There was a consensus where Lorenzo was from that he was a major fuck up. A good mobster, a terrible heir. Sometimes, it didn't matter how well he did; he would always be a fuck up. But not today. Lorenzo wasn't going to fuck up this chance. Caterina had agreed to a date, and because Enzo was serious about her, he'd thought up something more clever than dinner or a movie.
He had heard of a magically interactive museum, which he didn't entirely understand the concept of. He'd barely ever went to museum's, least of all interactive ones, but it sounded fun even by his high standard of entertainment. He had gotten the two of them exclusive tickets (stayed up all night to be one of the first ten people to get them, in fact) and an overnight stay. He didn't plan to try anything, but the night brought with it extra magic.
"So long as this doesn't go all Night at the Museum on us, I think we'll be fine," he told her once they'd pulled up to a small regal building. He parked, got out and opened her door for her. "It's supposed to be bigger on the inside than the outside."
And boy was he right. Inside the ceiling was domed and stood four stories above them. The center room they walked into was elegant. No T-rex sculpture, as Enzo was expecting (again, he wasn't used to these places.) Corridors led off to different exhibits: medieval, ice age, renaissance, etc.
It was after hours, so it was only them among eight other people. Lorenzo didn't know where they were and he didn't care.
"So, eh, whatcha wanna see first?" He rubbed the back of his neck, hoping his nervousness didn't show through in the gesture.
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Caterina wasn’t sure what to expect when she had agreed to go on a date with Lorenzo. They really were worlds apart in many ways, and yet…there was a connection there that she found herself unable to ignore. And he was so enthusiastic when she had agreed to go on a date—it was actually rather cute. It made her feel like she had made the right choice in giving him a chance.But where were they going?
Soon they pulled up to a large building, and when she stepped out of the car, she realized what it was.
“You…you got after hours tickets?! I’ve always wanted to come here without the crowd…”
Her eyes were wide as she stared at the museum, then to Enzo. No wonder he was so proud of himself when he came up with the idea. A date at a museum was certainly a safe choice when it came to Caterina, and those exclusive tickets meant it would not be too crowded and overwhelming.
“Those tickets are so difficult to acquire…” Caterina said as they headed into the museum. “Did you stay up all night just to ensure you would procure them?”
Once they were inside, Caterina was clearly wide-eyed and eager. It took her a moment to decide which exhibit she wished to see first, but she was soon confident in her choice:
“Ancient Egypt,” she replied, before taking Enzo’s hand and leading him to the exhibit. She didn’t even hesitate, didn’t even display any sense of nervousness when she held his hand. She was too excited to let anxiety get in the way tonight.
Enzo felt his face heat up when Caterina inquired on how he'd managed to get the tickets. The mobster part of him – or maybe it was that sort of playboy part – wanted to say of course he hadn't done that. Like he'd put so much effort into a first date. He wanted to play it cool. But also...
He didn't. He didn't feel ashamed that he'd tried hard for this. That so far the location was pleasing.
"Er... sorta. I did get three hours in before we got here," he said with a mild bought of awkward laughter.
While Caterina was confident with holding Enzo's hand, he felt like a schoolboy all over again. Unsure how to talk to a girl, tongue-tied, desperate for her approval. He hated how powerless it made him, so why was he putting himself through this? Why would he do it all over again? Matters of the heart were confusing.
"Like Egypt best?" He asked once they'd gotten to the exhibit, watching in hyperspeed as the pyramids were made and seemed to come alive around them.
They could traverse the tomb of the pharaoh, climb to the top step, or explore the living conditions to the more common people. Cats roamed freely around them, brushing past them like wind – there but not.
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Caterina watched with wonder as the world around them became sand and sky, with pyramids forming before their very eyes. Caterina stepped up toward the nearest pyramid, running her hand over the rough rock.“I have always been fascinated by ancient Egypt. It’s incredible how much history has been preserved from here, considering how much has been stolen and abused as well.”
Caterina turned to him, her pupil-less eyes wide and bright. This place was overwhelming but in the exact right way.
“Did you know they used to crush mummies into powder and use them as medicine? I even remember seeing jars of ‘mummia’ for sale when I was a child, although it was starting to slowly fall out of favor in the 16[sup]th[/sup] century. They believed consuming different parts would help with different ailments. The head was crushed and put in tea to soothe headaches, for example. It was all incredibly absurd!”
She paused from her excitable ramblings, looking up at the pyramid once more. She got a touch of a mischievous grin on her face.
“I want to climb it! Come with me!”
Then just as she said, she started climbing the stones of the structure.
Lorenzo felt a little awkward at his lack of knowledge of history. How did he expect to keep up a conversation without sounding like some kind of idiot?
"Eh, some people believed the Egyptian's pyramids were made by aliens," he added, rubbing the back of his neck and staring up at the building Caterina's hand lied on.
A warm gust of wind swept by them, Ancient Egypt was as far as they could see from left to right now. It was like they were truly there, from the high sun to the warm winds and sand clinging to their clothing and shoes.
"Knowing that all that stuff exists make it sound less stupid but I like to believe they did it themselves. Which, I'm pretty sure is still true..."
