Windows on the World

WINDOWS ON THE WORLD

PART ONE

JULY 29, 1996

"Fuck!" The sound that the flat iron made when it hit the bathroom floor hinted at its destruction.

After burning her and not being able to flatten any of those copper curls, Phoebe tossed the useless thing in the air as if she hadn't just spent the last of her allowance on it. All she wanted was neat, fluffy, and shiny hair for her big day. If she were to give the professional impression her mother insisted was so important, the hairstyle would play a big part in it. Besides, it was the trend. Not that Phoebe was usually one to follow blindly and play along but even she could recognize which trends were actually worthy of following.

"Here, let me help, you psycho." Cousin Dana entered the bathroom after hearing the commotion. She began fetching a blowdryer and a round barrel hairbrush from the big cabinet at the right.

As she stood behind Phoebe, she surpassed her height by quite a lot. But Dana was way skinnier than Phoebe, probably because of her chihuahua-like energy.

"I can't believe you're making me go to work in the financial district," Phoebe told Dana before she turned the blowdryer on. Phoebe raised her voice considerably when she continued speaking. "All those zombie-like vultures!"

"Ease up on the terminology. At least it's not the heart of Wall Street you're going to." Dana wasn't as judgmental of rich people as Phoebe was. "And I'm not making you do anything. You need this. Joanna is already out there working her ass off, but you and I both know it's not enough."

"It's just going to be hard serving people who earn more than triple the money I make."

"Your salary up there isn't gonna be half bad." Dana's New York accent shined through with special emphasis in that particular phrase. The accent was another thing the Connecticut girl would have to get used to. "Now remember, a certain prestige is expected at that restaurant. Try to keep your attitude in check."

"You're one to talk." Phoebe blew a raspberry at Dana, which was reflected in the mirror in front of them. Also in the reflection was Phoebe's shiny and finally tamed hair. "It looks perfect!" The younger girl spun around to give her cousin a grateful hug.

"Come on, you'll be late. I don't want Peter to resent me."

TWO DAYS EARLIER

"That's it. I'm not going to college." Phoebe's usual dramatic act caught her mother's attention this time, as it sounded like Phoebe truly meant and believed what she was saying.

Joanna Bradley looked up and stopped taking objects out of a scratched-up cardboard box.

They'd just finished eating lunch and she'd gotten right back to unpacking. The woman was as restless as they made them.

"You're attending Stuyvesant this year. Of course you're going to college."

"It's just around the corner and there's no way we can afford it." Phoebe insisted.

"Let's not talk about this now. Help me unpack." The classic Joanna move, switching important conversations for mundane tasks. It was genius, really. It worked every time. Except maybe just this once.

Dana kept the issue going.

"Why don't you get a job?" Her tone came out a little more patronizing than she meant.

"Why didn't I think of that?" Phoebe replied, rolling her eyes. "I'm sorry. It's just that even with a job myself, it's not going to happen."

"Not even if it's in a renowned place?" Dana kept acting all cryptic, and it was getting slightly irritating. But then, a newspaper dropped onto Phoebe's lap from Dana's hands.

Phoebe read aloud the small section Dana pointed to. "The restaurant Windows on the World is still seeking reliable servers due to their long-expected return to the World Trade Center after the 1993 terror attack."

Joanna pretended not to listen while she resumed her task.

"What do you think?" Dana asked.

"Nothing qualifies me for this."

"You've already been a waitress and it doesn't require any special qualifications. Besides, I know the Sous Chef and I'm pretty sure he can get you in."

"I don't know Dana... This is the Trade Center we're talking about. Catering to all those stuck-up suits doesn't seem like fun." Phoebe tossed the newspaper on top of the coffee table.

"Fun should be at the bottom of your list. This pays well and there's no excuse. And those who eat there are mostly tourists, not businesspeople and lawyers. What do you think, Joanna?"

Joanna thought about it for a minute. "I think it's perfect for Phoebe."

"But mom!"

"Do this for me, please."

Her cousin looked between Joanna and Phoebe, expecting more arguments.

"Fine."

Dana smiled flatly, trying not to show how her shameless self-pride at her achievement. "I'll make the call." Her straight black hair whipped the air as she abruptly turned away.

"Thanks, Dana." Joanna set an old lamp on the small decorative table by the window. By doing that, it brought Phoebe's attention to the view outside.

Far, but not so far away, and partially covered by some other not-so-tall buildings in front of them, the twin silver rectangles showed through. They interfered against the whole aesthetic of the city. They were intruders. Pariahs. The more she stared at them, the more she thought so.

Phoebe couldn't believe how quickly that all went down. If Dana's friend somehow managed to get her in, Phoebe would have a job just within a few days of moving to Manhattan. She wasn't an introvert, but she'd never lived in a big city before. And now all of a sudden she could be working in the tallest towers in the skyline.

