and Give Me Some Time

Let's be done early, she says, and you can't believe the delight in cramming in with regular rush hour train riders. There's an ebb and flow to the station at Times' Square that soothes your soul as you ride the current; there's a certain hum to New York at its maddest that calms you to the core. You feel it, and know instantly you cannot breathe without it.

The host is all smiles as you arrive at the tiny restaurant; you've squeezed in many times before, you know it is worth the wait. There is a sparkle in your eye, you know he sees it, and the energy pulsates through your drinks, your laughter at the wooden bar, the way you look people in the eyes. It is not your own doing: New York breathes through you and makes every decision easy. You know he may ask a future of you one day, but it will not be yet. It will not be now.

Now, you are invincible.

Now, you are free.