When in Rome... Marcus/Chelsea Valentine's Day
Sunset, February 14th, 2012
The observation deck atop the Essex Mountain Sanatorium's hospital building was, as far as Marcus knew, the one of the highest points in the entire state of New Jersey. It was easy enough to believe with the view and all. Standing up there, you could see the land stretcing out for miles in all directions. In the distance, you could even see the New York skyline, sparkling in the late-day sun.
On this Valentine's Day, as the sun slowly set on the Garden State, the observation deck had been transformed. Marcus had spent days getting it ready. The effect was a little fake and cheesy, but he thought that added to the charm. The inability to actually leave the property without the fear of being hunted down had limited his options for making the evening special.
His best-case scenario outing? Rome. A nice dinner under an Italian sky with soft accordian music playing over them.
So, he had erected half a dozen cardboard tubes and painted them a marble pattern and then painted on climbing ivy and cracks along the columns. There was soft music, piped through cheap computer speakers from his iPod. This was no candlelit dinner at a nice table, but a picnic spread out on the rooftop between the artificial columns. Marcus had made everything himself, and he was quite proud of that.
The spread was laid out in their imported bit of Rome at sunset, maybe there would be a walk later under the waning moon. But really? All he cared about was that she was home, and they were together.
The observation deck atop the Essex Mountain Sanatorium's hospital building was, as far as Marcus knew, the one of the highest points in the entire state of New Jersey. It was easy enough to believe with the view and all. Standing up there, you could see the land stretcing out for miles in all directions. In the distance, you could even see the New York skyline, sparkling in the late-day sun.
On this Valentine's Day, as the sun slowly set on the Garden State, the observation deck had been transformed. Marcus had spent days getting it ready. The effect was a little fake and cheesy, but he thought that added to the charm. The inability to actually leave the property without the fear of being hunted down had limited his options for making the evening special.
His best-case scenario outing? Rome. A nice dinner under an Italian sky with soft accordian music playing over them.
So, he had erected half a dozen cardboard tubes and painted them a marble pattern and then painted on climbing ivy and cracks along the columns. There was soft music, piped through cheap computer speakers from his iPod. This was no candlelit dinner at a nice table, but a picnic spread out on the rooftop between the artificial columns. Marcus had made everything himself, and he was quite proud of that.
The spread was laid out in their imported bit of Rome at sunset, maybe there would be a walk later under the waning moon. But really? All he cared about was that she was home, and they were together.