While Phoebe studied to prepare for her start at Stuyvesant and what would be her senior year, her eyes kept darting upward. This time, to the view from the window in the bedroom that was to be hers but still had to be settled in. With a less obstructed perspective, the Trade Center was like a drop of lemon into her already strained eyes from all the reading and writing.

Yet, something changed a tiny bit in the way she saw them. Potentially becoming part of her daily life was bound to modify her outlook on the whole area itself. Thing is, she had never even bothered to step foot in the financial district. There hadn't been a reason so far, and with how deeply she loathed those types of locations, there was no rush either.

The pen tapped against the paper, creating small blue dots all over her notes on volcanic islands. There was barely a paragraph written, and it would stay that way, at least for a while. When Phoebe jumped up from the uncomfortable chair, her concentration was far gone, and it was replaced by only one motivation.

"I'm going for a walk!" Her statement was loud enough for the other two women in the apartment to hear.

Only Joanna responded.

"Will you find your way alright?"

Boots laced, handbag on, and ready to go. Phoebe went directly to the front door and stopped for a second just to answer her mother.

"I think I will." She breathed out an insecure smile. This was hard for her to do, in fact, more than anyone ever cared to notice. More than it should be. It wasn't that big of a deal. At least not to most people. But the hasty inspiration could do its trick at least for a while, she hoped, and give her the strength to rise above it.

As she closed the door behind her and went downstairs, the noises from outside began surrounding her, creating pressure in her head that she chose to ignore as best as she could. But when the main door gave way to the street, the loud city streets were almost unbearable, and she was in the brink of turning back.

No.

Undefeated. Remain undefeated.

Uncle Carlo's words would pop into her head whenever she wanted to give up. He first spoke them when Phoebe was three and a half, and she didn't believe in her capacity to stay inside the lines when coloring. Then, at eight, when she underestimated her ability to run fast enough to win a race against the rest of her class. Perhaps he'd been a little over-dramatic with his motto, but he'd been the only one to care and understand. Carlo knew how to balance out the unsolvable issue of her anxious self-doubt; by building a self-competitive person out of Phoebe. Even in her darkest moments of insecurity, all the push she needed was to know that if she gave up, she would fail herself. And that would be impossible to live with.

Undefeated, Phoebe confronted the street, but not the noise. Which had been replaced by the hip-hop tune of the Notorious B.I.G emanating from the cassette player attached to her belt.

As she walked, it all started becoming more and more fancy-looking. No more greasy corner pizza joints-hello to expensive jewelry stores. Not only the storefronts were disparate. The streets were clean and graffiti-free. Four or five people had already passed by her like a gush of wind with so much hurry and worry.

She stopped for a moment to observe the Woolworth building, which in her opinion was much more interesting and better fitting to the city than the modern skyscrapers. Worthy to look at. But who was her to critique architecture.

Phoebe continued down the street. In only a few more steps she found herself in the middle of the Austin Tobin Plaza, and two giants emerged from it at each side. She took off her headphones, needing the music no longer. Her head slowly moved upward as she followed the height of the towers. The perspective distorted their image, making them look infinite, going up to the sky and blending with it.

"Impressive, huh?" A feminine and high-pitched voice at her left snapped Phoebe back to Earth to look at the pristine stranger.

The thirty-something-year-old woman placed her briefcase on the ground. Her smile was sort of a proud one, and it made her kind eyes appear like thin lines, just as her pursed lips. Her straight raven hair was pulled back into a french twist, and her dark grey suit was absent of creases. Despite her apparent height, it was only the high heels she wore that made her stand just a few inches over Phoebe, who was small herself.

"Oh, yeah..." Phoebe had to agree after witnessing with her own eyes the magnitude and the human effort that went into creating these leviathans. "When I arrived in the city a few days ago I thought they were big ugly rectangles. Not really consistent with the rest of the skyline, you know? But now, up close, they really are something." Naturally, Phoebe had seen the Twin Towers before, at a young age, when her aunt and uncle moved to New York and they visited them. Her infant mind hadn't really formed a cultivated opinion about them yet.

Both women stared upward again for a while, wordlessly.

"I work inside," the stranger finally continued. "in the South Tower. The view is already breathtaking from the 67th floor."

"I might start working in the North Tower soon. That's why I thought I ought to visit them first.

"Really? What company will you be with?"

Phoebe shook her head from side to side with conviction, trying to convey that she was not an office worker. Never in a million years. "I'd be waiting tables at the restaurant."

"I used to love that place before the bombing. I'll make sure to start going again." She picked up her briefcase once more, suddenly in a hurry after taking a glance at her wrist. "Listen, I gotta head back inside, but I wish you well and I hope to see you at the Windows on the World!" She began raising her voice as she walked away into the tower.

"Wait! What's your name?"

She barely stopped to answer. "Elena! Elena Abbotts! What's yours?"

"Phoebe Bradley!"

"It was nice meeting you 'Cindy Brad Pitt'!"

Phoebe, not knowing if she'd heard right, shouted. "What?"

None of them could make out what the other said anymore. Elena turned her back and entered the building with a silly little sprint.

