Its the 2nd week of September and back to school for the kids again. As usual, I walk my youngest son to the schoolyard for dropoff. Today is the 2nd day of class and I actually enter the yard with the other parents so I can drop off some class fees with the teacher. I usually drop him at the gate and go on my way to work without stopping in, but today I congregate with his class for a moment, and its a good thing I did.
As we approach the group, I notice a new parent, an attractive woman in her mid to late 30s, with a child I don't recognize. She seems to look a bit lost, as if she is unfamiliar with the routine. She sees an envelope in my hand for the teacher, and I ask her if she is waiting to see the teacher as well. She answers hesitantly, unsure if she is in the right place. I assure her that she is and introduce myself, noticing that she is attractive, but not made up for the day yet.
She is still in her morning sweats, though I can see that she would look good with a minimum amount of effort. She is petite, only 5'2 or so, but her top bears out that she has nice breasts and is not fat. I start to make small talk innocently, figuring it cannot hurt to be friendly. I discover after a few moments that her son is new to the school and they are new to the neighborhood.
It turns out that she and her son have taken an apartment nearby, as she is recently divorced. They previously lived in LA, but her cheat of a husband makes big bucks as an entertainment lawyer, so when he decided to move to NY for a better opportunity, she agreed to follow him under the condition that in exchange for her bringing their son to NY to be near his dad, she would in turn get an apartment downtown and plenty of alimony and child support, leaving her free to do as she pleases all day. She also figured that a fresh start in a new city would be a good idea.
We talked for a while about the school and the neighborhood until it was time to leave. As we did, we continued to talk, and I sensed that she did not know anyone in NY and wanted to keep talking. I told her that I owned my own business and I could go in late if she wanted to keep chatting over coffee. Her eyes lit up at the prospect of time with another adult, so we headed to a nearby diner.
Over coffee, she really opened up, detailing the collapse of the marriage after she caught him cheating with a young paralegal when their son was only 3. She clearly had a long drawn out legal battle that had taken its toll on her psyche and confidence. She won a big settlement in the end after proving what an asshole he had been, but he put her through the ringer in court. She had considered trying dating in LA, but could not bring herself to start when they suddenly moved to NYC. It became clear to me that she had not had any male attention or contact in months if not years. Her name was Amanda, she has dirty blonde hair and adorable blue eyes, and she was longing for some warmth and attention, that was for certain.
After about 45 minutes of mostly listening, I made it clear that I should get going to work. Her disappointment was evident, and she began to grill me about my life, my work and my day. I wear a wedding ring so it was obvious that I was not single, and I was not hitting on her in any way. I told her of my wife and family situation, and that we lived only a few blocks apart from her new building. We left the diner together, and the walk toward my parking garage led us right by her building. As we approached, she asked me if I would come up for another cup of coffee and so she could show somebody her new place. I hesitated but agreed, knowing that I could go to work or not as I choose, and thinking that this could possibly get interesting.
