at the same time, the snow falling all around our faces and sticking in our hair.
“Sleep with one eye open, hotshot.” Danika glared at Chance, who was now begging for her forgiveness behind eyes filled with laughter.
He wasn’t sorry, and we all knew it.
Mac didn’t even pretend to apologize as we continued walking. We stepped out of the trees, and the most stunning building was right in front of us.
“Is that …” I started to ask, but I wasn’t sure.
“The Plaza,” Danika said with a smile. “Isn’t it beautiful?”
“It’s unreal,” I said, staring at it.
I wasn’t sure how to explain it in words, even to myself in my head, so I pulled out my phone and took a few pictures. But none of them did the structure any justice at all.
“How do people take pictures that make it look as amazing as it really is?” I asked no one in particular as I took turns between staring at the picture on my phone and at the building in real life.
“Wait till you see the inside,” Chance added.
“What are we waiting for?” Mac asked. “I’m starving. You sure they have food here?”
“There’s a whole food hall downstairs,” Chance said.
“Like a food court?” I asked, and Danika shook her head.
“Not really. It’s not like something you’d find in a mall. It’s more like Harrods in London,” she explained, and I chuckled.
“Oh yeah, of course. Harrods. In London,” I mimicked, bringing out the fake accent again.
“Sorry,” she complained. “I just don’t know how else to explain it. You’ll see.”
The Plaza Food Hall wasn’t at all like a mall, even though there were various shops there. It was definitely more upscale, and you could either dine in or do your shopping for that night’s meals. It was incredible. I ate cheese I’d never heard of before and had fresh pasta made from scratch, which was unlike anything you could buy at the grocery store.
The woman had told me, “No preservatives,” since it didn’t need to last on a store shelf, I guessed.
There were insanely fancy desserts that looked almost too pretty to eat. But I ate them anyway. And even they tasted expensive.
“This is how the other half lives,” I said as I bit into a dark chocolate cupcake and moaned.
“It’s definitely pricey but also worth it,” Mac said, pulling out his dad’s credit card once again to pay for the cupcakes and macaroons.
“Worth it ’cause you’re not paying?” I teased, and he leaned down to lick the chocolate off my lips.
“No. Worth it because it tastes amazing.”
I nodded in agreement, and Danika asked if I wanted to see parts of the hotel that we could access. That was a definite yes, so off we went, upstairs to see whatever the staff would let us look at. And it was beyond my wildest imagination. Crystal chandeliers, marble columns, gold leaf highlights, murals on the walls, and fresh rose arrangements everywhere. The Plaza screamed class and European style. I wasn’t sure we had anything even remotely like it back in LA. If we did, I’d never seen it before.
When we finally walked outside, the sun was setting, and the wind had picked up again. The last thing I wanted to do was walk more, but I wasn’t going to mention it. We’d spent so much time doing so little, but somehow, I still felt fulfilled.
“Should we see the Macy’s windows or Times Square?” Chance asked Danika, and she placed a finger against her lips, as if pondering.
“I think we should visit Times Square tomorrow. Windows tonight,” she suggested, and we all agreed.
We waited in line to see them. Apparently, it got more crowded once it was dark, but Danika said there was most likely a line all day. But I didn’t care because just like everything else I’d seen today in this magical city, they were marvelous. The theme was all about believing in the magic of Santa. Each window had a different word and an intricate scene that went along with it. I couldn’t even begin to guess how many hours had gone into creating each display, but it seemed worth it when I saw the sheer amount of people waiting just to look at them. And they all seemed so happy.
“I can’t believe they do this every year.” I nudged Mac’s shoulder, and he held me tighter as he pointed out one of the elves moving in the background.
“What a cool job, right?”
“Can you imagine creating this much joy for people year after