My last fling of the already ended summer was to be a trip to NYC with Mike, Suzie, and Kacey, the last of whom I’d be meeting on the ride up. I was tired from Suzie’s arrival the night before as we ate cheese in the office chairs around my kitchen table so I was worried about bringing out my A-game for meeting Mike’s friend Kacey. In advance of this meeting, I asked if there were any triggers I should avoid, despite this, I managed to make a girlfriend, Hitler, Down Syndrome, and misogynist joke with the first 90 minutes of meeting her. Good job, Terry.
Driving to New York was new to me and a combination of rain and fatigue made it harder still. I stopped in Newark for gas which required me shepherding a gas attendant that was probably in his prime during the partition of India to the pump, showing him how to operate it, and then physically sliding his attendant car through the card reader so I could pump my own gas, all in one of two states where doing so is illegal. We then stopped for a snack at McDonalds where a large man asked me for my change. I gave it to him, it totaling some 72 cents, and he walked away from the parking lot whistling. Newark, jewel of the Passaic. [That’s for you, Kyle. – Ed.]
Otherwise, the ride to New York was uneventful and the conversation for the evening could be summarized thusly.
The parking garage I wished to use was full so I had to resort to on-street parking. I found a spot beyond a no standing sign but before a no parking sign, and we walked our things in the rain initially to the wrong apartment (sorry Mike, Suzie, and Kacey) and eventually to the right apartment which was on the 3rd floor (sorry Mike, Suzie, and Kacey). The place would normally be considered cozy for four people but compared to the capsule of a room Mike, Suzie, and I had previously used at the Hotel Pennsylvania, this was an executive suite. There was a kitchen-like area, a Venus flytrap/couch hybrid sometimes called a futon, and most importantly a floor space that nicely fit the air mattress. There floor was laminate so every time I moved on the mattress it sounded like Kraftwerk’s version of whalesong. Next time, I bring an extra sheet.
