It Seemed Like A New York Minute - Writers Forum

Rachel381 · 03-14-2008, 02:08 AM

It Seemed Like A New York Minute

Part One Continued

Cassandra downed her cup of coffee and I was shocked. It's like she had never tasted anything like it before. She got another cup and let me try it. Holy Jesus! The flavor was indescribable. It was amazing tasting coffee. We kept getting refills, and were driving the waitress crazy. Our pager went off and we paid the bill and headed downstairs towards the hostess' desk.

The female host was very friendly and showed us to our table by the window. Words cant explain how beautiful the inside of the restaurant was. It had so much detail, that I wouldn't even know where to begin describing it. The place was packed with people of all sorts. Each table was placed very close to the next and I felt the warmth around (literally and figuratively). I ordered a turkey dish, while Cassandra ordered pork and my mother got a rigatoni meal. I made droppings out of the bread rolls placed in front of me. Our waiter was very professional and I wondered how anyone could act that stiffly. I understand working in a 5 Star restaurant and all, but it would have been nice to see a little personality. We are humans after all.

Our meals were delicious and we made friends with the couple next to us. The woman was from Georgia and carried a strong Southern accent. I whipped out my camera and couldn't quite figure out how to get the flash on. I am retarded. The woman took it from me and adjusted it accordingly. She took a number of pictures of the three of us and gave me battery advice. Dinner was through and we headed out towards the street. I thanked my mother for the lovely birthday dinner and we got back on the subway heading Downtown.

We got back to our hotel and I went to take my nightly shower. I walked into the bathroom, to find the tub spotted with what looked like brown hair dye. "What the hell?" I thought. "Who dyes their hair in a hotel?" Okay, so I've only done it once, but I had the courtesy to clean up after myself and I wasn't even using a shared bathroom. I knew it was the woman next door since we were the only people on the floor. "What is this lady's deal?" After my shower I got into my bed and began to fall asleep. In the middle of the night I was awakened by a movement. It kind of scared me at first since we were in a 100 year old building. It wouldn't have been so crazy to think it could have been a ghost. It was coming from the outside window and sounded very close. "Should I look out there?" I thought to myself. "What if I see a scary face or a person or something horrible? I don't care. I want to know what it is." I peeked through the red blinds and saw something white. I moved the blinds up further and saw two beady eyes starring at me. I jumped back because it scared the shit out of me. It was a damn pigeon! It made noises throughout the entire night. At first I hated that bird, but then I sympathized with it, since it was winter and it was probably freezing. I decided it was a girl and named her Sally.

The next day I planned to meet up with my friend Nick who I used to work with. It had been almost a year since I'd last seen him and I was really excited. Nick is the perfect guy. I'm not exaggerating in any way when I say this. He is kind, beyond considerate, intuitive, well-humored, responsible, intelligent, a go-getter, reliable, compassionate, easy going, and so much more. We formed a really genuine friendship, since we were two of the three "younger people" at our law firm. He's like the older brother I've never had and always has my best interest in mind. We have kept in contact over the past year 1/2 through e-mails and occasional phone calls. It's tradition to give each other three month updates on our lives. We both have so much going on and I always look forward to his detailed responses.

That afternoon I called Nick and we planned to meet up around 3:00 pm. He had his own plans for us, which included taking us to his hometown of Astoria, Queens for some authentic Greek food. Did I mention he’s Greek? Well, he's Greek. Very Greek.

Us girls got ready for the day and headed towards Midtown for some big city shopping. We made a pit stop in Bryant Park and watched the ice skaters frolic around. There were little boutiques set up around the perimeter of the rink. I don't remember them having that sort of a thing when I lived there, but I thought it was a fabulous idea. We browsed around the stands for awhile looking for souvenirs. Observing the ice skaters from a distance, I was feeling daring and wanted to try it out. I've never ice skated in my life but it is always something I've wanted to do. I made it a goal to actually go skating during this vacation. We walked around to rink, trying to find the line. Frank Sinatra was playing on the loud speakers and the moment was just perfect. After circling around the rink, we took notice of the humungous line. There was absolutely no way in hell I was going to wait in that thing. Instead, we took pictures of the skaters and called it a day. We were very close to my old work building and shopped around the area until Nick showed up. He and I planned on surprising everyone at work, by paying the old firm a visit.

