The Phoenix XI

It took a lot of coaxing to get me up and motivated to get ready for dinner, but I knew Carl's time was limited so that helped get me into the shower and on a slow path to being Manhattan ready to go out.  Carl was on to watching reruns of friends and looking for tickets to Wicked when I emerged with a towel on my head feeling a little more spry.  I grabbed a glass of wine, my hair dryer and straightener and prepared to tackle my hair, which is no easy task considering humidity levels and the promise of rain... New York hates curly hair.  I threw my straightener back in my suitcase accepting defeat, it would be an exercise in futility.

I came out of the washroom looking almost presentable and I'm sure Carl was getting a bit tipsy, so I filled my wine glass and joined him at the television.  We tried to get tickets to the theatre but were unsuccessful due to time of year and not wanting to play six hundred dollars each to sit on a balcony. We grabbed our things and headed for the lobby, dinner was in thirty minutes and we were both hungry enough to contemplate stopping at the vending machine for an appetizer.

I stood at the lobby doors and watched the rain pound the pavement and slowly grabbed an elastic from my purse and tied my hair up.  Carl came running back in with two umbrellas he bought from the guy out front...always a gentleman.  The restaurant was literally four blocks away and a cab would have taken longer than walking so I opened mine up and sped walked the entire way.  The restaurant was stunning and I was in great company so I ordered champaign and got lost in conversation with my New York Dan.