Aiden smiles—his whole face lighting up like it’s a compliment—and jabs his head in the direction of a red brick building a block down. “This way.”

AIDEN

My plan was to take Olivia to everything on my list, but as we enter the first building I can already tell that it’s going to be a lost cause. I knew there was art all over the place, but I underestimated what that actually meant. As we push through the glass doors of our first location, it’s a sea of bodies. I look at my paper. “The massive pencil drawing of the Civil War soldiers is supposed to be this way.”

“It’s ridiculous in here,” Olivia says, her voice muddled by the noise surrounding us.

I smack the papers against my leg. “Should we wait?”

Olivia shrugs. “Totally up to you.” She smiles. “I’m just the chauffeur.”

I laugh. “I did promise you lots of cool stuff though.” I jab my head to the right, where I can see an elevator tucked into the corner. “Let’s see what else we can find.”

We push through the bodies around us and make our way to the shiny silver doors. Four floors up, we’re deposited on a floor that’s quiet and open, with wood beams and metal crisscrossing overhead. I pull my phone out and load the artist notes for this building so I can check what’s on exhibit. As soon as she steps out of the elevator, Olivia is headed toward a giant wall of windows. I’m scrolling down my screen when I hear her. “Aiden!” She’s waving her hand behind her. “Check this out.”

She’s looking out the window, down onto the street, and as I approach I just see the sides of buildings. But down below, in what I’m guessing is usually a parking lot, there’s an exhibit. I notice now that there’s a white sheet of paper attached to the window, with the exhibit name—“Aerial Splendor”—and artist listed. And in the lot is the biggest chalk drawing I’ve ever seen. It stretches from corner to corner of the parking lot, which is corded off. It features two giant horses, and even from this distance they’re insanely intricate. The scale is incredible. And for the first time in two months I’m not squinting to make out details, or to really see something the way it’s supposed to be seen. Maybe this is my problem. It’s not that art isn’t my thing, I just need a medium that isn’t compromised by my vision.

“How do they even do that?” Olivia’s voice is full of awe.

“I’m guessing the artist drew it small-scale first, and then transferred it using a grid.”

“Wow, that’s crazy.”

I nod, but I can’t take my eyes off of what lies below me. Maybe I need to think outside of my usual 16 × 20 paper. It’s so crazy, it just might work.