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shebe67 · 8 years ago

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A Weekend in Paris

Yes it’s a different header pic than I normally use for this story, but this chapter is really different. I felt challenged to write this chapter because of how wrong GMW portrayed the city of Austin, Texas. I have a friend that lives there and this was written with her help. This is dedicated to Kayla. The above pictures were taken from the internet with the exception of the State Capitol and UT Austin pics, those were provided to me by Kayla. Thank you and I hope you enjoy. If you need links to previous chapters I will update this later tonight with those links. A Weekend in Paris

Riley and Lucas do a bit of sightseeing in Austin. I’m doing this in hopes you can get a feel for Austin. The show got it so wrong. Austin is a city full of art galleries, museums, live music and amazing places. As a friend said, “It’s the least Texas-like city in Texas.” So hopefully you will get a sense of that.

Chapter 7

Thursday, June 13, 2023 in Austin, Texas

Riley and Lucas had been at the ranch for a week and so far, and they hadn’t left Pappy Joe’s property. They had spent days helping with chores on the ranch and spending time with Lucas’ Aunt, Uncle and cousins. They had taken the horses out. She was rusty, but it came back to her pretty quick. They had walked all over the ranch, checking out the cattle and goats that Pappy Joe had just added. Cows and goats were interesting, but not Riley’s favorite thing. She did like the calves and kids that had just been born a few months before. All in all, they were having an enjoyable time, but Riley was anxious to explore Austin and had been planning their trip to the city for a week. Lucas had promised her a day in Austin because they had never really been to the city. They had driven through when they came from the airport on her previous trips and had explored the small-town Pappy Joe lived in, but she was a city girl at heart and wanted to see what Austin had to offer.

Today was the day and they had gotten up extra early and left the ranch at 7 a.m. Pappy Joe was more than happy to loan Lucas his old truck for the trip into the city. As they piled into the truck for the hour-long trip, Riley snapped a picture of her and Lucas and uploaded it to her Facebook with the status, Headed to Austin for a day of sightseeing with my favorite guy! She had done some research on places to visit in Austin. She didn’t want your normal run of the mill touristy places. She wanted to go to places that were unique to this city.

Lucas was glad to take Riley into Austin and see the sights with her. He was afraid it would pale in comparison to New York City though. They had only been on the road for 10 minutes when Lucas looked over to say something to Riley and noticed she was asleep. She needed the rest, she was trying to pack so much into each day. He had to remind her on multiple occasions that they were here for a few months and that she needed to pace herself. He loved her enthusiasm and how excited she got about things. He knew today would be one adventure they wouldn’t ever forget.

Lucas had Riley’s sightseeing map pulled up on his phone’s GPS. There’s no way he would be able to find his way around otherwise. He hadn’t lived in Austin in quite a while and everything looked strange to him. Their first stop was to be Jo’s Coffee on South Congress Street. Lucas followed the directions and they ended up in a parking lot near the shop. After he parked, he reached over to tap Riley on the shoulder to wake her up. “Babe, wake up, we’re here.”

Riley woke with a yawn, “where are we?” she asked. She hadn’t meant to fall asleep. She wanted to see the city when they drove in. She took in her surroundings and would have sworn that they were in New York City. The only telltale sign that they weren’t was a man walking by wearing a cowboy hat. “Sorry, I fell asleep, I wanted to stay awake so I could see everything as we drove in. Are you sure we’re in Austin? With the exception of being surrounded by tall buildings, this looks like New York,” she said.

“You wanted Austin and that’s where we are,” Lucas informed her. “We are at Jo’s Coffee. Why’d you want to come here?“ He asked.

"Well, I read about it online and saw pictures of it and thought it would be a cute place to visit, plus they have breakfast tacos and I’ve never had a taco for breakfast.” She informed Lucas. “Besides there is something here I wanted to see. It’ll make for a great photo op.”

“Oh, breakfast tacos. Your dad would love this place.” Lucas said with a smile. “What are we waiting for? Let’s go check it out.” He opened the driver’s side door and got out. He stretched a bit before he closed the door. Riley took the opportunity to check out his backside in his jeans. She smiled and bit her lip as she continued checking him out. He turned around and looked at her and smiled. She had been caught!

