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Soon, they drove down a long hill. ''Downtown is on the far side of the Fort Pitt Tunnel," Pierce said as they drove into a hole through the mountain. |
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As they emerged at the other end, Mariah gasped. As though someone had raised a curtain, there was the city she had seen from above. But she was part of it now, swiftly approaching over a bridge, the tall buildings shimmering in the summer sun and reflecting on the surface of the joining rivers. |
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"A beautiful sight, is it not?" Pierce asked. |
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Mariah did not want to tarnish the moment by speaking. She only vaguely noted Pierce's weaving among lanes of merging traffic on the bridge as she stared at the enthralling city with its skyscrapers interspersed with older, more historic buildings. |
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In moments they were off the bridge and stopping. "This is the Hilton Hotel," Pierce said. "A room has been reserved here for you." |
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"Thank you," she whispered. Then, clearing her throat, she said, "I appreciate your driving me here. When shall we meet in the morning?" |
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They established eight o'clock as the time for Pierce to come for her. He helped her into the elegant lobby with her bags. And then he was gone. |
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A bellhop showed her to her room on the twelfth floor. The first thing she noticed was the view. It was gorgeous! It looked over the park. Her park. The open space was grassy, triangular, traversed by walking paths and surrounded on two sides by the rivers. At the far end was the fountain she had seen from the plane, at the rivers' confluence to form the Ohio. |
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She unpacked quickly, though she'd learned from experience to carry only clothing that wrinkled minimally. She washed her face, then got a glass of water after retrieving ice from the machine down the hall. |
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Finally, with a contented sigh, she moved the room's single upholstered chair so she could sit in it and glance out the window. Her magnetic park was still there. A few people, looking tiny from her hotel aerie, meandered along its paths. |
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