AFTER LEAVING SONY Music Studios, Lindy was thoroughly disappointed that she could not congratulate nor embrace Kurt at the end of such a spectacular performance.
Instead, she was shunted out of the building with the rest of the crowd, except she was surprised to see a town car waiting for her. The driver held a sign that read 'Clayton' and she had turned beet red upon seeing it.
Once inside the car, Lindy folded her hands in her lap, staring out the window and into the dazzling lights of the city. The sound and memory of Kurt on stage was playing on a constant circuit in her head and no matter how hard she tried to savor the glitz of New York City's night life, all she could do was replay the evening bit by bit.
"Good show?" the driver called from the front seat, glimpsing at Lindy in his rear view mirror.
She smiled. "The best I've ever seen."
She was dropped off in front of The Peninsula and as soon as she stepped out of the car, a helpful doorman held open the huge glass door ahead for her. Feeling almost like an undeserving movie star, Lindy thanked the man graciously and went up to her room. She was living someone else's life and she was sure of it.
Even if it had all worked out between her and Kurt, just the way she had idealized it in the beginning, this isn't what she would have admittedly wanted. After the show, she would have preferred to sneak off with Kurt to the closest fast food restaurant before retiring to a motel to watch cartoons. There would have been no ritz and glamour in their lives. Having each other would have been enough.
When Lindy entered her room, the entire space illuminated by the handsome gold light that she had left on before leaving, she debated what she wanted to do next. She could have showered and went to bed, she supposed. Getting out of her tight dress would certainly be a priority.
Yet, her body was abuzz with energy, an effect of the aftermath of the show. Everything was so real and bright. The fact that the man she had watched sing so gloriously was the same man that she loved felt exhilarating. She was not only the luckiest girl in New York City that night, but the luckiest girl in the world.
After a few moments of standing there catching her breath, she decided that she wanted to see the city, even if it only proved to be overhyped. She had no idea when the next time that she'd see New York would be.
As Lindy stripped off her dress and exchanged it for jeans and a sweater, she found herself wishing that she'd packed a disposable camera — Beth would definitely require photographic evidence that the weekend had indeed been real. And next to that, she would have never believed that Lindy had actually stayed at such an expensive hotel, free of charge.
Lindy walked back downstairs, avoiding people's eyes as they surveyed her selection of clothes. While everyone else in the lobby was dressed to the nines, her shabby attire stood out in clear contrast. She thought of Kurt again and smiled.
Walking out into the night, Lindy wondered how she'd manage to hail a cab. Once again she was referring to what she'd seen in the movies and always had the characters in each one made it look easy. The only intimidating part was the speed with which each taxi whizzed by with.
In a stroke of luck, one of the yellow cars idled up to the sidewalk, the center light on its hood popping on in indication that it was about to be unoccupied. Lindy, her hands tucked into her UW sweatshirt pockets, walked toward the cabbie's passenger side window to ask for the ride.
She stopped abruptly when she saw who was exiting the back of the cab.
Kurt was stepping out into the sidewalk, wearing the same jeans from the MTV Unplugged performance, but now also donning a flannel and heavy coat. On his head was a trapper hat that obscured most of his face. Lindy wouldn't have been able to identity him if it weren't for the fact that she knew him so well, even when he was wearing his idea of a disguise.
