On February 23, 1995, Husband and I went on our first date. A few days prior, I asked him if he would join me for a movie. We decided on Pulp Fiction at the East Village Cinemas. (Very romantic, no?) I was not sure if Husband knew that I intended this to be a date, but when we arrived at the theater, he immediately paid for both tickets. Still, I thought maybe he was just being generous to a friend.
After the film, I invited him to a cafe - my treat this time. We headed over to Cafe Borga, in the West Village, for the worst hot chocolate either of us have ever, to this day 13 years later, consumed. The mint hot chocolates we ordered must have been made with Swiss Miss and Halls. That stuff was mentholated. Incidentally, the cafe went out of business some time in the last 13 years.
After our nasty snack, Husband walked me back to my dorm. Although a chilly drizzle began to fall, we stood on the corner talking for another hour or more. Cabs kept stopping and waiting for us to get in, then driving off in a huff, not that we flagged one down. I guess they assumed that no one would be dumb enough to stand outside in the cold rain. Finally, around 4 am, Husband gave me a hug, and we went our separate ways for the weekend.
Last night, Husband and I sort of re-created our first date. We went to see a violent but acclaimed film (No Country for Old Men) at a small independent theater (Lincoln Cinemas) near where we live. Afterward, we went to Cafe La Fortuna, a fabulous little cafe that John Lennon and Yoko Ono frequented back in the day, and shared a plate of fancy cookies while drinking steamed skim milk with Orzata (almond syrup). We've loved Cafe la Fortuna since we moved to the Upper West Side in 1997. (Very, very sadly, after 31 years in business, Cafe la Fortuna is closing. It was founded by a couple in 1976, after the wife died a month ago, the husband decided it was too painful to continue without her.) Finally, around 11:30 pm, Husband and I gave Cafe la Fortuna a psychic hug, and the two of us went home together for the weekend and hopefully the rest of our lives.
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That's very sweet.
ReplyDeleteawww, like i'm not already crying at the drop of a hat.
ReplyDeleteidbing
love that word verification!
A tear came to my eye. Seriously. Can you tell your J to give my J some romance lessons?
ReplyDeleteI think you might have missed the part about us seeing movies where people get their heads blown off...
ReplyDeleteawww.... what a sweet story. i remember coming out of Rubin Dining Hall and seeing husband give you a kiss sometime in the spring of 2006(i had not met either of you yet). The reason I remember this is because right after I saw it, I saw your elevator ad for a roommate. I took your number down and got this feeling that you were the one in the ad. I am not sure why. Well, a day later we officially met(I am intentionally leaving out Kara) and I was surprised to be right about that. Funny how things work. I am happy to count you both as friends. So, cheers to the rest of your lives. Jaiden and I just tried the milkyway hot chocolate at Dunkin Donuts and that shit sucked as well. That is our worst cup of hot chocolate, so far. Also, after the first time I actually hung out with you, I told Brenda, I met my match. She said it was either the start of a horrible disaster or a wonderful friendship. How could evil cohorts not work out beautifully? And it has!
ReplyDeleteLuv ya, Dianne
I don't think I knew that story about our special connection. How awesome. We should celebrate the anniversary of our friendship - I think it will be 12 years this spring. Wow.
ReplyDeleteThe first time Kara met Husband, she told him, "If you hurt Suzanne, I'll cut your balls off with a rusty razor." (This is even funnier if you've ever heard my former friend and roommate's voice, but still damn funny.) Ah, those we the days, I tell you.
Well, I would say we should recreate the PlayGirl door, but at my house I doubt it would offend too many people. So let's do yours because your off the lobby and the potential to offend is much greater!!!!!!!!!!!! I will start cutting images out. Now, we also have Jaiden to help. She cuts really well. Oh my God, I can just picture the state taking custody of her now.
ReplyDeleteBy the way, I have been sick for 3 weeks now-the flu, the flu again and a bad cold! So, that is why I have been quiet. I am hoping for adult chicken pox this week. A girl can hope!
Dianne
Ah, I got a little tear in my eye too. I hear so much bitching about marriages that it is good to read a nice story.
ReplyDeleteI'm blaming it on the hormones, but I, too, teared up. That was really sweet, Suzanne.
ReplyDeletecongrats on 13 years! many more to come...
ReplyDeletei'm sad about la fortuna. nice cafe, and what a sad reason to close it.
as for the hot chocolate, we discovered much later that i had been at that same cafe around the same time and had the mint hot chocolate. i can verify that it was the most god-awful drink i've ever had.
That last phrase made my eyeballs swim.
ReplyDeletesweet sweet, yeah yeah...but...what did you think about No Country for Old Men? K and I went to see it last weekend...
ReplyDeleteI thought I was going to hate "No Country." I squirmed for the first 15 minutes, not sure how I would make it through the next 90 minutes. However, I finally got into its rhythm, and I wound up liking it a lot. I didn't think it was the greatest movie ever, but very interesting.
ReplyDeleteAs for the rest of you teary-eyed readers, I am glad that you like CUSS sweet and sour. :)
Awwww, that was an adorable story.
ReplyDeleteCripes! I forgot this was when all of you got together. By all of you, I mean 3 of my favorite (well, one is a former favorite but that's another story) couples with whom to be a third wheel: you and Justin, Michele and Dave and Rebecca and Lee. BTW, you and Justin are totally the frontrunners. Tell us about how Justin was going to recreate your first date for your engagement but was worried that you would get all cranky because of the weather while he was leading you to locations unknown.
ReplyDeleteDianne, are you on crack? That Milky Way hot chocolate is Heaven in a cup. It could only be made better if it were accompanied by Heaven on a stick (fried Twinkies at the NC State Fair). Notice I have no problem with Jaiden cutting out penises. It is merely your assessment of the hot chocolate that disturbs me:)
Steph
Matt & I celebrated the twelfth anniversary of our first date over the weekend (http://chezartz.com/?p=193). Funny coincidence--we're a year to the day behind you two.
ReplyDeleteAnd how heartbreaking about your cafe. It's oddly bittersweet when you're in a relationship that endures beyond some of the signposts that helped mark the way...
Happy Anniversary!
Julie