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The Authentic Eclectic
September in New York
Sometimes false starts can help heal a broken heart
“I’m Never Gonna Know You Now, But I’m Gonna Love You Anyhow” — “Waltz no.2”— Elliott Smith
The post-bar “after-party” in Queens was not a great idea. It was a Tuesday night. Too many pitchers of cheap beer in Hell’s Kitchen had made it briefly seem like a fantastic next stop.
It was especially dumb as she and her roommate lived just around the corner. But her roommate liked/was messing around with one of the guys she knew from work, and she didn’t want her going out there alone.
It had been around a month since the breakup. It was still sticky hot in NYC in September, and a false feeling of summer nights clung on.
Around the corner, a couple of months ago his car had been broken into outside her apartment when he came to visit. She knew then that was the beginning of the end. Everything had gone downhill fast when she moved back to the city.
The guy sitting beside her was initially quiet, but before long they got to slowly talking, about music, mostly. He was tall, with a bad haircut that made him a little less cute. She wasn’t drawn to him in that way, but he had kind eyes.