And then, she turned to look at him, her eyes on his and Lorenzo felt the best kind of trapped them in. His smile wasn't confident or smug like it might normally be. There was some red on his cheeks, no longer hidden by the darkness of the museum.
"Yeah?" he stuttered some, mind working overtime to find a proper question to this. To not make a joke out of everything and ruin his chances.
"I thought the mummies were supposed to stay in the crypts for their afterlife, or something? Wasn't it like... walking all over someone's religion to take them out?"
And then, Cat surprised Enzo. She wanted to climb the pyramid? Like he'd say no to that. Enzo had been an active child, and he was an active adult. He took the steps two by two to catch up to her and when he did his grin turned more genuine.
"Race ya to the top?"
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Enzo may have felt awkward, but Caterina was not bothered at all that he had a shaky grasp at best of what she was talking about. In fact, she was delighted he was asking questions and engaging himself. This museum date was clearly set up with her interests in mind first, and it would have likely gone downhill fast if Enzo was just bored and going along with her without a care."Yes, the alien theories…they always made me laugh," she said with a grin. "Even knowing aliens are real, it's so silly to think humans could not have built these structures themselves. All sorts of tools have been discovered that indicate how they did it."
"And yes, that's exactly true," she soon added when he asked about the crypts. "They were sacred to the Egyptians, but…well, when Europeans started exploring, they did what many European nations are apt to do. Take over, take everything."
Caterina let out a sigh at that. A sigh that was all too familiar with it all.
But then she had a huge smile on her face as Enzo suggested a race. This was probably the kind of thing he liked, but it was something Caterina wanted to do as well. She was glad he asked.
"Alright then…one, two, three!"
And with the countdown, Caterina started climbing the pyramid. She was not a regularly physical person, but she was fairly quick and scaled over the pyramid stones with ease.
When they reached the top, Caterina gazed out in every direction with wide eyes.
"There were these photos I saw on the internet…" Caterina explained once Enzo joined her. "These Russian photographers climbed the pyramids in secret. Entirely illegal, of course! But the photos were quite amazing. I wished I could see that view for myself, but I would not take the same risk on the true pyramids."
She turned to him and smiled, a gust of wind blowing her braided hair behind her back.
"Now I can experience it, without the risk of arrest. This museum is truly wonderful. Thank you."
Enzo felt odd talking about all of this. He'd never gotten into this types of discussions before on a date. Man, this was a date, wasn't it? That shook him every time he remembered.
He never thought he'd like a girl like Caterina. All smart and talkative. He'd dated a girl that had been an activist before, and she'd annoyed him to Hell and back. Her saving grace had been sheer attractiveness and skimpy clothing. His father had disliked her, though, for different reasons, Enzo was sure.
Thinking about Caterina, Lorenzo wondered if his father would be proud of her. He made a mental note to maybe bring the subject up to Angelo.
And then, from serious to playful the two of them were jumping up the stairs of an Egyptian pyramid and Lorenzo got the distinct feeling of being a child all over again. Since he'd become a teenager, he'd tried to suppress childish urges like these. They just weren't for a man in his position, but here he felt free and new.
Enzo was breathing a little hard once they'd reached the top. She'd beaten him by a split second. Clearly, she'd wanted it more than him or, more likely, he'd taken a bit of leeway to enjoy the view.
He stared around them as she told him about the photos on the internet of this same view. "Why not?" he asked when she said she wouldn't have taken the same risks with the real deal.
"Because it's illegal or because you don't wanna break nothin'?"
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“A bit of both, I’d say. If everyone was able to climb them, they would be reduced to nothing in no time.”Caterina continued to look out at the landscape as she spoke. There was something soothing about looking out at the barren desert. Her anxieties about being on a date were pretty much gone now. She was surprised with herself.
“History should be preserved. That has always been important to me. Well, hardly a surprise considering I work in a museum, yes?” She said with a giggle.
Then she turned to him, tilting her head with a big smile. There was something about Enzo that made her feel…free? She didn’t feel so worried about her actions, her words. She was not over-analyzing herself. She wasn't sure what brought this calmness on, but she was enjoying it. She barely even felt the presence of her monsters inside her, and normally at the very least she might have some tentacles making themselves known at this moment. But there were none. It was just her and Enzo, enjoying their time together.
“Alright, would you like to choose the next location?”
Lorenzo sat down on the pyramid. Just as he was about to respond to Caterina, the landscape shifted with them still sitting atop the pyramid.
They remained elevated on some kind of cliffside overlooking the Nile river in what seemed to be real time. Ships and boats sailed down its belly as life outstretched all around them from the thick trees and the fertile land around them.
Enzo paused, mouth hanging open and blinked. The land here smelled of soil and rain, that heady scent that lingered. And scales, or lizards. It was what Lorenzo imagined crocs must smell like. It reminded him of his time in the zoo, but seeing as he'd never been anywhere but here and New York City he had no other references to play off of.
"Woah," he said, feeling too shaky to stand and look down. What were they even on now? He glanced at Caterina, uncertain how to change the exhibit back to its natural state.
"I guess the Nile," he said with a hint of a laugh, trying to cover his nervousness over the powerlessness this all made him feel.