September 2013
I am a relatively odd person by today's standards. The fact I've only had sex with one woman, got married and had a baby right before I was 21 would have made me a poster child in the 1950's. Of course, this is a poster child that lost his wife in a car crash 19 years later.
Now it's been two years since she was gone, and my son just went back on the road to college. With nothing to do and with no one to talk to, I got the impulse to buy the earliest train tickets to New York the next morning.
Going there was a favorite pastime for me and my son, especially after my wife....left. But we couldn't afford a full vacation there this summer. However, just a day out to go through Times Square, have a night on the town and then come back home would do me good. At least that's what I told myself as I sank my money into this impulse buy.
I got to New York early the next afternoon, soon finding myself among the masses at Times Square. With no hotel to stay at, and no sports game or Broadway show for later like in my usual trips here, I soon realize I should have set a schedule. Otherwise I'd be wandering around like an idiot all day long.
So I wandered until I thought of something better to do. I looked around at the buildings, theaters and giant billboards, until I looked at the people nearby. One of them catches my eye.
It almost looked like....someone who'd caught the eyes of millions. Including mine already. But it couldn't be. I couldn't be that bored to imagine this, and it was too late in the summer for heat stroke....
I ran up to the figure, got a closer look and realized I'm not imagining things. I did wish I'd imagined myself gasping loud enough for her to hear me, though. Or that I imagined myself covering my mouth right as she turned to see me.
Like I said, I'm an odd duck. Perhaps it would be normal for a 21-year-old, boy or girl, to have that kind of reaction in front of Jennifer Lawrence. For a 41-year-old man, doing it....bordered on the creepy at best. But that's where I found myself.
"I'm sorry," I apologized, figuring I was bringing unwanted attention on her. "I'll get out of your way before they notice."
"No, no, it's...it's cool," Jennifer actually laughed off. "I would have worn the usual hat and sunglasses if I was hiding, right?"
Indeed, she wasn't covering up her face or trying to be anonymous. If anything, her blue pants and blue tank top were even more attention grabbing. "But you're the one who found me out and spoke up about it."
"Yeah. Not who you expected, huh?" I mentioned. "And that's before you knew I watched and loved The Hunger Games with my son, can't wait for Catching Fire and live in Philadelphia. Silver Linings Playbook, Eagles country and all."
"Well....I know now," Jennifer still looked amused. "And that's before you knew I'm hanging out here before I start filming Mockingjay tomorrow. Weird world."
"Weird world," I agreed wholeheartedly.
Jennifer still had long blond hair, so she wasn't in her darker Katniss locks just yet β or in her Silver Linings Playbook hairstyle. But I was probably weird enough without pointing that out. Let alone pointing out that my son and I shared not only Hunger Games fandom, but....the same kind of crush on its star.
I may have been with only one woman in my life, but I wasn't dead. Not in my fantasies, anyway. And Times Square wasn't the ideal place for those fantasies now.
"Well, might as well get proof of it," I commented, getting out my phone before I caught myself. "I mean, if I haven't bugged you enough."
"I got way too much time on my hands before I go end a blockbuster trilogy. I'll kill it any way I can get," Jennifer joked. Taking that as a go ahead, I got the phone ready and lifted it up in front of us, hoping I got us both in frame.
"Hey, didn't you say you had a son? Maybe he could make this easier on you," she offered.
"He would if he could," I said β he really would kill for this kind of chance. "But he's in college."
"Ah," Jennifer noted, then looked down at my hand. "Is your wife a college gal too?" I was confused until I remembered my wedding ring was still on. One of the few times I had forgotten about it, really.
"She might be if she could," I sighed. "If they have college in heaven, maybe."
"Oh, then....oh," Jennifer quieted down. "Well, I'm world famous for putting my foot in my mouth. But that was a two-footer." She stammered again and corrected, "Sorry, I'm not trying to make jokes about this!"
"That's fine, I know. You didn't accuse me of lying to get in your pants. So it could have been worse," I found myself saying. Usually reminders like this would have gotten me more upset. At least too upset to make jokes right back.
"I guess I was saving that one," Jennifer replied. "Okay, well....I do owe you a picture anyway." So we got back into position and I snapped it, and she stuck around to see it came out just fine.
"Sorry again," Jennifer repeated. "I know I have no filter."
"There are worse things not to have," I answered. "They get a little easier over time. Other times they make you need a little vacation. And look how it ends up."
"With someone who needed a vacation before leading a fake revolution. Go figure," Jennifer said.
"So the revolution starts in Part 1?" I asked. "Or in Catching Fire? I haven't read the books yet, so...."
At that point it was getting weird, and inconspicuous, to just stand around in Times Square with Jennifer Lawrence this long. So we went on to do walking and talking, as Jennifer got more proof that a 41-year-old widower with a college-aged son could love a Young Adult movie. I wasn't as rare and odd as someone like that who loved Twilight, but it got Jennifer's attention.
So did the added stuff about me being a Philadelphian and a sports nut β not to the extent of the Silver Linings Playbook characters, however.
Otherwise, Jennifer was the real chatterbox, as befitting her reputation. She even blabbed that at the rate she was changing and dying her hair for the Hunger Games, she'd have to chop it off. To my credit, it was one of the many things I kept quiet about a few months later when she did.
For this moment, the blond, long haired Jennifer still allowed me to be her sounding board, as we walked out of Times Square and back again. Although this was our only day in New York before we had to return to reality β some more profitable than others β we had no problem killing it with each other. At least I knew I didn't.
If only my son could.....well, he should at least have the proof I did.