“Boarding for the 3:15 flight to New York will begin in 10 minutes,” a short flight attendant standing to the right of the gate announced, the speakers muffling her soft voice. “Please come up and see us if you have a ticket . . . ”

Hunter stopped listening, having no need to get his ticket sorted. Josh had organized his flight long ago so he knew first-class boarding would be a breeze. 

Hunter just had to get on the flight and soon he’d be arriving in New York city. He imagined that over the next few days he would be visiting Broadway or catching a baseball game. Hunter also needed to get downtown and try some of their famous pizza. But this wasn’t a trip for pleasure. Months of preparation and work secured Stick Figure Animations as one of three main animation studios working on the newest Illumination film. Stick Figure, with two others, would cover the bulk of the animation work, which meant a lot of work and a lot of money. 

While Hunter wished he could be back at the office helping his employees with the constant workload they faced, they needed a representative in New York to finalize the contracts and and complete last minute negotiations. Hunter’s chest puffed with pride at the opportunity to be so involved in a project. Four years ago, his father could only have dreamed of doing something of this scale but his toiling and effort made it possible for Hunter to be here today, avoiding sticky airport seats as he waited to board first class.

Pulling out his phone. Hunter checked his schedule for the next couple of weeks and winced. Illumination had him going to several meetings over in New York as they solidified any choices on the movie. It would be a bit of time before he could enjoy River’s company again. A few weeks earlier, after work to get the Illumination bid ended, Hunter wanted to tell River all about it. But at the last second, he chickened out. He didn’t want to express how big of an accomplishment it was lest River think he was bragging. But in keeping the details from him, Hunter was also withholding how much time he would have to put into it. 

This may not be the last time River went weeks without seeing him. On the bright side, Hunter wasn’t sure the other man would miss him that much. He was the main person trying, sharing about his life, going to see River, while the latter seemed to still be holding so much back. Maybe he would enjoy a break from Hunter’s presence. 

“Zone 1, please begin to board the plane.”

Hunter walked up to the gate, acknowledging that he was experiencing his last few minutes in Canada before the trip. Maybe he should send River a quick text, just to let the other man know where he is? Yet, while the device burned in his pants’ pocket, Hunter could not lift it. He couldn’t face the idea of what River’s response may or may not be. So he got on the plane and felt confident that the man he was falling for wouldn’t miss him too much.

—————

Josh had told Hunter he would be treated well in New York. Foolishly, the man assumed that meant his own room and maybe breakfast included. Hunter’s first reality check came when a man he’d never met was waiting for him with a sign that said Mr. Dannings. 

“Good evening Mr. Dannings. I will be your chauffeur for the duration of your trip.”

And a chauffeur was the last surprise the man would receive. He was convinced he’d been driven to the wrong hotel when they first got there. His neck craned to see the top of the glass building and flags hung decadently from the front. 

“Mr. Dannings, I have sent you a text message so you have my number. Please call me when you need to go anywhere in the city.”

With that final message, the man drove away and Hunter was forced to accept that Josh had splurged a lot on accommodations. 

Hunter was let into the hotel lobby by a doorman who used both hands to open the massive door. Sparkling chandeliers illuminated the opulent space. And when Hunter’s eyes left the gorgeous decorations, he saw a sharply dressed Josh speeding towards him.

“Hey Hunter, glad you got off your flight okay.” 

With the quick greeting over, Josh turned back to head further into the hotel, forcing Hunter to pick up his steps and follow. “I checked you in earlier so this is your room key. You will be in one of the penthouse suites.” 

“Josh, what is this?”

“I told you that you would be taken care of. We may as well celebrate your first business trip to New York.” 

Meaning: I wasn’t going to let you stick us in a motel for our two weeks. Part of the reason why Josh always planned where they would stay was so Hunter wouldn’t be too cheap. But this was making him regret the choice. Yet, when Hunter lifted the hand holding the room key, he knew it was too late to complain.

“Your first meeting with Illumination is tomorrow morning so you will have time to prepare any data necessary and rest up. The meeting’s at 10:15, I will have breakfast sent to you by 9, then we’ll have an hour and a half for lunch before your next meeting at 2-”

“Are you on the same floor?” Hunter cut in as they stepped onto the elevator, gliding his hand across the brass buttons. “In another penthouse suite?”

“Of course,” Josh replied, smirking at his reflection in the elevator glass. “Do you have any other questions Mr. Dannings?”

“None at all Mr. Wilkinson.”

“I set up a dinner reservation at 6 for a place that isn’t completely stuck up. But, I can cancel that if you want to get room service by yourself.”

“Dinner sounds perfect. We can catch up on what you and Kellie have figured out for the wedding so far.”

Josh rolled his eyes but waved while Hunter slipped into his room. The young ceo was still thinking about the wedding so it took him a couple of seconds to notice how nice the room looked. The hotel suite was the size of an apartment. Hunter was standing in the middle of the spacious living room, a trendy sectional and arm chairs filling the large space. Looking past the chairs, his eyes caught the floor to ceiling windows which reached up to the second floor of the suite, showing off a gorgeous view filled with the famous NYC high rises. The deeper into the suite he went, the more room he found and he hadn’t yet gone up the clear glass staircase to the second floor. 

