Chapter 13 - Choosing the Future
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The trip to New York City for Noah's campus tour was a milestone we had anticipated for months.
We walked through the historic gates of Morningside Heights under a canopy of bright green spring leaves. Students rushed past with heavy backpacks, debating architecture, politics, and art.
Noah wore a simple dark jacket, his eyes darting up at the grand neoclassical buildings surrounding the quad.
"It's huge," Noah noted, stopping near a bronze statue of Alma Mater. "Totally different from the river."
"It's a city within a city," I agreed, hands in my pockets as I watched him take it all in. "Are you intimidated?"
"A little," he admitted honestly, turning to look at me. "Back home, everything is quiet. Here, it feels like everything is moving at a million miles an hour."
"You belong in motion, Noah," I reminded him gently. "You've spent your whole life watching the world carefully from behind walls. Now you get to help design it."
We spent the afternoon touring the architecture studios, looking at massive physical models of sustainable skyscrapers and urban revitalization projects. Noah came alive when he talked to a professor about structural load distribution, his hands moving to sketch an idea on a scrap napkin.
Later, we sat at a small outdoor café near Central Park, sharing a massive plate of fries and watching the afternoon crowd.
"Dad?" Noah asked, wiping ketchup from his fingers.
"Yeah?"
"Are you going to be okay in the big house by yourself when I move into the dorms?"
May you like
I smiled, shaking my head. "Grace is still going to be there yelling at me about the gate, Noah. I won't be entirely alone. And besides, it's an hour-long flight. I expect to see you at least once a month, whether you have laundry or not."
Noah laughed, the bright, clear sound cutting through the city noise. "Deal."
