Part 1
It was almost 7:30 in the evening as I made my way east on West 53rd toward my hotel when the skies opened up and the rain came pouring down. I didn't have an umbrella, of course, because - even though my hotel had complimentary ones - men don't use umbrellas...so they can get wet...because that makes us cool. But, instead of being cool, I decided to get dry and have a drink. So, I ducked into a place I was planning on visiting anyways during my stay in New York, The Modern (that is, the restaurant and bar at The Museum of Modern Art).
Luckily, there was an open seat; I took it and immediately ordered my default drink of choice, and the one by which I measured a bar's credibility. I scanned the gin selection and said to the waiting bartender, "Beefeater martini, semi-dry please, with a lemon twist."
Having ordered, I took the opportunity to spin in my chair and look around. The bar and dining room were separated by a frosted glass wall. The bar room was clean, and modern in its decor (of course). Besides the long bar at which I sat, the room was filled with small tables, every one of which was occupied; not bad for a Wednesday night, I thought.
While I did take in the ambience, I was also keeping an eye on the preparation of my martini. Things were progressing as they should: chilling the cocktail glass; combining the gin and dry vermouth; adding ice to the mixing glass; stirring (not shaking) the ingredients; and then straining it into the chilled cocktail glass before squeezing the lemon peel over the drink. The taste was as good as the preparation.
"Ah," I sighed as I downed my first sip.
"You a gin guy?" a female voice to my right asked.
I turned. A girl who looked to be in her early to mid-twenties was typing something on her phone. She had short, dark hair that ended at her chin and high cheekbones that accentuated an angular, almost hard profile that nonetheless retained its femininity. Her ears had three piercings - two silver studs on her lobe and one small, silver loop near the top. She wore a red, short-sleeve top that seemed to fall about six inches above her knees, under which were black jeans or tights - I couldn't tell without looking more closely, which might have gotten me a slap across the face.
She hadn't turned to look at me so I almost thought I was hearing things. "I'm sorry," I said, "did you say something?"
She didn't look over, still occupied by whatever she was doing on her phone, but she did reply. "Gin," she said, "you seem to know your gin."
"Yes," I replied, taking a sip of my martini, "I do like my gin."
Still without looking, she grabbed one of the bar menus in front of her and handed it to me. "Then you should order a gin and tonic," she said, going back to typing on her phone. "It's their thing."
I opened the menu and sure enough, half of a page was dedicated to the classic cocktail. You could tailor it to your taste, which I planned on doing as soon as I finished my martini. Curious and in the mood to make conversation, I said, "You don't strike me as a gin and tonic kind of person."
She smiled but continued typing. "Are you asking why I like a drink that's cold, refreshing, and alcoholic?"
"Fair enough," I replied, "fair enough."
I went back to my martini and checked Twitter and Facebook on my own phone; she continued to do whatever it was she was doing. As she reached for her own gin and tonic, I noticed the edge of a tattoo under her left sleeve. Since I caught it out of the corner of my eye, I couldn't make out what it was. Finally, finishing my martini, I ordered a gin and tonic. In short, it was fantastic.
"You were right," I said, "Outstanding."
She nodded. "You're welcome."
She flagged the bartender and pointed to her almost empty glass. Her nails were perfectly manicured with black nail polish.
"This one's on me," I said to both the girl and the bartender. "I owe you a round after setting me straight."
She put her phone down. "Thanks," she said, drawing the final pull from her glass and setting it away from her bar napkin.
"Cheers," I said, raising my glass to hers when it arrived.
"Cheers," she replied, a slight smile on her face.
The girl's dark eye makeup accentuated her green eyes while her bright red lipstick matched her top. She had a bit of a goth look, but it seemed to suit her.
"I'm Josh," I said, offering my hand.
She looked at me sideways, again with a hint of a smile. "Elizabeth." "So, I assume you're from New York?" I asked.
"Josh? Does your wife approve of you talking to young girls in bars while you're away on business?" She smiled, then took a sip of her drink.
I must have looked flustered because she smiled again, this time showing teeth.