We stopped by Lord & Taylor (an east coast version of Nordstrom) and began browsing around the juniors section. My sister wanted to get a new pair of boots that would be "comfortable to walk in". Comfortable and boots shouldn't be used in the same sentence. If they're cute, they're definitely not comfortable. We didn't have any luck and headed towards Lexington Avenue. We found a shop called Strawberry and began looking around. I wasn't in the mood for shopping, so I followed my mother around the store. I remember when I was little, she would always drag me into the mall to shop with her. There I would sit, watching her try on clothing until I couldn't take it anymore. My legs would always be tired and I would end up falling asleep in the dressing room. This is how I formed my hatred for shopping, senselessly. I guess I can't call myself a real girl.

I heard the sound of my ring tone and saw Nick's name appear on the caller ID. I was anxious to see him and he said he was going to be in the store in a few minutes. While waiting, I found a shimmery black tank and decided to buy it. I stood in the line, waiting patiently for what seemed like forever. I looked up and saw Nick at the top of the stairs. A grin appeared on my face and I ditched the line to run and give him a hug. He looked exactly the same. Nick and I decided to head towards the firm while my mother and sister continued their shopping at Anne Taylor.

I entered my old work building and felt like I'd never left. The security guards were playfully arguing up front and it was good to see them again. "You're goin' to the 39th flo, right?" said the female security guard. I was surprised she remembered. "Nick and Rachel, raaight?" she asked. "You actually remember that?" I said to her. "Yea, I'ma psychic. Didn't cha know?" "No, I didn't," I told her. "Are you two datin'?" she asked. "No, we're not," I responded. And I was about to say, "And he's like my brother," when she added, "You will. You jus don't know it yet." She seemed so confident in her statement. Nick and I both looked at each other like, "Ya right." It's just not like that.

We took the elevator up to the very last floor. The 39th floor. I began to feel sad as soon as I stepped out and walked into the lobby. It was completely different. I didn't even recognize my front desk. There was purple carpet for gods sakes and it was brighter than the sun. I wanted to know who was responsible for the new interior design. It looked terrible. The girl I trained before I left was still with the company, her name is Jackie. She smiled at us from the front desk. It was good to see her again and we said our hellos. Nick and I headed back towards the offices and surprised the youngest attorney, Michael Collins. Michael Collins is a known (married) sexaholic amongst the staff. We used to find his disturbing "wanted" ads on Craigslist. He got up from his seat and gave me a kiss on the cheek. My favorite, Mr. Buckley popped his head out of his office with a wide grin. He's a spitting image of Mr. Clean. I gave him a big hug and started telling them what I've been up to. It kind of sucked because most people were out on vacation, including Mr. Bernstein, who I was really looking forward to seeing. A lot of employees had left the company since I was there and I only got to see a hand full of people. But it was nice seeing everyone again. We stopped off at Jackie's desk and chatted with her for some time. There was a strange vibe going on between her and Nick, like a tension of some sort. I observed their interaction for awhile and planned to ask Nick about it once we left. Jackie is a good girl. The kind you bring home to mom. She has a strong moral foundation, is soft-spoken, intelligent and grounded. She would be the perfect match for Nick if she wasn't still going through a breakup with her ex-boyfriend. Nick and I planned to go partying later that night and invited Jackie to join us. She gave the, "I have to work tomorrow" excuse. But after much effort, we convinced her to join us. Walking away from the office, Nick gave me the background on himself and Jackie. I was right after all. They did in fact, have a history.

