the meeting
may 30, 2002
[shaky hands lends to shaky photos, but somehow i like the way this turned
out : harpist @ wedding circa apr02]
many many years ago, on this day, was the first time i met K. he didn't strike me as particularly handsome or particularly captivating, in fact, he blended quite well into the scenery. but then he stood there holding a dozen peach colored roses for me with a smile on his face and i suppose that had to count for something.
as i recall, on that day, i wore jeans, white vneck tee, a navy blue cotton parka from j.crew and a pair of ankle high doc martens. and i was nervous. i'm not particularly good at meeting people for the very first time and there's always a sense of anxiety that i can't seem to shake. but as we walked and talked, the frigid nervousness dissipated like thawing ice.
some memories
when i visited for the first time, K stocked his house with a new pair of slippers, my favorite shampoo and a cute flintstones glass that he got from mcdonald's during a promo, all for my personal use in case i ever needed to.
we walked by french connection and i wanted to go in but he made a comment that i took the wrong way and i promptly huffed off while giving him the silent treatment. i got tired and sat down at a sidewalk cafe and ordered water. he excused himself to use the restroom and came back 5 minutes later with a bunch of roses from a local flower stand. he didn't even know what he had said that got me all worked up but yet, he still got me flowers to atone for anything and everything. just in case.
i wanted to watch one particular film and so he took me to a theater that he thought was still showing it. we sat down and suddenly the screen was filled with soft core thai porn. and then i noticed it was all men who were in the theater and i, the only female. he finally took me to another theater, this time, an all african american one, that was showing the movie. it was the right movie this time.
at macy's he bought me my first kipling backpack.
we ate at japonica and tomoe sushi.
i tried a slice of cheese pizza with garlic salt at royal pizza down near brighton beach. and then i went back for more.
i also had my first coney island hot dog and cottage fries in a paper cup. a storm had just left, leaving the streets and sidewalk of coney island shining like stainless steel. and then we took the B train to leave.
at six flags, i got soaked from the water ride and he bought me a pair of bugs bunny shorts so that i wouldn't catch a cold in my wet jeans. unfortunately, they don't match well with my doc marten boots. luckily, no photos exist.
we walked around late in chinatown, eating at all those places that open till 3-4am. he wasn't afraid of the gangs loitering around the streets in huddles and i didn't question it. i just felt safe.
he was excited for me to meet all of his closest friends and i was kindly questioned by all of them in order to get to know me better. i suppose they were protective of him and wanted to make sure i wasn't just stringing him along or playing him. that's understandable. we shared many nights of video game playing, karaoke-ing and eating out and as important as it was for me to get to know K, it was equally important for me to be a part of his friend's lives.
these memories flitter through my mind haphazardly from time to time and i often times forget how quickly the years have passed. it's a shame that we can't stop time and not grow old.
