So here I am in NYC. Nico went to Las
Vegas with Alex and my mother-in-law which means that I have nine
days to myself here in my favorite city in the world. Actually,
the flight over was what I was looking forward to the most.
Imagine- 8 hours on an airplane- ALL BY MYSELF! People who are used
to flying on airplanes with their small children will identify with
what I'm saying.
I'd forgotten how much reading one can
get done on a flight when one isn't continually prying toys from between the seats, mopping up spilled juice and lurching around tiny
airplane bathroom cubicles with a small child who is determined to
rub his fingers over every germ ridden surface in the room. I managed
to finish Middlemarch and read all of Sloane Crosley's hilarious book
of essays I Was Told There Would Be Cake.
When I finally arrived at my
mother-in-law's apartment on East 61st, my primary challenge was
actually getting inside. My first task was to get the key to the
mailbox which she had attached to the underside of the welcome mat.
Under the several layers of duct-tape which I was forced to gnaw
apart with my teeth, I found the key sealed in between two
self-sticking sneaker in-soles. Then I had to go back downstairs and
open the mailbox. Inside I found all three house keys which had also
been duct-taped together and placed inside a paperback copy of Honor
Thy Father (subliminal messaging?) which was hidden in a manila
envelope which had also been subjected to an enthusiastic amount of
taping.
Unfortunately she had neglected to
consider that I would not be able to get the key to the mailbox which
contained the key to the downstairs door, without first entering the
downstairs door. Crafty as I am, I managed to insinuate my way into
the building using only dexterous charm, the details of which I will
not go into. Sufficed to say, not everyone in her building is as
careful about letting in strangers as she is.
Every time we come to New York,
something in my mother-in-law's apartment breaks down- usually an
appliance. This time was no exception and soon after entering the
apartment, I found out that both the Internet and the phone were not
working. Before the night was over I had also managed to melt part of
the bedside reading lamp. (I have no doubt that more will be revealed on
the malfunctioning appliances front.)
For the next few hours, I just wandered
about the city, trying to keep myself from falling asleep before 8pm
and still in that hazy state where every time I heard someone
speaking English, I wanted to run up to them and ask them if they
happened to be American. It's only been three months since I was last
in New York so for the most part, not much has changed. “The Girls
Next Door” is still pretty much always on TV and the salon
downstairs from my MIL's apartment is still probably operating as
some sort of illegal botox bodega. I have never seen a customer stay
longer than five minutes and today the place was empty except for the Asian
male receptionist who was passed out on a satin upholstered love
seat.
Since I couldn't access the Internet or
contact anybody, I headed to Barnes and Noble, Blockbuster and the
supermarket- the three places I always hit first when coming back to
the States because they are the three places where I am sure to find
something new. For a few hours I wandered around like a feral child
or someone who'd just been released from a long prison sentence-
marveling at the new books, movies and varieties of cereal. Later,
sitting with my latte and stack of gossip magazines at the bookstore,
I kept feeling like I should be getting back soon, that Nico would be
waiting for me or that Alex would be wondering what was taking me so
long. It was so strange to realize that for the first time in a long
while, no one was waiting. It felt liberating but also a bit lonely.
Should I really go wild and stay until closing time? I decided
against it since I was so tired that I'd probably just zonk out
amongst a stack of knitting books, In Touch magazines and
empty latte cups. I wearily headed home with some rented movies, only
to find out that the DVD player isn't working either. I started to
read but after melting the lamp I decided it was time for bed.
