I spent the weekend in New York with my handsome young man. Now that I’ve come back, everyone keeps asking me what we did for fun. I wasn’t there for very long. I arrived late Friday and had to be back for my date with destiny. So, mostly, we walked and talked … or sat and talked … or ate and talked … or watched movies and debated. It was a word-filled weekend.
So, my favorite thing of the weekend? The 54-block walk Alec and I took on Saturday evening. He had expressed that he wanted sushi for his birthday dinner. We went to Todai. We both talked about how it reminded us of Jason because the first time we’d had sushi was in Studio City, at Todai, with Jason. Alec had decided that it would be a good idea to walk from his place on 83rd Street to the restaurant on 32nd Street. Fifty one blocks south, three blocks west. I thought I would die but we started talking — about our jobs, our dreams, our frustrations, our relationship issues, our recent challenges — and the time flew by. Even he said it was the best part of the weekend.
We started out in the late afternoon. The sun was sinking to the west. During the day, the Manhattan highrises claw at the sky, struggling to outreach one another. Manhattanites are dwarfed in their shadows. As dusk descends on the city, Manhattan is transformed. The night cuddles the skyline and reassuringly wraps the city. The neon and night lights warm the humans, like Alec and I, who meander about. The Empire State Building welcomed us with a purple glow, the same color as last year on his birthday, Alec recalled. The gargoyles on the Chrysler Building seemed more protective than malevolent when bathed in their evening finery. I told Alec that I thought the city had a completely different personality at night. It seemed that Manhattan was actually friendlier and more inviting at night.
Alec draped his arm over my shoulder, nodded and smiled. For a couple of blocks, we walked in silence, feeling comfortable in the city at night.
