“Well, it’s nice up here.”
He looked confused for a second, and then shook his head. “Not here. We just met here. Follow me.”
Before I could protest, he took me by the hand and started walking to the left, toward a path that wound down alongside the staircase.
“I wish I had seen this before I took the steps,” I grumbled.
“What, and not get your Rocky moment?”
That was a good point. “So where is this mystery place?”
He gestured back toward the art museum. “Behind this, right next to the river. It’s not far.”
We lapsed into silence as he made a left down at the bottom of the path and followed the sidewalk that led us toward the back of the museum. We turned left at the first light and walked up the museum’s back driveway, toward a row of statues. Behind the museum, a long garden leading down toward the water spread out before us, punctuated by statues of famous Philadelphians. Most of them were Revolutionary War heroes, according to their plaques, but we didn’t look at them all. Rex took me toward a low, beige building resting right next to the water.
“This is the old Philly water company,” he said, pointing at the building. “It used to house the water for the whole city, but I think it stopped a hundred years ago. It’s a restaurant now.”
I was impressed. It was a pretty building, all marble and Roman columns.
“Am I on a historical tour right now?”
He laughed. “Something like that.”
“How do you know this stuff?”
He looked thoughtful for a few seconds as we continued to walk toward the left side of the building.
“When you live in a city like Philadelphia your entire life, you learn things. I never cared about history or whatever in school, but Philly has so much of it just lying around. It’s hard not to absorb some.”
I nodded. That made sense to me. New York was like that in some places, but in New York they were constantly trying to update everything, to make it more modern. Philadelphia wore its history on its sleeve and was proud of its origins. I was surprised to hear Rex talking that way, though. I didn’t think he was a meathead, exactly, but he seemed like the kind of man to let his body do the thinking. And he was, as far as I could tell, a genius with his body. I realized I was seeing an entirely different side of him, one he probably couldn’t show me at Drake’s.
We continued on, and he told me some more of the history of the area. I liked to hear him talk. His voice was deep and genuine, and everything he said drew me in. I didn’t feel like I needed to answer him, because his voice was my only focus. Plus, he hardly spoke every other time we hung out, and it was nice to have him lead the conversation for a change. Finally, we reached the edge of the wall overlooking the river, and he stopped talking.
“Almost there,” he said. “Just down here.”
I looked around, confused. “Down where? Are we going swimming?”
He pointed, and I followed his gaze. A few feet away was what looked like the beginning of a ladder, or maybe a staircase.
“Uh, what is that?” I said. He led me to the edge. It was a long, black, metal spiral staircase that wound its way down toward a small ledge overlooking the river.
“Down there,” he said, and started to walk down the stairs.
“Are you kidding me? You want me to walk down that thing?”
He laughed, stopping. “It’s completely safe, look.” He jumped up and down, and I swore the whole thing rocked and creaked under his weight. It did not look safe at all.
“No way. Sorry. Not doing it.”
“Come on, you coward. Let’s go.” He started down and quickly disappeared.
“Rex! Hold on!” He didn’t answer, and I stood there unsure. I was terrified of the thing, but I couldn’t let him go without me. I gingerly put my foot on the first step, then my other foot, and stood there. It felt solid enough. I grasped the handrail and took another step. I looked out at the brownish water, lit up by streetlights and houses, and knew that this was a turning point for me. I could follow Rex down these terrifying stairs, out onto a secluded ledge, or I could turn around, go back home, curl up on my couch, maybe call Amy, and watch a movie. I could go back to my safe, normal life, my good and comfortable job, or I could take a chance.
I took another step, then another. I wound my way down the stairs, and finally stepped off at the bottom, elated and terrified, my pulse pounding.
Rex grinned at me, leaning against a tree. “Took you long enough.”