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Out of all the cities, it had to be here.
Charles had just been returning from the latest Boyle family getaway in Toronto. On his flight back though, there had been a terrible storm, forcing the plane to divert.
So here he was, in Ottawa, because of course that was how luck would have it.
He didn’t intend on staying long - in fact, he wanted to get out as fast as possible, because the way his luck was going, he’d probably run into Vivian too. Still, the food selections in Ottawa’s tiny-ass airport were not great, so he ventured out to find some better options.
It was pretty late, so most spots in the area were closed. The only spot that was open was a Shawarma Palace spot, so that was where he went. He really wasn't expecting much - he was in Ottawa, after all. It turned out, though, that it was better than he expected.
Still, one shawarma wasn’t representative of Ottawa’s entire food scene, which he was still pretty sure sucked.
Since his new flight back to New York was only the next day, he booked a stay at the Holiday Inn near the airport. Once he arrived, he immediately collapsed into bed, exhausted.
At least he’d be out of this awful city tomorrow, right?
Nope.
Charles woke up to find that his flight had been cancelled, and that he’d have to stay in Ottawa yet another day. Someone up there was definitely messing with him.
He couldn’t commiserate on an empty stomach, though, so he decided he should find somewhere to get breakfast. There wasn’t much to eat nearby except for chains, so he figured he should try venturing out. Downtown seemed like a good bet - yeah, a lot of the spots there would probably be catered to tourists, but he figured he could find something decent if he wandered around enough. Not to mention, it would give him something better to do than just moping in his hotel.
So, he called an Uber and took a ride downtown, getting out near City Hall. He walked around for a while, since he wanted to get out of the downtown core, and eventually ended up near Lyon station, where he came across a restaurant called Gooney’s.
The sign caught his eye because it said they sold arepas, and to be honest, he didn’t think they had arepas anywhere in Ottawa. So, he walked in, eager to give the place a try.
It seemed to be busy inside, which he took as a good sign. Once at the front of the line, he ordered the Mahambre arepa with eggs, feta, and chorizo. He waited a few minutes for them to prepare it, and once it was ready, he took a seat and dug in.
And he really enjoyed it, having scarfed it down in just a few minutes. Not that he would admit to enjoying it though, since it was still Ottawa food, and Ottawa food was supposed to suck. Instead, he just chalked it up to being hungry after having spent so long searching for a spot to eat.
It was still fairly early by the time he finished, and since he was already downtown and didn't have anything better to do, he went for a walk to see what else there was around. Looping around the different areas, he certainly saw some interesting sights - an outdoor drag show, a car covered in garish sports memorabilia driven by a grinning man in a cowboy hat, and a ginormous spider statue outside the National Gallery that kind of freaked him out.
After a while, he ended up on a quiet footpath by the water. Sitting on one of the benches, he took a deep breath and inhaled the fresh air. It was so peaceful there.
Since he had a quiet moment, he took the time to call Genevieve and Nikolaj. Genevieve was aghast that he had ended up in Ottawa of all places, given its food scene. Nikolaj, on the other hand, didn’t share her concern, especially since Charles had assured him that Ottawa had no shortage of butter noodles.
Speaking of food, he was starting to get hungry again. Looks like it was time to get back to finding out what food options Ottawa had to offer.
He ended up in the central area of the Byward Market, where different buskers were performing for the people who passed through. That seemed charming - maybe he could grab something to go and sit and watch them. He asked one of the women in the crowd if there were any spots she would recommend, and she pointed to La Bottega.
Following her command, Charles walked in, going to the back, where there was a long line of people waiting to order subs. Charles waited patiently until he got to the front of the line, ordered his sub, and went to the front to pay. After thanking the cashier, he headed out and took a seat on one of the benches available. As he took the first few bites of his sandwich, he had to admit that the woman was right about the spot being good. Maybe he had been wrong about the city’s food scene?
Nah, couldn’t be.
He hung around a little longer to watch a mariachi band that was playing, until they started packing up. He pondered afterwards whether he should just head back to the hotel, but decided against it since it was fairly nice out, and he was enjoying himself.
This time he walked along the more busy roads. He walked long enough that he ended up in a different part of downtown entirely, the Glebe. There was plenty of things to see there as well, though. As he walked through the area, he checked out an outdoor farmers market, an arcade, and a handful of different stores selling vintage clothing, records, and housewares. He even popped into one of those stores, The Clothes Secret, to grab something for Genevieve.
By that point he had been walking for a while, and he felt like he needed to sit down and rest a little. Plus, he was starting to get hungry. He decided that meant that he should go for a sit-down meal this time around.
Charles looked around the area for a spot that looked interesting until he paused in front of a Korean spot called Table Sodam. It was nearly full, save for one table, which was unoccupied.
Taking it as a sign from the universe, he went on in, claiming the final table. After combing through the restaurant's menu, he ended up picking out the fried rice with tofu. As he waited, he took in the cheery atmosphere of the restaurant and sipped on green tea that the waiter had brought, which was nice and refreshing.
Today had been a nice day. He still wished that he was back home with his family in New York, but today had been so relaxing and peaceful. It was the break that he didn't even realize he needed.
The food arrived, and he gave it a try. And he loved it.
Fine, he admitted. He had been wrong about Ottawa's food scene.
Once he finished his food, he decided it would probably be best to head back to his hotel, since he had been out all day and wanted to be well-rested for his flight tomorrow. There was no way an Uber would be able to pick him up on such a busy road, though, so he walked to a nearby mall and called it from there. On the way back to the hotel, he took in the sights of Ottawa one last time.
A few hours later, Charles got ready for bed. Tomorrow he'd be back home, and he'd probably never set foot in this city again. Just yesterday he would've though that to be a good thing, but now, the thought kind of saddened him...
Nah, that was probably just the fatigue and desire to see his family talking. Sure, it was nice here, but it’s not like he was going to miss it or anything.
Putting an end to that train of thought, he turned off the lights, letting himself fall asleep.
Tomorrow he’d be out of here, for real this time.
Charles woke up early the next morning so that he could get to the airport in time, five hours before his flight (never mind that his hotel was just a few minutes away from the airport).
Once he had gone through the security procedures at the airport, he checked the departure times and found that his flight was still running as scheduled - three and a half hours from now. Maybe he really had gotten here a little too early.
The extra time did give him some time to ruminate, though. Did he really wake up so early because he wanted to make sure he left enough time to catch his flight? Or did he just want to spend more time awake in Ottawa before he left for home?
Well, maybe not, since even if he wanted to spend more time in Ottawa, there wasn't really much he could do in this airport. But still, he'd miss Ottawa more than he would like to admit.
Hours later, when it was time to board his flight, Charles tossed his bag in the overhead carrier and took his seat next to the window. As the plane took off, he watched as Ottawa gradually disappeared from sight, until all he could see was clouds.
He said goodbye to Ottawa, and realized that goodbye doesn't have to mean goodbye forever. After all, his flight was only an hour long, and Ottawa and New York were practically within driving distance of each other.
Charles smiled at the thought. Even if his first visit to Ottawa had been unintentional, it certainly wouldn’t be his last.