Hunter felt the returning urge to complain about the price but his eyes caught that view again where gorgeous buildings were wrapped by fluffy white clouds in a pale blue sky. It was perfect. After setting a timer on his phone, Hunter reclined on the long gray sectional for a nap. While staring at the view, his eyes fluttered closed and he thought that maybe he could enjoy the luxury just this one time.

The next morning, he sat at a long meeting table, fiddling with his pen under the table to give his sweaty fingers something to do. Time after time Hunter felt that familiar fear of not being ready for this job. And time after time, he held his tongue so the words couldn’t escape. He needed to portray confidence: these people were leaving the fate of a multi-million dollar movie partly in his hands. So Hunter stayed seated beside Josh and another small animation studio executive, refusing to let a room within a fifty story building that overlooked the clouds get in his head. 

They went over the division of labor and Hunter was pleased to see how much Stick Figures would be taking. This job alone could keep them going for the next two years. And, working with Illumination would be great for the resumes of all of his employees. But, this wasn’t the only job they planned on taking. Hunter looked up from the dossier he’d been given and caught eyes with Josh who seemed similarly worried. They were too small of a company to keep up with the workload. Did Hunter have to tell them to give the contract to someone else? Had Hunter flown all the way to New York just to cancel the deal?

Scanning over the numbers again, Hunter was hit with an idea and his gaze hardened.

“Are there any objections to the details here?” The financial head asked, having just listed out payment details for the companies involved.

“I do have one,” Hunter stated, stretching out his broad shoulders when all eyes fell on him. “We will need an increase in our payment.”

“What makes you say that?” Illimunation’s CEO asked, leaning forward in his seat.

“We are taking a significant percentage of animation responsibilities for this project. So, in working on this film along with other cases that may arise over the next few years, we will need more animators to handle the workload.”

“And the agreed upon amount does not cover those costs,” their financial head completed.

“No, it does not.”

Hunter watched as they exchanged looks, a silent conversation occurring right before his eyes. He could have looked away but found more control in watching it go down. Finally, their CEO looked at him, his face turning up into a smile.

“Alright, Mr Dannings. You’ve got yourself a deal. My assistant will contact yours so we can set up a meeting to adjust the numbers while you’re still in New York.”

The topic of discussion moved on and everyone’s focus on it but Hunter was buzzing with energy. He’d done it. After being so scared to attend, he’d used this meeting to earn more money for his company and his employees. He wanted to jump around. He wanted to scream with joy. He wanted to tell everyone he knew the good news! 

He wanted to call River.

—————

The camera shuttered, capturing yet another selfie of Hunter in front of a graffiti covered wall. The colors screamed in the background of the frame and Hunter was pleased with how he looked in the photo, but he frowned to notice that every single shot was of him alone. He would have gone out sightseeing with Josh but with most of the meetings over, Josh went back home. He was newly engaged and wanted to enjoy the post-proposal bliss with his fiance. Hunter completely understood. In fact, he would have been upset if Josh had done anything else. Still, it was frustrating to be walking through one of the biggest cities in the world with no one to talk to.

Hunter continued down the street, his nose twitching at the scents that trickled into his nostrils. Garlic, tomatoes, and cheese. A restaurant to his left had a sign boasting about authentic New York pizza. A quick check online confirmed that it was a very popular place and within a few minutes, Hunter was now heading down the street with a slice in hand. There was something so obviously touristy about taking selfies in front of skyscrapers with a slice of pizza in hand. But Hunter was a tourist, so what was the harm?

With his lunch taken care of, Hunter got back on the subway to head over to central park. Winter was fast approaching and was hitting New York harder than Toronto. Hunter burrowed his hands deeper into his pockets as he sat on a dirty train. A part of him regretted sending the chauffeur away the second Josh left the city. It would have been nice to have transportation with heated seats and privacy. But Hunter wanted to experience the city the right way: which to him meant paying for train and bus fare to get around. 

Despite the cold and the cigarette smoke and the guy on the train who seemed to be in a full conversation with the air in front of him, Hunter successfully made it to the park. The sun was dipping lower in the sky when he arrived, a hint of red and pink shining from behind the buildings. Hunter spotted a free bench and made his way over to it.

A bitter cold was sweeping through the grass and curling past Hunter’s scarf. The faint sound of honking cars and children’s laughter surrounded him and Hunter closed his eyes, breathing in the frigid air. And when he opened his eyes again and saw the bright reds and purples filling the sky, he raised his phone and snapped a picture. Yet the small device was incapable of capturing the true beauty of a setting sun. Hunter needed someone beside him soaking in this beautiful moment with him. But when he turned, the bench was still empty. He made quick work of sending the photos to his friends and family but stopped when he saw River’s contact. He wanted to send it to River. At the very least he wanted to work up the courage to give the guy a call. But he stuffed the phone back in his pocket and started the long walk back to the train station.

Alone.