DC By the Book

Excerpt: Though she’d lived in DC for almost a decade, Alex had never visited the National Zoo. She’d always thought of it as something for children, but there seemed to be plenty of adults attending today unencumbered by offspring

Excerpt: I like the houses there, too,’ he was saying. ‘You never close the windows, just let the air blow through. Some don’t even have glass. It’s a lot nice than Columbia Heights, I tell you. Maybe not nicer than Bethesda. I bet doctors live in nice houses.

Excerpt: After school, he would stay past the final bell to talk to students and work on his lesson plan for the next day. Then, with several folders and his laptop in a backpack over his left shoulder, he would head out, waving to the secretary as he passed. He would walk six blocks and get on the subway at Congress Heights around six, just as the commuting mayhem was at its worst. He had a straight shot up the Green Line to Columbia Heights, where his tiny studio apartment was located.

Excerpt: There were plenty of spaces available in the economy parking lot at Ronald Reagan. She pulled into one near the shuttle bus stop, where most people would want to park, and waited for the bus to arrive. She knew this airport better than any other. She felt a long-missing sense of comfort kick in—the comfort of familiar surroundings. Two other passengers showed up before the shuttle, both of them with luggage and tired faces. They ignored her. She rode the bus to terminal three, then doubled back on the pedestrian bridge to the Metro stop. This route took her about fifteen minutes at a brisk walk. Nice thing about airports—everyone walked fast.