New friends XII

I had only been to the Bronx one other time, it was in 2004 and I was at the Yankee game. I remember buying our tickets for $5 each, Leanne came with me that summer. We were against the back wall and the Yankees were playing the Cleveland Indians, by the seventh inning stretch the Yanks were being shut out and the fans had vacated the stadium. I was able to get right behind the dugout for the last couple of innings and witnessed the worst loss in franchise history...22-0 for the Indians. Now here I was with Joseph driving down Arthur Avenue, which he swears has better Italian food than Little Italy.

We walked into a restaurant that was more like a family style kitchen, they didn't have menus or prices, you tell them what you would like, they ask the chef and your bill is somewhat of a surprise at the end...also bring cash because there will be no paper trail. We ordered mussels and baked clams to start with carbonara and chicken parmesan for entrees. He had a pint of Stella and I opted for a sparkling water and glass of Pinot Noir, we clinked glasses and shared stories of our dating experiences in NYC until the mountains of food arrived. There must have been 50 mussels on that plate and I heard him laugh when my jaw dropped...we would need four other people to finish this food.

New Friends XI

I woke to the sound of a dog barking, I looked out the back door to find a pitbull barking at the wind. I'm not sure who the dog belongs to but it's on this back step and won't shut up. The clock on his dresser read 8:05am, which means it's just after 6am back home and with that realization I climbed back into bed. I tossed and turned for another hour before I grabbed my towel and headed for the shower. I hadn't heard any movement in the front of the house so I did my best to keep quiet and make as little noise as possible.

By the time I had emerged from the washroom I could smell the bacon in the air and hear soccer on the television. I threw on my lulu's and a tank top and made my way down the hall. I found him with a spatula in his hand yelling at a player on the television while the bacon crisped and the eggs hardened. I grabbed a coffee pod from the top of the fridge and moved the pan off of the stove. "Hey, I was cooking you breakfast, put the pan back on." I looked over at him and rolled my eyes, 'no, you are burning my breakfast and yelling at some guy on the television." When he smiles his dimples show up and his eyes sparkle, it's been a while since he could have the banter with a woman in his home and I could see he missed it. I sat down at the island facing the television and watching him collect his heart after his team lost in extra time.  

New Friends X

We found a spot at the very end of the block, I'm not even certain it was a spot but the truck fit so we parked. The trees were huge and acted like canopy's over the streets, the street lights were old and beautiful and the brownstones were just like you'd expect them to be. We walked past the end of a building and turned left at the corner onto the promenade. It was breathtaking, you could see lower Manhattan, the Statue of Liberty lit up, the Brooklyn Bridge strung with lights and as far down as the Chrysler Building. The view was incredible, the lights danced around the city and we stood under the trees and over the traffic while we took in all of the sounds and watched the people around us. I never toured around the other boroughs, other than for the marathon, and so this was all but lost to me until today, Brooklyn is impressive in itself and the more I walked around the more I wanted to discover.

We found a little wine bar and stepped in for a glass before we headed back to Queens. "So, Natalie are you staying or would you like me to take you in the city?" I really didn't see a reason not to stay, "Can I have the back room with the locks and bathroom?" He laughed and finished off his last mouthful of wine, "of course you can and please give someone your location and my name". He doesn't know that I already took a picture of his licence and sent it to Karen along with his passport number, address and full name...I almost forgot I went through his wallet. I don't ever do that but I've never let anyone pick me up from the airport and host me for a week...I'm sure we can all look the other way on this one.

New Friends IX

We went to a little hole in the wall taco joint in Forest Hills and it was incredible. I ordered the shrimp and lobster burritos and proceeded to eat the chips and salsa like it was my job. I was famished by the time I finally got up and ready to head out; I ordered a Heineken and dove into conversation with my date.

