The jewelry store was quite busy for the middle of the day. But in retrospect, everything is busy at every time of day in Manhattan. I scanned the store for Jen, my best friend. When I found her, I called her over. "Come look at this," I held up a gold necklace with a small diamond. Jen has been my best friend of some 25 years, and was getting married in a few weeks to her boyfriend Bobby.
"Whatcha lookin at?" Her long, blond curls bounced as she walked, her green eyes bright and curious. When she saw the necklace, she winced at me, "Yeeeeaahh," she began disappointedly, "but Bobby's mom already gave me a necklace to wear."
She can be such an idiot! I already knew that. Rolling my eyes, I kicked her lightly in the shin. "For me, jackass!"
"Ow! What the...!!!" People were looking over at us, and the jeweler bit her lip smiling as Jen looked at me in anger.
Taking a deep sigh, I slowly blinked my eyes once and said, "If you're done being a drama queen, I'm asking you that since it's your wedding, I'd like to know would this be ok for me to wear?"
"Of course, sweetheart! You're my maid of honor, the only thing I'm asking you to wear is the gown!" Walking away smiling, she said quietly, but loud enough for me to hear..."I wouldn't want to get kicked in the shin again."
******
We went to lunch at Cartwright's Bar and Grill. High ceilings, with a New York businessman-type crowd, it was pretty busy. And being that Jen was a stunning woman, she was getting a lot of attention from men. They'd elbow one another, nod her way, and smile. Some would even be so brazen and wink.
She was so faithful to Bobby, she never gave it a second thought, but I felt like I was on display. "Every.single.time Jen! Do they do this when Bobby's with you?"
Looking up from her menu, she said, "Hmm? Do what?"
I facepalmed. "Never mind." Our waiter came, yet another admirer, and took our order. Jen watched him leave, and I knew what was coming.
"No!" I grit through my teeth. For the last 6 months Jen had been trying to get me to go out on a date. I must have been speaking Japanese, because she doesn't understand that I'm not ready to, or maybe I just don't want to go out with anyone.
Leaning forward, hesitant, she mumbled, "Are you going to die an old maid?"
Thank God the waiter showed. With short blond hair and light brown eyes, the tall 20ish guy was kinda cute, but still...no. It would feel like I was cheating on Steve, and why force myself to go on a date if I feel that way. And I'm not getting back in this conversation when the waiter leaves.
"So Jen, 2 weeks. Ready for marriage?"
Waving her hand in front of her, she smirked, "Hell, we've been living together for a year. It's just a piece of paper now."
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I moved the lettuce around in my salad, then looked up. "Hey, did I tell you that someone rented the apartment across the hall?"
Her eyebrows were raised. "No. Did you meet them yet?" Translation: Is it just one guy? Is he hot? Single? Desperate?
I looked from left to right, leaned in and cupped one hand on the side of my mouth. She took a bite of her salad and I whispered for her to lean in.
She was thoroughly confused, but leaned in and I whispered, "It's Tom Hiddleston." Phloo! A grape tomato flew out of her mouth and hit me in the face.
