Grand Central Station is one of the only stations in Manhattan that the 7 line stops at, so OF COURSE I love and know Grand Central Station. But as many times as I pass through it and as convenient it is to stop by the lower concourse for a public bathroom or the Apple Store on the upper level for a quick iPhone fix, I’ve never known much about the actual history of the “secrets” behind it. The greatest “secret” that Grand Central Station has ever revealed to me are the glass walkways way above the station- ones that I have actually walked down. Only Grand Central personnel and NYPD are allowed access to the top, so I won’t reveal how I managed to get there 😉
The top of Grand Central Station
But I will say that I genuinely enjoyed learning about the other secrets that Grand Central Station held. The audio tour was a really nice way to spend a Tuesday morning and I loved walking around with my group. I am most usually hurrying through Grand Central Station on my way to class or on my way home, so to stop and “smell the roses” was a nice change of pace.
I have so many different memories in this station, from when I was a child to even now and I thought about what it would be like for two ex-lovers to rekindle their spark for just one night in this station. The story I wrote below is about a couple who broke up four years ago on bad terms. They bump into each other on the woman’s last night in NYC. The woman is moving permanently upstate to pursue her master’s degree and what ensues between this woman and the boy she loved a long time ago is a sad story of the things that we just cannot have in life- no matter how bad we may want it. **disclaimer: it’s a bit on the lengthier side, sorry!**
A stranger in thought.
Nikki and Jordan dated four years ago, at the beginning of their adult lives. They had broken up on painful, lingering terms and have not seen each other since. There have been others in their lives, but neither one can truly forget the other- no matter how much time has passed.
On a rainy August night, Jordan is on his way home from his dinner shift. He is absentmindedly walking through Grand Central Station when he runs into a panicked-looking Nikki. After acknowledging that this is the first time they have seen each other in over four years, Nikki tells Jordan that she is moving upstate to attend Cornell University for her master’s degree. In fact, she had ran into him while trying to make a train that had already left- -leaving Nikki to wait another 4 hours for the next MetroNorth upstate.
Jordan is shaken by Nikki’s presence on her last night in New York City. He can’t stop thinking about how different, yet how familiar she looks four years later and he cannot help but wonder who she has become in the past four years. When he looks at Nikki, he can almost see the years of memories they had made together when they were just children with not a clue in the world of how to treat each other right.
Nikki is wary of bumping into Jordan, knowing how time and how much duress it had taken to forget about him- and yet, four years later, he still crosses her mind. When Jordan suggests that they take a walk around Grand Central Station while she waits for the next train, the broken-hearted 18-year-old inside of her cannot help but tell her to follow.
It is almost 1 AM and a quiet hush has fallen over Grand Central Station. There are the occasional midnight workers walking through the grand halls and a drunken couple staggering around, but to Nikki and Jordan, it is like they are alone again- together.
As they walk through Vanderbilt Hall and climb the steps towards the Apple center, Nikki and Jordan tentatively talk about what the past four years have been like for each other. Nikki had received her bachelor’s degree in computer science and was working at Bloomberg up until recently, while Jordan had finished his master’s degree and was currently working at a lavish restaurant in Chelsea while searching for a full-time job.
Their conversation, at first tentative and filled with trepidation, has now passed into a practiced banter between best friends. It is like no time has passed between them as Nikki excitedly recounts her final day at Bloomberg. Jordan finds himself lost in her quick, easy laughter as he feels himself slipping into what was once routine for the two of them. He recognizes so many of her little quirks- from the way she bit her lip when she talked about something difficult, to the way she tucked her hair behind her right ear when she was listening attentively.
As they stand at the top of the grand staircase, Jordan and Nikki looks out at the majestic Grand Central Station. Jordan pulls out a key that he has long forgotten about until this very moment and mischievously tells Nikki that it holds elevator access up to the glass walkways- off-limits to anyone except Grand Central personnel and NYPD. Nikki agrees to take an “adventure” up to the very top of Grand Central with him- for reasons that could be chalked up to wanting a lasting memory of New York City, to wanting the feeling of rebellion and for the fact that Jordan, even four years later, was just as magnetic as he had been when they were just 20 years old.
Nikki and Jordan sneak up to the glass walkways using Jordan’s elevator keys and they are struck by how silent and still everything is- so high above Grand Central. They slowly make their way down the glass hallways, stunned with the bird’s eye view they were looking out at.
Jordan stops abruptly in the middle of the hallway, where he tells Nikki that his mother had died three months prior. Remembering how much his mother had adored Nikki and rooted for the two of them, Jordan felt the loss of both his mother and his one true love in that moment.
He feels a few tears sliding down his cheeks as he presses his forehead against the glass.
Nikki rushes over to comfort him and takes him into her arms.
Nikki and Jordan stand in the middle of a glass hallway, at the very top of Grand Central Station, locked in an embrace that they had lost four years prior.
After what seems like an eternity, Nikki pulls away and looks Jordan in the eyes. She tells him that her train will be leaving in twenty minutes and she must go before she misses another train. Before she can turn back around, Jordan tells her he loves her. That he has always loved her and that the four years hadn’t changed a single thing between them.
Nikki starts to cry because she realizes that this is what she wanted to hear, so many years ago, when Jordan had given up on them. But she knows that four years cannot be undone and the future that awaits her cannot involve Jordan.
She tells him so, still in tears; shocked by how much it still breaks her heart to say this aloud.
Nikki and Jordan ride the escalator back down to the terminal together, where he walks her to the grand clock.
They stand there for a minute in silence- both of them mourning what was once lost and could never be revived. There were so many things they could blame- the hands of time, the direction of the wind; but in the end, it was the cruel humor of destiny that told them both that it could never be the same again.
Nikki kisses Jordan lightly on the lips and tells him to take care of himself and before he can utter a response, she turns away and walks toward her track.
Jordan watches her go and knows that he cannot go after her. Nothing he will say now can change what he should have said four years ago- the first time she ever walked away.
10 YEARS LATER:
As Jordan rushes through Grand Central Terminal, on his way home from a long day of work at Bloomberg as the head of the accounting department, he bumps into a blonde girl walking the other way. As he turns around to apologize, he sees Nikki’s face- eerily similar but ten years older. The girl gives him that sad little smile Nikki always seemed to carry, but he blinks and the girl is gone. He walks in the direction the girl had gone but in the midst of the rush hour crowd home, he seems to have lost her. Jordan stands in front of the grand clock as memories flash by and a sense of devastation hits his heart.
The grand clock.
Your personal short story completely captivated me. I re read it twice just to really understand and grasp at every little detail. I think the fact that this love story took place in Grand Central Terminal just encompasses the overall theme of how much depth this place can add to a story. Great blog!
Wow, just wow. That story gave me absolute chills. It’s amazing to think what kind of thoughts and images can be made just from a short trip to a terminal. How you used all the elements of the terminal to brainstorm and now analyze your own personal story. Amazing creativity and once again amazing story!
Two things. First, I really loved your story. I think it encompasses the reality of love, which is that people who are right for each other don’t always end up together. Secondly, I wish you had revealed how you got to the glass walkways. I’m really curious now!