The Phoenix XX

David looked just like his pictures and was exactly the way he had always presented.  He must be new to the force because he hardly seems jaded by life.  He has a daughter and loves his career, not surprisingly divorced and just looking for someone to go out with when he has free time.  We had a quick drink and jumped into his car to head to Queens, we were gonna go shoot pool and he offered to show me around the borough which is cool because all I had ever seen of it before was the pub I met Vince in...and I guess I drive through to and from the airport.  

We pulled up to the place and it was sketchy at best; I wondered if he carried a gun too.  I relaxed a bit when I realized he was fairly well known there and even put my purse down after a few minutes.  We had another drink and played a few games while we talked about our lives and I liked hearing about him.  He was a military kid that eventually joined along side family members then left to become an officer and never looked back.  He really seemed to like talking about his career and daughter, and not in a braggy way...he was proud and I was happy for him.  We settled up with the bartender; I was itching to see Queens.

It was almost 2am when we started the tour which was perfect because it was like a ghost town, hard to believe this is part of New York City since Manhattan is always lit up like a Christmas Tree and even at 4am you can hit gridlock.  We drove around and he showed me where they filmed Coming to America, the area for the inspiration for The King of Queens, we went through Astoria and even did a little drag racing down the main strip when we finally met another car.  I imagined, or maybe hoped, that David would turn out more like Mike, the cop, rather than John.  

It was after 4am when I finally crawled into my bed, it was a great day and tomorrow is my last one before home.  I laid awake for a few minutes and loved that I missed my family...I'm ready to go home but I won't bitch about another day in the park...