had missed after spending all day at museums.

She was immediately regretting sleeping in when they got to the Lincoln Memorial and found it packed with people. Apparently families and summer camps made the Lincoln Memorial a regular afternoon stop. People were sitting by the Reflecting Pool eating lunch and covering the steps to the Memorial. They had to nudge past a couple massive groups to even make it all the way up the stairs.

“Guess we should have done this yesterday,” Liz said, looking around the shoulder of a parent volunteer. She could see the statue, but it wasn’t the most pleasant experience.

“Yeah, this is ridiculous,” Hayden said, standing on the step below her.

“Seriously,” Liz groaned. The woman standing in front of her had scooted over and blocked her view.

“Come on. Let’s come back later.” Hayden reached out for her elbow and tugged lightly.

“What? No, we don’t have to do that. I don’t mind,” she said, not wanting to be an inconvenience. Hayden had already been here before; they didn’t need to come back just for her if she could get a good enough look now.

“Nah, let’s go. It’s a better view at night anyway. You’d probably like it,” he said. He directed her away from the mass of people.

“All right, if you’re sure.”

“Definitely. If you want to see it,” he said over his shoulder, “then we’ll come back.”

They walked back down the crowded steps and along the path on one side of the Reflecting Pool. Liz was glad that she had on loose cotton clothing, because it was way too hot to be out in jeans, like some of the other tourists. Her hair was up in a tight ponytail, and she wished she had brought a hat with her to block out the sun beating down.

They passed the World War II Memorial and kept walking to the Washington Monument. The area around the Monument was as packed as the Lincoln Memorial, but luckily they didn’t have to get close to see the giant obelisk rising to the heavens.

Passing the Smithsonian Institution again, Hayden chose a restaurant near the National Mall for lunch. It was a small burger joint and the only seating was outside. Hayden paid for both of them, and they carried their food to the empty table. The burgers were pretty incredible, not that she was hard to please. She wasn’t sure if it was because of the heat or if they were really that good.

They finished their meal and were about to head back on the Metro, when Hayden stopped.

“Hey, I know one more place we need to go,” he said, grabbing her hand and pulling her in the opposite direction. “It’s right around the corner. Come on.”

He set out at a quick jog, and Liz followed, laughing. “Why are we running?”

“I can’t believe I forgot to show you,” he said. “I didn’t even think about it.”

They turned the corner and walked right up to a giant building. Hayden never released her hand the whole time. She was about to extract it from his grasp, when she looked up at the building and saw that it read Newseum on the side. Liz stared forward with awe. It was a building dedicated to newspapers.

“How could you forget this?” she murmured.

“I don’t know. But they have the front page of the main newspaper from every state displayed outside, as well as from several different countries,” Hayden told her.

They walked and stood before the newspapers all displayed in glass cases in alphabetical order by state. It was pretty incredible to witness. She recognized the majority of the papers, but seeing them all out on display made her happy. One day she wanted to be working at one of these papers.

They stopped in front of North Carolina, and when Hayden saw the front page he had to laugh, because he knew the reporter who had the main story. She felt him circle his thumb against her hand, and she tensed.

She wanted to say that she didn’t like it, and that she wished she weren’t standing there with Hayden holding her hand, but it would be a lie. The whole moment felt a bit too perfect, and yet so different at the same time.

Here she was completely out in the open in the middle of the day holding a guy’s hand. It didn’t have to be Hayden; it could be anyone, because it wasn’t Brady. She could never have this with Brady.

And at that moment, it wasn’t Brady versus Hayden…not by a long shot. It was Brady versus not Brady, and Hayden happened to be providing the one thing she wanted from the one person she couldn’t have it from.

She sighed, hating her heavy thoughts. She had come to D.C. to escape for a little while, and she didn’t want to think about all of the confusion that came with her secret life. Regardless, she removed her hand from Hayden’s and leaned forward against the glass to point at something. She didn’t want to make it too obvious and hoped he didn’t think anything of it…or try again.

“Did you want to go inside?” he asked, pointing at the museum. “We might still have time.”

Liz checked her watch and saw how late it was. “I do, but if we’re going to go out tonight, I don’t think it’s feasible.”

“We can go out a little later if you want to see it,” he suggested. “I don’t mind.”