It's Wednesday night.
I couldn't go anywhere with you today during lunch because my lab partners wanted to finish the lab report we were working on. I kept thinking to myself, "I hope she understands" while my group worked in the Engineering Terrace common room.
But that only meant I would make tomorrow even more special. The problem, though, was that I had no idea where to take you. Hudson Yards and Downtown Manhattan were too far for two hours time, and there was no way we could have spent a relaxed time at the Met in the time frame we were given.
I decided to consult with my friends from school and from Chicago, who were the only people who knew about us.
"Go to a hotel. Each of you get in a separate elevator. Without contacting each other try to meet on the same floor", Colette said. "Go to a used book store. Take a post it or something: one of you goes and hides it in a book cover while the other has to try and find it"
Huh?
"Silence the box 📳📴" said Ruben.
"Mourn the box 😭"Gary said.
How did I manage to ask the worst people.
I decided to do some research myself while Ruben and Gary continued to quote "King's Dead" by Kendrick Lamar. One thing I've always wanted to do was have a picnic in Central Park, though I never had anyone to picnic with. I started looking at areas around Central Park, wanting a place that had a view of Central Park's vast expanse juxtaposed by the city's skyscrapers, while not being too crowded. The Great Lawn, The Mall, and North Meadow were immediately out. The Great Hill and the Reservoir were possibilities. But then I saw Sheep Meadow: a quiet field in the southwest corner of the park full of flat rocks and grassy fields, right by 66th Street Station. It was perfect.
Maybe I was thinking too much about myself. I ended up texting you over Instagram DM's, asking for the one place you wanted to go to before the week ended.
"ok wait I have some ideas but WHERE IN THE CITY IS AT THE TOP OF UR LIST OF GOTTA GO PLACES", I asked.
"OK so the top thing I wanna do that I haven't got round to is to have a picnic!!! in Central Park!!! plS", you replied, in comical desperation.
Maybe I hadn't imagined that almost supernatural connection that day in class after all.
~
11:05AM. A little late.
Right after class, we headed off to your dorm to get some of the Malaysian snacks you brought from home. I thought that'd you would be bringing a few small packs of food, but when you walked out the doors of Hartley Building, I was surprised to see you carry a whole bag filled with various snacks, both big and small, sweet and savory. Hand in hand, we then walked over to the local Morton Williams, where we bought two cans of those 99 cent Arizona cans, the ones that I notoriously brought almost every day to the afternoon session.
We descended the 116th Street Station stairs and boarded the nearest 1 Train bound for South Ferry. From then on, I always put my arm around you while we rode the subway regardless of our destination. Those were some of my most cherished moments with you: that intimacy, the silence that spoke volumes, that pristine feeling of love as we leaned against each other.
The train stopped at 66th Street, and upon reaching ground level, we basked in the ultra-modern sights of Lincoln Center. The entrance into Sheep Meadow was also on 66th Street, though I took you down the wrong road, having to cross and retrace our path over a damp, grime-plastered underpass. But that was okay. "We're just taking the scenic route", I remarked ironically.
