#thegreatbridge

He fidgeted under my gaze, but didn't look away. "But weren't you scared?"

"Bridges, of course I was scared, weren't you?" I asked him in return. "Just because I was afraid doesn't mean I didn't trust you. Even when you almost..." I couldn't bring myself finish the sentence. "There was never a doubt in my mind that you were trying to protect me. If we were put in the same situation a hundred times, my answer would always be the same."

The disbelief still painted blatantly on his face was unbearable. He shot to his feet as well, knocking the bench completely over, and flailing his arms out in exasperation. "How can you say that so confidently?"

In a dramatic fashion of my own, I slammed my fist against the table. "Because I love you dammit!" I shouted, feeling a wave of happier tears join the traumatic ones. "Bridges, I love you so much that I can say without fail that I trust you to the ends of the earth and back!"

His anguish and pain melted away, and his expression softened for the first time in days. "You, you do?" he whispered, his small voice almost blown away by the departure of his anger.

"Of course I do," I cried, slowly rounding the table to his side. This time he didn't move away. "Come on, this shouldn't be news. I wasn't really going for discretion."

Raising a tentative hand, he ran it tenderly across my cheek and through my hair. "No, I always knew, I just never thought I'd get the chance to hear you say those words." He planted a light kiss on my forehead before backing off and looking me straight in the eyes. "I love you too Renee, more than anything."

Big moments filled with big emotions! One of my personal favorite chapters, and a nice capstone on a fairly stressful arch. 

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The shifting of near endless fabric quieted my musings, and I froze in place as the enormous being behind me carefully lowered himself to the ground. When Henry stopped I turned towards him, and noticed a faint dusting of pink across his face. His hands were on either side of me. "I think I might have a solution," he whispered, moving his massive appendages even closer.

Suddenly I was fully enclosed between his hands, a realization that brought with it a fresh wave of panic. It took me a second to catch my breath, and now that I was concealed from any prying eyes I quickly changed. Before letting him know I was ready I paused. Hearing that Amy was almost done with her spell brought my fears from the trip here back up to the surface, and I knew I had to say something. Steeling myself with a deep breath, I gently rapped my knuckles against one of his fingers.

Light blossomed around me as his hands lifted away, and I was surprised to see his face lingering so close by. In a sense it made my job easier, but it was still nerve-wracking. Swallowing my apprehension, I crossed my arms loosely and met his unflinching eyes. "Henry, listen," I started softly, knowing that even at this distance I'd have to speak up. "I just wanted to say, even if... even if Amy's spell doesn't quite work the way she intends it to, I want you to know you don't owe me anything. I'm more than happy to be around whenever you need me, but I don't want you to feel obligated to force yourself to be someone you're not."

His expression softened, and his faint grin faded away. "Do you think there's a chance it won't work?"

"I have complete faith in her, but you never know, right?" I chuckled darkly, pulling my arms closer. "I mean, none of us expected today to go quite like this." He stared at me in silence for a moment longer as he took my words to heart. Slowly he rose to his feet, opting to leave me on the ground this time. Doing my best to conceal a shudder I turned on my heel and marched off in the direction Mom had gone.

More tension, more drama! I put all my characters through a lot, but this was probably one of the biggest (heh) hurdles they had to over come. As with everything else though, they made it out alright on the other side, and that’s what counts!

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Just finished David McCullough's The Great Bridge. It was ... fine. I picked it up because I wanted a quick, end of summer read --> and also because McCullough had literally just died and I thought it would be a nice tribute. Parts of the book were straight fascinating. Discussion of the technology used as well as the sections that sought to give insight into LIFE and the American people of the time were spot on as one would expect from the great McCullough. Other parts, particularly the parts about local and state politics were much less stellar. Still, it was a good, quick (ish) end of summer read and if you do NOT want to read it here are some take-aways worth taking away--->

The bridge was designed in the 1850s and construction began in 1869 and finished in 1883. As of when the book was written it was estimated that the Brooklyn bridge would last forever as long as it was painted every 5 years.

The people in charge of building the bridge included a board of both Brooklyners as well as New Yorkers. Politics aside, New Yorkers were NOT super pumped about the bridge.

20 men died in the 14 years it took to build the bridge

The Chief Engineer was basically confined to his home after contracting Caisson's Disease and it was his wife who was the first to cross the bridge when it was finished -- he never got to step foot on it!

President Chester Arthur attended the bridge ceremony and people were the MOST excited to see him in person because the papers at the time described him as the "perfect man"

I believe one of my ancestors may have been the first to pay the 1cent toll to cross the bridge from the Brooklyn side.

"It's finally happening," he said at last, keeping his voice low for the rest of the house's sake. "You could be out of that jar tomorrow. I know my experience doesn't even compare to yours, but these last few days have been agonizing."

"I could think of worse things," I muttered under my breath. I pressed my hand to the glass, placing it against his much larger one, and sighed. "What about you? This is the longest you've been that size, and I can't imagine it's been easy." The jar shook lightly as he sat up, bent his knee, and pulled me closer. This was a sore spot for him, something I knew he'd rather ignore, but it was a topic we'd have to talk about eventually.

Biting his lower lip, Henry's warm brown eyes clouded with fear. "What's scaring me the most about it is how used to everything I've become. It's starting to feel too normal, and that's really freaking me out. Even you..." His voice cracked, and he lightly cleared his throat before continuing. "Even you being that size is starting to seem normal too, and I hate it. I want to be by your side, now more than ever, but it feels like it's just one thing after another."

"I know... I know," I mumbled, disregarding the tears I was grateful he couldn't see. "But like you said, we're so close. The first thing we're going to do when we get home is release the spell on you."

"But...!"

"No buts! There are millions of ways to get me out of this stupid thing, but getting you back to normal is something only I can do. Promise me that the second we get back we'll go to the backyard and release the spell. Please..."

Another protest died on his lips, which pulled up at the corner into a tired smile. "I promise. But then we're going to drop everything else and get you out of there. Bridges, I'll break the damned thing if I have to! Deal?"

Another moment from my G/t story The Great Bridge. Things aren’t great, and they most certainly are going to get worse before they get better. 

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By now both Nick and Lisa's eyes were glued to me and I silently blushed as Henry continued to stroke my back. Nick already knew, and it seemed like Lisa had put it together, but Henry was still oblivious. I knew I had to say something. "I don't mean to shatter the illusion," I mumbled, "but I was completely terrified that day."

His hand froze again, this time slowly pulling away. "Wait that was you?" he breathed. Silently I nodded and continued to stare at my hands.

"I remember that day," Nick added from across the counter. "I was over at your house the night before when your dad asked you. When we got to the room the next morning, you looked so ready and focused."

"That's only because you stayed up all night with me to go over the material!" I pointed out as I sneered at him. "I was too tired to think about anything else."

"That sounds just like you," Lisa laughed. "It doesn't matter what challenge is in front of you, once your mind is set, you get it done."

Henry remained silent through this exchange, but I could still feel the weight of his eyes on my back. At this point I was unsure if I was completely pale or beet red, but it felt like a combination of both. I couldn't take it anymore, so I shakily stood up and turned to face him, our eyes meeting instantly. His expression was impossible to read, and it took everything I had to maintain eye contact without falling to pieces.

"I, I'm sorry," I stammered, not knowing what else to say. "I shouldn't have said anything. That was an important memory for you, and I..."

"That's what you're worried about?" Henry interrupted. "If anything, you made it all the more important."

Ended up drawing some scenes from my first G/t story, The Great Bridge. This one comes from part one, Crossing the Bridge. 

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