“Riley Matthews, did I just catch you checking out my backside?” He asked with a smile.

“Maybe. What if I was?” She asked. “I was just admiring the view.” She could feel the heat in her cheeks. “Just doing a little comparison. Sam the cowboy, has nothing on my cowboy. She slid over towards the driver’s door and grabbed him by the shirt. She pulled him to her and kissed him. "I was so foolish to get caught up in his good looks. No one else could ever measure up to you.”

He smiled and pushed his hat back on his head, “I could stand here and kiss you all day, but you mentioned tacos and my stomach is letting me know it’s hungry.”

She could hear his stomach and if truth be told hers was letting her know she needed to feed it soon. She looked in the rear view mirror to check her makeup and hair. She decided she looked presentable, grabbed her bag and got out of the car. “Lead the way, cowboy.” She said.

With a tip of his hat, he said, “Yes ma’am.” He took her hand and led the way to Jo’s coffee. They walked the two blocks to the shop. It stood on the corner and wasn’t a very large building. It was painted yellow green with dark green trim and a red stripe around the top. On the very top of the building was a large red ball that said Jo’s in white letters. The order window was kiosk style and there was a covered patio to the right with tables. Riley and Lucas looked over the menu. They both decided on Potato Tacos which was eggs, potato and cheese on a flour tortilla and cups of black coffee. The smells coming from the shop were heavenly. They walked to the patio with coffee cups in hand to wait for their food. They made small talk while they waited and after a few minutes the server brought their tacos. They ate in silence. Things around the coffee shop got busier as some of the other shops started opening. This was a good spot to just sit and watch people go by.

“How’s your tacos, Riles?” Lucas asked, he had all but inhaled his. He too, was enjoying watching people walk by the shop.

“It’s delicious. My dad would love this. Maybe someday he’ll get to Austin and be able to enjoy his own breakfast taco.” Riley said.

If she only knew what was in the works. He had been getting texts from their mothers regarding plans for the proposal and it was hard keeping secrets from Riley. “Maybe we can talk your mom into serving them at Topanga’s. It would be a great item on the menu. A taste of Austin in the big city. That way we could have them anytime you we want.” He knew her dad would love for Topanga’s to serve tacos all the time. He and Maya did love their tacos.

They finished eating and threw their trash away. As they were walking away from the shop, Riley turned down the side of the building, pulling him along with her. She suddenly stopped and was just staring at the side of the building with a smile on her face.

“Riley, why did you stop?” he asked.

She looked up at him with a smile and pointed at the side of the building. He looked up to see what she was looking at. There on the side of the building someone had spray painted in red lowercase cursive letters was, i love you so much.

“Isn’t this the cutest thing you’ve ever seen?” she asked. “I want us to have our picture taken here. Would you be willing to do that with me?”

Of course he would do it. it may be the cheesy, tourist kind of thing to do, but he could never deny her anything. “Yes, Riley. I would love to have our picture taken here.”

She asked a lady that was standing near them if she would mind taking their picture and she said she would. They went to stand in front of the wall to pose. Lucas leaned against the wall and wrapped his arms around her waist and bent his head toward her shoulder. She was standing in front of him. The woman snapped a couple pictures and smiled at them. As she handed the phone back to Riley, she said, “the two of you are the cutest couple.”

Riley smiled that mega watt smile of hers and thanked the woman for taking the picture and the compliment. She looked at the picture and smiled. Even though Lucas wasn’t showing his face it was a really cute picture. She showed it to him and he just smiled at her. Taking her hand and leading her back to the truck, he asked her, “where to next?”

As they walked back to the truck she told him about the next stop. “It’s not very far from here and it’s really just a mural on the side of the building. I thought we could get our picture taken there and send it to everyone. It’s the greetings from Austin mural. What do you think?”

“I think that’s another real touristy thing to do.” he laughed. “I thought you didn’t want to do that kind of stuff?”

“Well, I am a tourist and so there has to be one touristy thing on the list.” she added.

