happened, and it led to another thing happening.
Chapter 16
THE NEXT THING THAT HAPPENED was that Cameron and Li were back in the unmarked Secret Service’s black Ford Taurus, and they were driving out of the underground parking and onto the street which Cameron noted was not called Fifth Avenue or Fifth Street. So the hotel wasn’t named for one of those two things. Instead, the street was called George Street, which got Cameron wondering if it was named after a famous George. George Washington? George Washington-Carver? George Bush? George W. Bush? George Patton? Or about a hundred other dead guys named George.
He had no idea, and the question slipped away from him as Li turned a couple more streets and then looped past another and took a left on Louisiana Avenue, which reminded Cameron of home. Then she turned near the Library of Congress, and Cameron stared out of the window like a tourist, which he was. He watched the buildings and the cars and the people.
Li asked, “You ever been to DC before?”
Cameron said, “I haven't.”
“You gotta see it! There’s a lot of history here.”
Cameron stayed quiet and kept staring out of the tinted window.
“How about tomorrow afternoon?” Li asked.
“What?”
“Tomorrow. Afternoon. I’ll take you around. Show you some of the touristy stuff. Want to do that?”
Cameron said, “You don’t have to do that.”
“It’s cool. I want to.”
“Sure.”
Cameron smiled. He was going to buy clothes with her and take her to dinner, and now she was going to give him a tour of DC.
Not bad , he thought.
They drove on, and Cameron noticed that the sunlight had faded away in the west, dying across the beautiful, historical DC landscape.
Li drove the car around another corner and said, “I know the perfect place for you to get some new duds.”
Cameron said, “Why does that scare me?”
Li said, “Come on! I doubt anything scares you.”
She was partially right, or so Cameron thought at the time.
They came to a stop on a side street, and she parallel parked the car between two compact foreign cars that Cameron was glad not to be in.
“This is it.”
“The alley?”
Li smiled and said, “Come on. Get out of the car. Let’s go.”
They got out of the car, and she led him around the corner and back to the street.
The store that Li had picked was what Cameron would think of as overpriced, but in actuality, it was one of the best places to buy clothes at decent prices anywhere near this area of town.
She took him in. Cameron didn’t want to let shopping suck up his entire night with Li. He’d much rather spend the rest of his time talking to her and getting to know her. So he picked something out about as fast as he ever had in his life. He ended up getting a pair of black cargo pants, wondering why they were any better than the brown ones he already wore. But Li had told him they were stylish, and in Cameron’s experience, it was always better to listen to a women’s advice because, in reality, it wasn’t advice at all. It was engraved on stone tablets. Gospel.
He also purchased a long-sleeved green cotton shirt with some sort of tiny white emblem, which Cameron assumed was the logo for the brand. The emblem faded into the top left shoulder in a way that made it seem off-center and without any kind of arrangement that made sense.
Li asked, “You really like the color green, don’t you?”
“What’s wrong with green?”
“Nothing. It’s just very…um…Army.”
“Nothing wrong with that.”
“Do you want to be in the Army?”
“Don’t know. I haven’t given it much thought.”
Cameron shrugged and decided it was the shirt for him, and Li approved it. Then she followed him over to a fitting room area with razor thin curtains that barely reached to his knees. She stood out in the corridor by a full-length mirror while a young sales associate stood outside Cameron’s curtain, either afraid Cameron would steal something or wanting to
Chapter 16
THE NEXT THING THAT HAPPENED was that Cameron and Li were back in the unmarked Secret Service’s black Ford Taurus, and they were driving out of the underground parking and onto the street which Cameron noted was not called Fifth Avenue or Fifth Street. So the hotel wasn’t named for one of those two things. Instead, the street was called George Street, which got Cameron wondering if it was named after a famous George. George Washington? George Washington-Carver? George Bush? George W. Bush? George Patton? Or about a hundred other dead guys named George.
He had no idea, and the question slipped away from him as Li turned a couple more streets and then looped past another and took a left on Louisiana Avenue, which reminded Cameron of home. Then she turned near the Library of Congress, and Cameron stared out of the window like a tourist, which he was. He watched the buildings and the cars and the people.
Li asked, “You ever been to DC before?”
Cameron said, “I haven't.”
“You gotta see it! There’s a lot of history here.”
Cameron stayed quiet and kept staring out of the tinted window.
“How about tomorrow afternoon?” Li asked.
“What?”
“Tomorrow. Afternoon. I’ll take you around. Show you some of the touristy stuff. Want to do that?”
Cameron said, “You don’t have to do that.”
“It’s cool. I want to.”
“Sure.”
Cameron smiled. He was going to buy clothes with her and take her to dinner, and now she was going to give him a tour of DC.
Not bad , he thought.
They drove on, and Cameron noticed that the sunlight had faded away in the west, dying across the beautiful, historical DC landscape.
Li drove the car around another corner and said, “I know the perfect place for you to get some new duds.”
Cameron said, “Why does that scare me?”
Li said, “Come on! I doubt anything scares you.”
She was partially right, or so Cameron thought at the time.
They came to a stop on a side street, and she parallel parked the car between two compact foreign cars that Cameron was glad not to be in.
“This is it.”
“The alley?”
Li smiled and said, “Come on. Get out of the car. Let’s go.”
They got out of the car, and she led him around the corner and back to the street.
The store that Li had picked was what Cameron would think of as overpriced, but in actuality, it was one of the best places to buy clothes at decent prices anywhere near this area of town.
She took him in. Cameron didn’t want to let shopping suck up his entire night with Li. He’d much rather spend the rest of his time talking to her and getting to know her. So he picked something out about as fast as he ever had in his life. He ended up getting a pair of black cargo pants, wondering why they were any better than the brown ones he already wore. But Li had told him they were stylish, and in Cameron’s experience, it was always better to listen to a women’s advice because, in reality, it wasn’t advice at all. It was engraved on stone tablets. Gospel.
He also purchased a long-sleeved green cotton shirt with some sort of tiny white emblem, which Cameron assumed was the logo for the brand. The emblem faded into the top left shoulder in a way that made it seem off-center and without any kind of arrangement that made sense.
Li asked, “You really like the color green, don’t you?”
“What’s wrong with green?”
“Nothing. It’s just very…um…Army.”
“Nothing wrong with that.”
“Do you want to be in the Army?”
“Don’t know. I haven’t given it much thought.”
Cameron shrugged and decided it was the shirt for him, and Li approved it. Then she followed him over to a fitting room area with razor thin curtains that barely reached to his knees. She stood out in the corridor by a full-length mirror while a young sales associate stood outside Cameron’s curtain, either afraid Cameron would steal something or wanting to
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