21- A Trip to Tarrytown

The wedding day is traditionally one of the biggest days in a woman’s life, and today was no different. In Tarrytown, the caterers were dicing the tiniest ingredients, the DJ was testing the sound system in the Dance Hall, the bridesmaids were making sure the flowers were fresh, and the groom was pacing nervously inside his hotel room, while his best man assured him this was the best decision of his life. And inside a Manhattan bedroom, the woman of the day was slipping on her new wedding day dress. Only it wasn’t the bride in front of this mirror; it was Nicky. With all of the attention and anxiety given to this ceremony, Nicky treated this wedding like it was her own.

Alex and Nicky had agreed to meet at the main clock inside Grand Central Station at 2pm. From there, they would take a train together to Tarrytown, Westchester where the wedding was being held.

Alex arrived at Grand Central Station at 1:50pm. He was wearing his new Armani suit, and with his dark hair slicked back and clean-shaven face, he caught women looking at him. Teenage girls and older women smiled as they passed him, and he repaid their glances with a flirtatious smile. At 2:21, Nicky came running down the stairs in high heels. Alex was leaning against the information booth, reading the New York Times, when she approached.

“I’m sorry I’m late,” Nicky said. “I couldn’t find anything to wear.”

“Don’t worry, I already bought the train tickets,” Alex said. “Wait, you look gorgeous. I need to get a picture of this.”

“I can’t believe you brought a camera,” she said, fluffing out her hair.

“It’s a wedding. You have to bring a camera. Don’t tell me you didn’t bring one.”

“Oh believe me, I don’t want to remember this wedding,” Nicky said.

Alex took Nicky’s picture, and the two were off for the train.

There was plenty of room inside the cabin, so Nicky and Alex both put a seat between them. Nicky pulled out several magazines, New Yorker, Time, Newsweek and Glamour, and put them on the seat between her and Alex. Alex grabbed the Time magazine. Nicky grabbed the New Yorker.

About 20 minutes into their train ride, Alex put down his Time magazine and looked out his window.

“So how did it go with that guy?” Alex asked.

“Which guy?”

Nicky kept reading.

“The guy you went on the date with.”

Nicky put down her magazine and sighed.

“Let’s just say he’s exactly like every other guy I’ve gone out with, only this time I discovered it on the first date,” Nicky said.

“You mean on the first night of drinks,” Alex said, laughing.

Nicky turned the page on her magazine, ignoring his comment.

“Well it’s not over yet,” he said.

Nicky put down her magazine and looked at Alex.

“What do you mean it’s not over yet?”

“You ordered dinner right?”

“Yes.”

“He’ll call back. I guarantee it,” Alex picked up his Time magazine and started reading. Nicky grabbed it from his hands and put the magazine on the seat. She leaned into Alex.

“Well I don’t want to go out with him again.”

“And that’s why he will ask you out again,” Alex said.

Nicky turned her body towards Alex and put one foot under her leg on the seat. She wasn’t wearing shoes.

“So when do you think he’ll call me back?” Nicky asked.

“You guys met up on Monday?”

“Yes.”

“And I’m assuming the conversation went smoothly?”

“It did,” Nicky said.

“Let me do the math,” Alex said. “He emailed you on Wednesday and said he had a good time?”

“He emailed me on Tuesday,” Nicky boasted.

“Oh, a day ahead of schedule. He probably already knows you’re a woman who needs to be in control, so I think he’ll give you some extra space. I say he calls you on Saturday.”

“I don’t get you guys,” Nicky turned around and faced the seat in front of her. She picked up the magazine.

“Then we’re even. We don’t get you girls.”

Nicky turned towards Alex again. She put her legs back in the same position, comfortably on the chair, and set the magazine on the chair.

“Why haven’t you been in a serious relationship?” Nicky asked. “You’re really a good guy.”

Alex looked at the pearl necklace around Nicky’s neck.

“I guess I haven’t met the right girl yet,” he said.

“But you’re a cute boy. You have a great job, you’re funny, charming, you respect women.”

Alex smiled.

“C’mawn, you know that,” Nicky said. “Don’t be coy with me.”

“I guess I’m waiting for a woman I can’t live without, rather than accepting a woman I can live with. I’ll follow that bliss when it happens.”

Nicky looked at her polished nails and talked to them.

“But what if it doesn’t happen?”

“You know what’s worse?”

“What?”

“If the moment does arrive and you’re already committed,” he said.

Nicky put her hands on her lap, and looked into Alex’s eyes. She didn’t blink or look away, and neither did he.

“But isn’t it our job to pursue that bliss? Don’t you think we need to try and find love on our own?” Nicky asked. “We can’t just wait for love to happen. We need to go after it like life and our careers. Don’t you think?”

“I don’t know, Nick. I’m not a sage, but I do believe there are wrong ways, and several right ways to pursue love.”

“And what do you think are the wrong ways?”

“You can’t force it. You need to let it happen. You might need to go out of your way to meet people, you know, do your part. But once you meet that person, you can’t force a feeling inside. If it doesn’t feel right, it probably isn’t.”

“And what are the right ways?” Nicky asked.

“You have to be honest with yourself and that person,” Alex said. “You can’t ever lie about who you are because sooner or later, your true personality will come out. If you’re honest, they’ll accept you for who you are, and not what they think you are.”

Nicky smiled at Alex and put her hand on the back of his hand. She had touched him there plenty of times before, but this time, Alex squeezed her hand.