"We're separated," I replied as I fiddled with my wedding band, which I hadn't yet removed for some reason. "Besides, it's not like I'm trying to pick you up; I'm just making conversation."
"Why are you getting a divorce?"
Her question was so unexpected, coming from someone I just met, it took me a moment to answer. "She...she cheated on me; I caught her in a lie and now we're waiting for the divorce to be finalized." I had no idea why I told her; it couldn't have been the alcohol...
"Why did she cheat on you?" she asked. She then covered her mouth and lowered her voice in a conspiratorial tone, "You suck in bed or something?"
"Ha, ha; very funny...no, I don't suck in bed!" I was way to defensive, but who the heck did this girl (who was probably half my age) think she was?
"Sorry," she said putting her hands up, "It's just, a good looking guy like yourself who obviously has money," she motioned toward my clothes. "I figured perhaps she cheated on you because...you know...but if I'm mistaken..."
Huh, she thought I was good-looking? I guess there was hope for me after-all. But I digress. It was just nice to get a compliment, even in this context. "She cheated on me," I said, leaning close to her so the whole world wouldn't hear our conversation, "because of work. My job requires me to travel a lot. She got tired of me being gone all the time. It would have been nice if she had told me how she felt so we could have worked on it together; but she decided to work on it with someone else."I took a long pull and asked for another.
"How long were you married?"
"It would have been 15 years next month."
"How old were you when you married...if you don't mind me asking?"
Now she's worried about asking personal questions, I thought.
"I was 28."
"You look good for 43," she replied. "You're almost twice my age!"
"Thanks," I replied, my voice dripping with sarcasm.
"Oh, don't be a..." She made a square in the air with her two index fingers. "Will you watch my drink? I have to go to the little girls room."
"Of course," I replied.
Elizabeth slid off the bar stool and sashayed to the restroom. I say sashayed because when she walked, it was with purpose and attitude. That red top was actually a tunic dress that hugged her slender form over black tights. I caught myself and turned back to the front. When she returned a few minutes later, I couldn't help but chuckle. Her dress had a black skeleton print on it, which gave the appearance of outlining her skeleton - it fit her perfectly.
Elizabeth smiled as she inched her petite frame back onto the stool. "Were you checking out my skeletal features?"
I felt myself blush. Yes, I was, I thought. "Busted."
"My ex got it for me; I like it too much to get rid of it."
"What happened to him?" I asked as nonchalantly as I could. I didn't want to pry, but she was interesting and it was either make conversation over drinks or watch ESPN in my hotel room. I liked the former.
"It's a familiar story. She cheated on me so I dumped her ass."
It was my turn to ask (and I couldn't help myself), "Why did she cheat on someone that...looks like you?" I covered my mouth and leaned over. "Do you suck in bed?"
She punched me in the shoulder. "Very funny. No, I don't suck in bed!" she replied, "I'm actually quite skilled...no, it's because she wanted to have a threesome with another girl and I didn't. I told her I'd consider a threesome with a guy but not another girl. I don't know why exactly, it's just how I felt. Whatever." She waved her hand then took a long sip.
"So, you like guys too?"
"Really, Josh? That's your takeaway from my story?"
I thought she was upset, but the smile in her eyes said otherwise. "I believe in equal opportunity. Women and men have their pluses and minuses; so I figure why limit myself?"
We clinked our almost empty glasses. She raised her hand to flag the bartender and ordered us another round.
"Last one for me," I said, "I have to work in the morning."
"So, you're loaded," she started, "travel a lot for your job...you're in sales?"
"I don't know if I'm loaded," I said. "I do alright..anyways, I'm in acquisitions for a tech company. I basically go around the country, find promising products or companies, and try and acquire them for my company. It's a win-win. They get the resources to make their product or flesh out their ideas; we get the benefit of that product."
"Ah, capitalism," she said, a fake, wistful sound in her voice. "So where does a collector of talent stay in the N-Y-C?"
"The Peninsula, off 5th," I replied.
"Sweet," she said, taking a sip from her glass.
"What about you?" I asked. "What do you do?"
"I'm a senior at Parsons studying interior design."