They got in the truck and Lucas pulled out his phone to set the GPS. “What’s the address?”

“1720 South 1st Street.” she answered.

Lucas set the GPS and started the truck, “That’s just southwest of here. It’ll only take a few minutes to drive there.” Once they got close Lucas started looking for a place to park. he found one just in front of the building where the mural was. “Roadhouse Relics, that sounds cool. Look at the neon signs. What do you think this place is?” he asked.

“I don’t know. Let’s check out the mural first, then we’ll see if it’s open and explore for a bit. Is that ok?” she asked.

“Of course,” he answered.

They got out of the truck and found the mural on the side of the building. No one else was around, so they couldn’t get a picture together. They took pictures of each other and Riley took one of just the mural. They walked back to the front of the building and looked to see if it was open. “Lucas, it’s an art gallery. Original art from neon signs, how cool is that. We have to check this out. I promised Maya we’d check out some of the local art.” she grabbed his hand and they walked into the gallery. There were a couple of other people looking around. She saw a man that appeared to work there and asked him if it was okay to take photos of the artwork. He told her it was and that they needed to check around the back of the building. There was more are out there. They looked around inside for a few more minutes as she snapped a few more pictures. They walked outside and went around toward the back of the building. They couldn’t believe their eyes. All kinds of old neon signs turned into some kind of art. Riley snapped a few pictures while they walked around. She’d send those to Maya later. It was a fascinating place for sure. She never knew someone could take an old neon sign and make such beautiful and interesting things with it. They walked around for about 30 minutes or so. Riley went back inside, as she saw some t-shirts hanging in the window and bought one for Maya. Telling Lucas that she did promise to bring something back to her.

They went back to the truck and Lucas asked what the next stop was and Riley said. “The boardwalk at Lady Bird Lake. It’s just a short drive to the closest access point. I’ve read so much about it, we have to do it.”

“As you wish,” Lucas said. He entered the address she gave him on the GPS and off they went.

Lucas followed the directions on the GPS as they drove along. He found a place to park. Riley grabbed a hat she brought with her to keep the sun out of her face and they set off to the boardwalk. They walked along the sidewalk until they reached the access point for the boardwalk. Riley wasn’t expecting the sight that was in front of her.

On all the maps she had looked at Lady Bird lake looked more like a river and it kind of had that feel. It was beautiful to be sure. The boardwalk went all the way around the lake and the views she could see of down town Austin were breathtaking. As they walked along the boardwalk Riley would spout facts about the lake and boardwalk project to Lucas. “The lake used to be called Town Lake. It was renamed for former First Lady, Lady Bird Johnson. The surface area of the lake is 416 acres. It was created in 1960 during the construction of Longhorn Dam.” “There’s a Hike-Bike Trail that surrounds the lake as well as this boardwalk.” The boardwalk wasn’t overly crowded as it was a weekday, “can you imagine how crowded it gets on the weekends?” she asked.

“I’ve heard that ever since they built this boardwalk, the lake has really become a center for activity in the city.” Lucas responded.

“It opened in June of 2014, but it was 20 years in the making.” Riley snapped some photos of the Austin skyline as they walked along. They encountered several people walking and running along the boardwalk. There were even some people fishing off the edges. They saw lots of turtles and birds, as well as lots of people canoeing and kayaking on the water. They walked for quite a while taking in the beautiful surroundings and just being together. They would stop every so often to just look at the water and enjoy the views. At one point along the way Riley noticed a western style belt on one of the railings. “Huh, I wonder what this is?” she asked.

Lucas, ever the funny guy, “It’s a belt, Riley.”

She squinted her eyes at him and tried to make herself look mad at him, “Ya think?!” she said. “I wonder what they mean?”

Before she even got the words out of her mouth, Lucas had his phone out looking it up. He was good that way, always trying to answer her questions.

“It’s part of a public art project commissioned by the City of Austin. The project is called Belting It Out and artist Ken Little created them, using lyrics from songs by well-known Texas singers and songwriters. That’s pretty cool.” Lucas said. The one they were looking at said ‘Crazy for cryin’, crazy for tryin’. “That’s from the song Crazy, written by Willie Nelson, Patsy Cline also had a hit with it.