Phoebe laughed to herself and shrugged. "I guess I'm called Cindy Brad Pitt now."

Phoebe went up to a donut cart at the edge of the plaza. So much walking had brought her sugar levels down. Or that's what she told herself in order not to feel any guilt upon eating the glazed bun. She ate it while observing both the workers and the tourists who were going to the World Trade Center. Two very different kinds of people with two very different moods. The tourists, in blissful awe at everything they saw, bending their necks almost unnaturally to see the skyscrapers. The workers, looked straight ahead, having no time or interest to indulge in the views they saw every day.

But to her, this was a new and fascinating setting. It gave her the insight to seek out a place to sit and get out a sketchbook from her bag. She only ever used this particular one for life events, for things or moments she experienced herself. She could later look at the memory in sketch and wager its significance.

The moment the pencil hit the rugged paper, all the noise around her dissipated into the background. Only the scene before her was important. Like a framed picture in an empty white wall, the concrete jungle focused in her tunnel vision. Time to sketch.

Only when the lights inside the buildings became noticeable and the sky darkened by unforeseen clouds began making contrast, did Phoebe realize that it was time to get back to Dana's apartment. There was a dinner she was looking forward to greatly.

The way back home was like a breeze in comparison to the start of her stroll, but she was far from accustomed to the city. It would take time. At least she had a great sense of direction and knew her way around quite well.

Before opening the door to the apartment, Phoebe already heard voices that she recognized, and had been missing like hell.

"Uncle Carlo!" She exclaimed as soon as she walked in, dropping her bag on the floor and throwing herself into the arms of her awesome uncle. He was quick to hug her back, but with his uniform still on, his badge got kind of in the way, and Phoebe hit her jaw against it.

She retreated a little to rub her jaw with an exaggerated frown and a pout on her lips.

"Sorry about this. I know it's supposed to be a family reunion, but I didn't have time to change." Carlo faked a guilty and wry grin, moving his shoulders up in a shrug.

"He's lying. He just likes to show off." Carlo's wife interjected with her usual sassiness.

"Auntie Julia!" Phoebe laughed while she greeted her aunt as well.

Phoebe was non-native to New York, but it was already starting to feel like home, if only because of them being all here back together.

"Hello, darling!" Julia squeezed Phoebe lovingly. "You have no idea how much we've been missing you."

"Believe me, we do." Phoebe glanced at her mother, who nodded slowly and with relief.

Dana waved her arms in the air. "This is all very nice, but food's getting cold, people!" She exclaimed as she called the family over to the table.

"You're the one who's cold, Dana. Cold as stone." Phoebe squinted her eyes at her cousin, feigning bitterness. "Way to ruin the moment!"

Still, the five of them sat down at the small lunch table, which was so packed with different dishes that there wasn't any room left in it. It was obvious that Carlo had done most of the cooking. His famous pesto spaghetti outshined all the other food scents. Phoebe hoped he'd made some cannoli as well.

"Sorry that you all have to share one bathroom still. Our renovations would have already finished if it weren't for Carlo insisting on doing everything himself!" Julia touched a controversial matter.

Joanna's brother was known for being a 'stubborn moron'. Not in Phoebe's words, but everyone else who knew him. Especially his daughter.

"I can do it!" He banged his fist on the table a little harder than he had intended, but they were used to him being noisy.

His wife rolled her eyes. It was all in good fun, though. "That's what you've been saying for the past eight weeks!"

"It's no big deal, is it, girls? We can manage quite well," Joanna said.

Phoebe bit her tongue. If it were only her and Dana, it would be a nice living arrangement. But three people were too much for one of the cheapest and smallest apartments in Two Bridges. No offense to her mom.

"We can smell each other's farts, but it's alright, I guess."

They stopped munching and simply stared at Dana. Then, they all burst out in laughter. Carlo even spit out the food in his mouth and splattered it all over. This chaos could be shocking for others, but for them, this was peak family time.

When dessert, the expected cannoli, was served, the chaos settled into rather a tranquil scene. Uncle Carlo stretched in his seat, feeling stuffed after the banquet.

"Any news?" He asked.

Dana tried to say yes while her mouth was full. "Phoebe's getting a job." She managed to say eventually.

"Oh, that's great!" Julia clasped her hands together. There was the same sparkle in her eyes as in Joanna's.

"Well, it's not confirmed yet." Phoebe shrugged before taking the last bite out of the cannolo.

"It is." Dana corrected, gaining the attention of everyone at the table. "I called. They agreed to give you a try."

"Already?" Both Phoebe and her mom were stunned at how efficient Dana could be when she wanted to.

"Where's this job, then?" Her uncle inquired again.

Phoebe took a sip of water and cleared her throat. "The World Trade Center."

Carlo and Julia's eyebrows quirked at the same time.

/this story is still a WIP and only a first draft. I will eventually edit it and rewrite it to fix plot holes, descriptions (adding more and better descriptions), and prose.