I already knew so much about him since we had been talking for several weeks but I'm smart enough to know that words can be meaningless so I settle in and see how accurate he is. He's easy to be around, like Carl, he makes me laugh and is interesting to learn. Joseph is completely self made, he never had a handout or easy start in life. Everything he has, he has fought and worked for, there was no easy road for him. He was born in New York, when he was two years old his family moved back to Ireland where his father was born and raised. At 16 years old he left Ireland and made his way to England to work construction in London wth only a few dollars and a phone number. Imagine leaving your home at 16 and moving to a different country without a smartphone, gps, internet or any other of the things we have today to make it a smooth transition...I listened in awe. Joseph doesn't brag or boast, he just tells his story and I realize how much I cannot relate to how difficult it was for anyone growing up in Ireland. He literally lived the stories we hear our parents tell us about walking five miles to school, I mean, sure his wasn't uphill both ways but it was almost always in the rain and it was more than five miles each way. He didn't grow up with indoor plumbing and his mother had to use a brick to warm their beds, part of their vegetables were kept in the ground until they were harvested for dinner each night and only recently his mother got a washer and dryer. Joseph and I aren't that far apart in age but Ireland is that far behind than the rest of the world and so he was always playing catch up with school and his career. He loved his childhood and I can see why, he had so many of the little pleasures like fishing at the little bridge by his home, helping his father with the livestock and being one the of the best footballers his town ever had. You can see his eyes light up when he talks about his years on the field and I imagine one day I will sound the same when I speak of my son and watching him play.

He paid the cheque and we made our way back to his truck. "Want to see my favourite place in the city?" I smiled, I always want to see how New Yorkers view of their city...

New Friends VIII

I woke to my phone vibrating on the coffee table. It was still light out and the television was turned to news. I sat up to collect my bearings and look around, I forgot where I was for a moment. I spotted Joseph at the island in his kitchen reading a paper and drinking tea. I stretched and flopped back down on my pillow, my eyelids felt like sandpaper and my throat was dry, I blindly reached over for my tea and attempted to drink it without opening my eyes any further. I heard his chair move but didn't look up, "Want a glass of water?" I did but for some reason I couldn't answer...it was like being in a lucid dream where I could comprehend but had trouble interacting. I nodded and rolled over to my side, I guess being up for over 30 hours is just too much for my mind and body. I felt the straw touch my lips and I inhaled a mouthful just to wet my mouth so I could swallow. "Dinner isn't for a couple of hours if you want to keep sleeping Natalie". At this point it wasn't a matter of want it was a matter of need and I embraced it.

New Friends VII

I grabbed a pillow and blanket from the master suite and carried it out into the living room, I wanted to lay down but didn't want to be in his bed. He pulled the coffee table closer to the couch and put up my water, phones and the remote for the television. I flipped through the channels while he was on the phone with one of his electricians, I found Star Wars from the 80's and settled in to drift off. I could hear him moving around and taking calls and every word he was saying but felt completely relaxed in my slumber. You hear so many stories of every nightmare that could possibly go wrong in the online dating world that sometimes it's easy to forget that I'm active in the online dating world too and I'm not dangerous or a creep...not everyone on these sites is a creep. I'm always cautious but I have come into contact with far more good people than I have bad. Most men I meet want to have a relationship, find the one, have a family and live the ending to their own fairytale.

New Friends VI

I listened from the other side of the door before I went back down the hall and into the living room. He was watching the news and had breakfast laid out. "I thought you might want to eat before you had a nap. Or I can take you into the city if you prefer". He's sweet, sincerely sweet. He stood up and walked into the kitchen where the table was crowded with eggs, bacon, sausage, pancakes and toast. I took the seat across from him at the island and we picked up where we left off on our texting and spent the morning laughing, telling stories and watching the news. This is what we do and have done since we started talking and it was comforting to experience it all make the perfect shift when we were finally standing in front of one another. We never had the sexual build up, Joseph may be the first man in my online dating interactions to not send me a picture of his cock. He never spoke of sex in the several weeks leading up to our first meeting which was me sitting on his couch sipping tea at noon while watching some guy on the New York news literally read me the paper. It was as if we had always been friends and today was no different. I poured myself another cup of tea and topped up his. "You're welcome to stay Natalie, I have lots of room and I made us reservations in Forest Hills for dinner this evening". Maybe I'll take a nap...