“This is so cool.” Riley said smiling at Lucas. The guy did have a vast knowledge for country music. She looked at her watch and noticed the time. They had been roaming around the boardwalk for almost two hours. It was noon. No wonder her stomach was growling. They hadn’t eaten since 8 a.m. “Lucas we should head back the truck we’ve been out here for two hours.” she informed him.

Lucas looked at his own phone, as well. “You’re right. We better go. You still have more sights for us to see and I’m hungry.” They made their way back to the truck and decided on McDonald’s for lunch. They ate in the truck in silence. Once they were done and ready to head out again. Lucas asked Riley, what was next on her list.

“We’re going to check out some more art. Graffiti Park is our next stop. We won’t have too much time there but we can still check it out.” she told him.

Lucas entered the address and off they went. Graffiti Park or HOPE Art Gallery was about 2 miles from where they were. He had heard about the place as a kid. It’s an outdoor art gallery that occupies the remains of an old building foundation. “Locals call it Castle Hill. It sits on three stories and anyone can come and paint, it’s totally free and pretty cool to look at.” He told her.

“Have you been here before?” she asked.

“No, but I remember Zay’s older brother, Gordon, talking about it when we were kids. You can go and look at the art or just watch artists paint.” he told her.

Riley was in awe of what she saw as they walked into the park. It was beautiful. There was a sign that said, ‘Hope Outdoor Gallery.’ She could see the artwork as they entered. It reminded her of Maya’s Hope Mural that she painted in that little park when they were high school freshman. There were some people painting and a lot of people just milling around looking at all the different works of art. “Maya would love this!” Riley said as she pulled out her phone and took some pictures. She started taking video of an older man painting. He noticed her and asked if this was her first trip here. She told him it was and asked if she minded him taking a video. He told her that he didn’t and kept painting. She asked him why the owners of the land just let people come paint on the walls. He explained that the owners thought it was a chance to do something for the city and saw it as a way for local artists to use it as an inspirational message board of sorts. She thanked him for answering her questions and watched him paint for a few more minutes before shutting off the video and moving on with Lucas.

They headed back to the truck, walking hand in hand in silence, when she spoke, “Can you believe that there is a place that just allows people to come paint whatever they want? That’s really cool. It’ll be there forever and it will always change.”

Lucas smiled at her, “Yeah, it’s really cool when you think about how long it’s been here and how many people have painted here over the years.” they waked back to the truck, Lucas looked at her and asked what she wanted to do next.

“I’d like to see the State Capitol building. We don’t have to go inside for a tour or anything. I read it’s the sixth tallest state capitol and that it’s one of several that’s taller than the U.S. Capitol building in D.C. I think that deserves a look see, don’t you?”

“I’ve been to the State Capitol building, Riley. We used to go every year when I was in grade school. So, I’ve seen it many times. But, we can go. It is a pretty spectacular sight.” He answered. “We’re less than a mile from there now and you can see it from here. Do you want me to stop and park somewhere are do you just want me to drive by?”

“Actually, our real destination is the University campus. I want to see where you almost went to college, is that ok. You can just drive by and I’ll take a picture of the capitol building and then we can go explore the campus for a bit, then we can get dinner. How does that sound to you?” she asked him, apparently very excited.

“You want to see the University of Texas?” he asked.

She shook her head yes and asked again if it was okay. He seemed in disbelief that she wanted to see the campus. She had been in tears for months their senior year when she thought there was a possibility that he might leave for college. He had applied and gotten into UT Austin and NYU. He had a choice to make at the time. In his heart there was no choice to make. He would always choose her.

He set the GPS again and chose the route that would take them by the capitol building. He couldn’t wait to get to the campus. “Is there any certain place you want to see on the campus or are we just going to walk around?” he asked.

“The only place I would like to go for sure is the Blanton Museum of Art. Seems like this trip has kind of been about art today. We’ve seen so many wonderful things, I’d like to top it off with an art museum and it’s open til five so we have a little time to explore. Then maybe we can get dinner somewhere nearby, is that ok?” she asked.