We met my mom and sister inside Anne Taylor, where my mother was purchasing a matching skirt outfit. All four of us headed towards Grand Central and took the W train towards Astoria. We went to Nick's house and retrieved his car. He took us to a small, authentic Greek restaurant called Philoxenia. It was there that we engaged in a 5 course meal. Nick ordered a variety of appetizers that were delicious. Cassandra and I shared an entree while my mom ordered a "rare fish". She also ordered a glass of white wine and became buzzed, instantly. My sister and I exchanged looks from across the table because we knew what was in store with a "buzzed Wendy" as I like to call it. My mom does this thing where she talks for like fifteen hours straight when she’s intoxicated. And it's always about herself. Luckily Nick is a tolerant guy, so I didn’t feel too guilty exposing him to the situation. Nick's best friend Spiro joined us at the restaurant. I had only met Spiro a couple times before and always got the feeling he didn't like me. There was no particular reason for this thought, but it was always a feeling I received. And of course he had to come when my mom was being completely embarrassing. "This could only get worse," I thought to myself. I remained pretty quiet (we all did as drunk Wendy took over) and tried to think of ways to stop my mother's babbling. Our entrees finally arrived and my mom became silent. I looked over at her plate and put my hand to my mouth. It was indeed her fish. With its head and tail included. Yummy!

After dinner we adapted to the Greek ways and went to a local coffee house. The coffee shops in Astoria are so cool compared to Orange County. It's basically like a lounge/bar that people drink coffee at. My mom began to talk politics, which I urged Spiro & Nick to stay clear of. Wendy can be very dangerous while talking about politics. I tried to change the subject and was successful. We all stayed there for awhile and had a great time. It was around 8:00pm and Spiro offered to drop us off at our hotel, so that Nick could go home and get ready for the evening. Spiro had to drive to Jersey anyway and had some time to kill. He asked us if we wanted to take the "long way" home to view the festive scenery in the city. He told us about the Christmas light show on the Saks Fifth Avenue building. He was describing how the lights coincided with the Christmas music that was played. He had a mixed CD on in the car, with none other than my favorite tune, My Humps by the Black Eyed Peas. My inner Fergie emerged once more and we all observed the scenic 5th Avenue. It was beautiful. My mom anxiously awaited to get a glimpse of the Christmas tree at Rockefeller Center. Traffic was moderately heavy, allowing her lots of time to see the tree. I could tell Spiro was feeling a little more comfortable around us and I felt like I could relax (even when my mom was being embarrassing). We got to our hotel a half hour later and thanked Spiro for showing us around.

Spiro wasn't going to join us since he was on his way to work. But, Nick, Jackie and I still planned on making a night out on the town. It was 10:30 pm and I took the D train to 49th Street/Rockefeller Center. It was there that I met up with Nick and Jackie. We were driving around the Midtown area, looking for a place to start off at. Nick is so awesome because he loves the same music as I do. How often is it that you find a heterosexual guy who listens to Boys to Men and Shania Twain without shame? Not very often. He put on the Diary of Alicia Keys and all of three of us began to sing. Nick found a spot and parked the car. We started walking for what seemed like 10 minutes. We were slightly lost but eventually found a small, hip, bar. We got inside and music was playing softly in the background. Just as quickly as I took off my coat, I put it back on because we were leaving. The place closed at 2:00am and we didn't want to waste our time. We landed ourselves at an Asian Fusion lounge that was very dim with red lighting. We found a table and I took the outside seat, allowing Jackie and Nick to sit together on the booth. Nick shot me a look and in return I gave him a smirk. I ordered my Apple Martini, Nick got Disarono on the rocks ( just like the commercial), and Jackie ordered a glass of Chardonnay. Nick also ordered a chocolate platter for himself and I to share, while Jackie got a mango sorbet. As the drinks kept coming, I was getting buzzed. Nick ordered three shots and challenged us to take them. On the count of three Jackie and Nick downed them while I was ready to spit it out after the first taste. It tasted like black licorice, nasty! Jackie was opening up a little more and it was nice getting to know her, uncensored. She and Nick were getting close and I headed towards the bathroom to buy them time. The place was clearing out and the waitress dropped our bill. I gave Nick a twenty, but he threw it back at me. I gave it back since he had paid for our coffee and dinner earlier that night. But he just wouldn't take it.