Part Four: Brunching and Hanging with the Ex

Tom was still a bit out of it when I called him Saturday morning, so I suggested he have some breakfast and I would meet him in Brooklyn. Then we could go for brunch. We ended up going to Trout (formerly known as Gravy) for biscuits and gravy with Bloody Marys and mimosas. Tom actually ate eggs, which he NEVER does.

I teased Tom that he didn’t call me early. He laughed, “Did I say I would?” He didn’t remember saying anything of the kind. “Yes," I replied, "You said you woke up yesterday at 5, and you might call me at five today.” He shook his head and admitted he was not up at 5 yesterday. “You lied?” I asked, incredulous. “Oh, no,” Tom replied, “I’m sure I believed it at the time.” I about fell over laughing.

We decided to walk off our ginormous brunch. Besides, the weather was glorious--sunny and warm. We ran into some of Tom’s friends, who I’ve met several times. One of them looked VERY curious. After we parted ways, I told him, “You know she’s going to grill you about us the next time you see her, right?” “Oh, I know,” he replied. (For the record, still not together, because Tom doesn’t do long-distance: “When you lived in Harlem, that was already long-distance. That was pushing it.” Heh. Well, it did take me an hour and a half to get to his place by subway.)

We went back to his apartment to go to the bathroom, apply sunscreen and have some water. Then we decided to visit the historic Greenwood Cemetery just a few blocks away. It was built in the early 1800s, a time when people were fascinated with death. As a result, their graves are incredibly elaborate, and some of them are emotionally moving works of sculpture.

It was just nice to be out in the sun, walking around. I suggested that Tom might start jogging there, as many people do. He replied that it would seem a bit like bragging. “I’m so alive. See me running as you lay there, dead!” Hee. I really don't think they would mind.

That night, I was tired, so I bought some chocolate, went back to Jenny’s apartment and watched Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade while petting Zach and Greg. I was so tired, in fact, that I went to sleep with just ten minutes left in the movie. I realized that I had watched the movie so many times with J.B. as a kid (it was his favorite for a while) that I had the ending memorized, word-for-word. I turned of the TV, watched the ending quickly in my head and went to sleep.

Sunday I was psyched to meet up with Laura and Carolina for brunch. Unfortunately, Carolina had a family emergency. Noooo! I miss you, Carolina. Laura and I had brunch anyway. Brunch came with mimosas or screwdrivers. The mimosas I had the day before were rather strong, and I wanted the taste of OJ, so I went with the screwdriver. Big mistake! It was practically clear. It was like orange-flavored vodka. The waiter laughed when I drank half and asked for more juice.

After breakfast, Laura and I wandered the street fair outside, which stretched block after block. It was there that I finally found the perfect hostess gift for Jenny: a pair of green earrings that will look great with her red hair, and some pearly discs painted with cherries. (Jenny flipped over them when I gave them to her that night.)

Then I went back to Brooklyn, where Tom made me linguine with clam sauce for supper. Because of the long train ride, by the time I made it back to Jenny’s apartment it was late and she was sleeping, so I was sneaking around in the dark. When I first came to New York, I couldn’t wait for Iowa, but suddenly I realized I didn’t quite want to leave.