“That’s a great idea Riley. I was going to suggest a great BBQ place, but it takes forever to get food there,” he said.

“No offense to Ellie or Pappy Joe, but I’ve had enough barbecued food to last me a life time and we’ve only been here a week,” she said, laughing.

“I understand completely. Maybe we can get some Thai food if there is something nearby.” he suggested. Thai food had become a favorite of there’s over the years. The rest of their friends didn’t care to much for it, so it had become their thing.

“Sounds good to me.” she agreed.

As they got close to the capitol, there was a bit of traffic so Riley was able to get a good look at it and some great shots with her phone. The building was impressive to be sure. Why did everything seem bigger in Texas? As they drove along, Riley kept looking at everything they were passing. This is an amazing city she thought. A city full of things to do and see. A lot like New York, but so far removed. She could fall in love with this city if she spent enough time here.

They made it to the campus. It was huge, Riley thought. Lucas found a place to park, they got out and started walking. Riley knew that UT Austin and NYU had roughly the same enrollment. But this Campus was nothing like NYU. It was amazing it seemed to sprawl on as far as her eye could see. There was a beautiful fountain and the buildings were amazing, there was even a tower. She got her phone out and started taking pictures. NYU felt very much like any other place in the city. “Lucas how big is this campus?” she asked with wide eyes.

“The campus sits on 5,000 plus acres of land, why?” he asked with a curious tone.

“Do you know how big NYU is?” she asked again.

“I think NYU buildings, excluding Washington Square Park, sit on about 240 acres. that’s smaller than Pappy Joe’s ranch.” He explained.

“NYU doesn’t even feel like a college campus. It’s so much apart of the city, I don’t even feel like I’m on a college campus. This is a college campus.” she explained.

“What do you think of it Riley?” He could tell she was in awe, he felt the same way when he first set foot on this campus as a senior in high school.

He had dreamed of the University of Texas at Austin for so long that he was so sure if he was accepted that this is where he would go, no question. It was home for him after all.

“I love it.” She said quietly. She was being completely honest with him. She loved the feel of the campus. Yes, it was large and overwhelming to the eye, but everyone they passed was friendly and welcoming. She felt right at home. It wasn’t scary at all.

“You love it?” he asked, very curious. “You really like it?”

“What’s not to like. This place is beautiful and all the people are so friendly. I can understand, why you wanted to go to school here so badly. This is your home and this campus just fits you.” she told him. “Lucas we never discussed why you chose NYU over UT. Why did you? It wasn’t because of me was it?” This was a burning question for her. She was a wreck for months over the possibility of him going away for college, yet he chose NYU.

“Riley, I had a choice to make. Both New York City and Austin are apart of me. Both places made me who I am.” he explained to her. “But home for me isn’t a city or a building. Home is you and wherever you are. I chose NYU because my first and only choice will always be us.”

She looked at him with tears in her eyes, “Really?”

“Yes, really. I will go wherever you are. I love you and I want us together. If you had gone to school anywhere else, I still would have followed you.” he was holding her hands and looking into her eyes. He needed her to understand what he was saying.

“I’m sorry for being so selfish about college. I tried hard not to be, but I just couldn’t bare the thought of you leaving. I was even considering applying at UT if you had made the decision to leave.” She had never admitted that to anyone. Not to Maya, her parents or Farkle, Izzy or Zay. “So, it seems I choose us too.”

He pulled her to him and kissed her gently. He rested his forehead against hers and smiled, “I guess that makes us a package deal then, huh?”

“Yes, I guess it does?” she replied. “Come on let’s go explore.” She took his hand and they took off down the sidewalk.

Riley feels like they walked all over the campus. They did make it to the Blanton Museum of Art. It’s one of the largest university museums in the country. It houses a vast collection of different kinds of art and Riley thought if her and Maya ever got to Austin together again, that Maya would love it. She would get lost in here for hours. Riley looked at the time on her phone and noticed that it was almost 5 p.m. The museum would be closing soon.

