Arthur looked over at him curiously, and Jesse tipped his head toward the man who was one exhibit over: Arthur’s father. Immediately, the rest of Arthur’s smile vanished.
“Follow me,” Arthur said, turning on his heel.
Both men kept their heads low as they passed him, walking at a brisk pace that was practically a run. Jesse was having some trouble keeping up as Arthur weaved through the crowd, his long legs taking him far, fast. And then Arthur pulled Jesse through a small corridor into an adjacent room, one that was practically empty. It took Jesse a second to realize that they were in the boiler room (the largest in the world, or so Arthur had said before). Impressive but not nearly as popular as the rest of Machinery Hall. Only two other people were there, both of them far from earshot.
Arthur let out a long breath. “Sorry, Jesse. Ireallywasn’t in the mood to see him.”
“I thought as much.”
“Our friendship isn’t... well, our friendship isn’t something that my father would support. It’s not that I’mashamed of you. Or of us. Isincerelyhope you know that’s not the reason why I wanted to run. But still, my father, he’s... well, you know. And our time here has been positivelyblissfulso far. No one else I know haseven taken notice of us. And I wanted to continue to revel in our anonymity—inmyanonymity—for at least a little while longer.”
“It’s fine, Arthur. I understand.”
“Thank you. God, I really hate the thought of people talking about us.”
Arthur sighed once more. After a moment, he began rubbing his hands together, as though maybe he was trying to rekindle his earlier excitement like creating a spark in a heap of firewood.
“Since we’re here, maybe we ought to walk around for a bit? Until my father leaves? I mean, I can’t imagine he’ll want to see the boiler room. Oh! And then, I know the perfect thing that we can see next! One more engineering marvel to marvel at before we head home.”
Jesse crooked an eyebrow and shook his head. “Which is what?”
“The Great Wharf Moving Sidewalk!”
***
Later, after only a few minutes of walking, Jesse found himself standing in front of the Great Wharf Moving Sidewalk wide-eyed and slack-jawed. Despite having seen the contraption on the map, the sidewalk wasn’t what Jesse had been expecting in the least. He’d been imagining (foolishly) that it would be asidewalk. In other words, he thought that it would be no wider than the rest of the sidewalks in Chicago, only it would move.
But this sidewalk wasn’t like any ordinary sidewalk. Instead, it was as wide as a train car, perched on a series of interconnectedplatforms. Affixed to the movable platforms, there were benches, each one able to seat four or five people. Interestingly enough, the whole of the sidewalk was beneath a connected roof, so those who were riding it were shielded from the sun. In truth, the whole thing looked rather luxurious. Not only was the sidewalk larger and more sophisticated looking than Jesse had expected, but it seemed more complicated from an engineering perspective as well.
Approaching the large sign stating the price for a ride, Jesse furrowed his brow in confusion, studying the platforms as they passed by. He wondered how it worked. Unable to even make himself care about how strange he might look, Jesse took a knee so that he could try to peer beneath it. Perhaps the platforms were sitting on top of a set of train tracks?
Arthur crouched beside him.
“Are we searching for something?” he asked.
“I’m trying to figure out how it works,” Jesse replied.
“Ah,” Arthur said with a click of his tongue. “Of course. You’re an engineer.” Clapping his hands on his knees, Arthur pushed himself to stand. He pulled a guidebook from his back pocket, opened it, and knelt back down. “It says here that these platforms are resting on a set of tracks.”
Jesse smiled triumphantly. “I knew it.”
Arthur hummed. “I’m not surprised. You’re a smart man, Mr. O’Connor.” After a moment, he shimmied closer, and then in a hushed-but-husky voice, he whispered, “I love that about you, you know. I love how smart you are. I love how well you teach me things.All kindsof things.”
Jesse’s cheeks warmed, the intonation in Arthur’s voice making his heart thud and his blood run hot, and then he hobbled to his feet. He hoped that no one had seen them. Or, more specifically, that no one had heard Arthur’s remark. Arthur was so infuriatingly bold sometimes.
“Let’s see if there’s a line,” Jesse said, craning his head to search for one and ignoring the pitter-pattering of his lovesick and frazzled heart.
He spotted a short queue of people a few feet away. It wasn’t long before he and Arthur were able to board. Arthur and Jesse sat next to each other on one of the benches. Jesse pretended to be very interested in the scenery, keeping his eyes on the water, as they began to move.
Leaning in close, Arthur whispered, “Did my earlier comment bother you?”
“Yes,” Jesse said curtly, though he immediately felt bad for it. He shifted in his seat and cleared his throat before then adding, “In a... nice way.”
“Oh. I see.” Arthur huffed a laugh. “Apologies. I couldn’t help myself.”
“Can youtryto help yourself?Sometimes?” Jesse asked, finally turning to meet Arthur’s eyes.
Arthur was watching him intently, his blue eyes boring into Jesse’s soul.