She walked back to where Lucas was interested in a piece of contemporary art. He seemed to be trying to figure out exactly what it was supposed to be. “Hey, we need to go. The museum closes in 10 minutes.”

“Okay, I’m right behind you.” he said.

They exited the museum and found a bench nearby to sit on. Lucas did a search for Thai food on his phone and found a restaurant that sounded like fun. “How does ‘Thai How Are You’ sound, Riley?” Lucas asked her. “I think you’ll love the place. It has a mural of a frog on the wall.”

She looked at the information he found online and decided it seemed to fit with the rest of their day. “Sounds good to me, I’m so hungry, anything sounds good at this point.” she said.

They walked the short distance to Pappy Joe’s truck, they to the restaurant, went in and placed their orders. Riley had to admit it felt good to sit down. She didn’t realize just how tired she was until that moment.

They restaurant was on Guadalupe street near the campus. Lucas asked her if she wanted to go for a walk after they had eaten to check out some of the stores and things in that area. Lucas explained to Riley about the street being referred to as ‘The Drag’ by locals.

“Why is that?” she asked.

“Well, the story is people used to drag race up and down Guadalupe Street, so locals and students refer to it as ‘The Drag’.” he answered.

“I guess that’s cool.” she remarked. There food arrived and they spent the next hour talking about everything they had seen during the day and there thoughts about it. She was glad that they got to spend the day together. She wanted more days like this in the future. Just the two of them spending time together, doing things they both enjoy.

After they finished their food, Riley mentioned taking a picture of the ‘Hi, How are you?’ mural outside. They decided to take a walk down the street and see what else this area so close to the campus had to offer. They walked for a few minutes when Riley saw a shop that interested her.

“Lucas, can we stop here?” she asked. “They have ice cream and cookies.”

Lucas looked at the shop that they had just passed. it was a place called Moojo’s. According to a sign in the window, they made homemade cookies and ice cream and made ice cream sandwiches and milkshakes. “Sure, why not, some ice cream sounds good.” he answered.

The shop was just about the cutest place Riley had ever seen. One of the walls was brick and the other was brown with white cow spots on it. They had a slogan painted on that wall in green, pink and yellow. It said, I Found My Moojo in Austin. There were cute little tables and stools lIning both walls when you first entered the store. As they headed toward the counter where you placed your order Riley noticed some other tables toward the back of the store. They were swings with little tables in between them.

She tapped Lucas’ arm to get his attention, “look at those tables over there. Aren’t they the cutest thing ever?” she asked.

He smiled at her taking in their surroundings while they waited their turn in line, “that is pretty cool.” he said. Everything about this place screamed Riley to him, only thing missing was her favorite color of purple.

They finally got to the counter to place their orders. They each ordered a sidekick. He ordered vanilla bean ice cream and snickerdoodle cookie and she ordered butter sugar cookie with chocolate chip ice cream. The cookies were warm and the ice cream was melty. Riley had never had anything so delicious in her life. Lucas thought it was pretty good, as well. They sat at the tables that had swings for seats and ate their ice cream sandwiches.

“You know who would love this place?” Lucas asked her.

She looked at him and smiled, he had ice cream running down his chin. She picked a napkin up off the table and wiped his chin off for him. “Who?” she asked. knowing the answer before he even said it.

He smiled and they both answered at the same time, “Zay!”

They both laughed and Riley said, “You think they would put ice cream between two of his Grandma Gandy’s cookies?”

Lucas said, “If Grandma Gandy has a say, you can bet they would.”

“You know this is something my mom could sell at the bakery.” Riley said. “I know you want her to consider breakfast taco’s, but she already has cookies and ice cream.”

They finished their treats and decided it was time to call it day. They had an hours drive back to the ranch and were both pretty tired.

“Did you have fun today, Riles? Was the city everything that you thought it would be?” Lucas asked her.

“I had a wonderful time today. Thank you for indulging me and yes, the city is amazing. I think this would be a wonderful place to live some day.” she told him.

“You liked it that much?” he asked. It made him happy to hear that she loved the city and wouldn’t mind living there someday.

#a weekend in paris #rucas fanfic #sheila's fic

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