What A Difference (Three) Days Makes

It's cold and snowing in the City, and it will continue late into the night until it turns to rain. But it's way too sunny for us to care.

My other half came in Thursday night, and after she had a brief drink with a couple of her friends, I made my way over to the midtown W for a revisit, and aside from being so thrilled at being in her presence again, it's like we never missed a beat. I hadn't seen her for too long and we both felt the distance, but after us being apart for too long, it was like we never were apart. And aside from being apart for four hours Friday morning, while I went to my office and she to her (new) office, we've been inseparable since -- a lot of laughter, smiles, stolen glances and stolen kisses. It's been bitterly cold in NYC but we could care less: being together has rejuvenated, recharged and reawakened us both in ways that I am happy to say exceeded our expectations.

It's funny; when you find someone who really gets you, and whom you get, and who gets "it," you find yourself satisfied in a way you can't really explain. I've always been a happy, upbeat person, but never have I felt more excited or positive about the future than I do in the present. No matter who or when or how, it's never been more comfortable, more enjoyable or more right than it does these days, and it doesn't feel finite or limited or on a schedule of any kind, which is another reason why I know I'm not kidding myself; when there's a ticking clock and when "best behavior" is something to check over one's shoulder, there's always a question as to whether it's real or imagined. With that not being an issue, I know where we're at is the right place, the right time, the right situation -- it's just...right.

Tonight we made our way to Jersey to spend some time with the familia, both local and out-of-town. I am smiling knowing it could not have gone any better. We spent the time, for the most part, together, but I never felt pressure or concern or hesitation: both my parents were very pleased and very impressed, and any worry or question about how this would go disappeared very soon after we arrived. As the Las Vegas ads suggest, what happens in the past, stays in the past, and that's how it should be -- and that's how it will be. And we both quietly thanked a friend who predicted this would go as perfectly as it did; we both knew this could have gone a lot differently than it did, and the fact that it didn't relieved us both and made it a lot easier to walk into my place tonight and just enjoy going to sleep, knowing tomorrow's white-out might kill our plans for the day, but will leave us smiling, enjoying each other and knowing our plans for the future took a big step forward to fruition.

The incidentals, if necessary: Thursday night we had a quiet dinner in in preparation for "the real world" on Friday morning, and then Friday afternoon, she wrapped at her office and came by and we three, including my sister, went to Brooklyn Diner for lunch. Then after a brief bit of catch-up, we closed up and hit the road, dropping my sister off at her place, got some stuff at my place, then headed back to the W, met up with her friends Matt & Jeremy and we four went to Pastis in the meat-packing district. Pastis is the sister restaurant to Balthazar, which pretty much guaranteed it would be crowded with a lot of people looking to be a part of the "scene" but waiting for awesome drinks and great food. We shared mussels, one of which turned out to be bad, and for dinner we had monkfish and steak frites and some great red. One of the better dinners we've had, together or apart, in quite some time.

We headed back uptown and made our way back to the W to get into bed and then, the next morning, we made our way downtown into Soho. A little walking around, a little shoe-shopping, a little brunch at Mercer Kitchen for what can be described simply as awesome eats. Tamarind, soy and horseradish remoullades with crab fritters: unholy in their goodness. Grey goose mandarin and tonic leaving me lightheaded and smiling. And the visit to the lobby of the Mercer Kitchen hotel, which adjoins the restaurant, was equally enthralling but cannot be detailed here, lest this go from PG to something else very quickly. Needless to say, we'll be going back again and again.

We made our way back to the W to watch Fall and, while she had seen it a few times prior, I really enjoyed it. Although it was a bit sad, it was a film set in NYC about improper, but absolute, love. Hard to call it a love story, it was more a life story about the things that are most important. Memorable and worthwhile, to say the least. Soon after it ended, we fell asleep but woke later, planning on hitting Hi Life for a party with friends uptown, but she had bad mussel fallout from Pastis and spent the better part of the night catering to a sensitive stomach. So we chilled out and just spent the night laughing as best we could through the experience, and woke up Sunday, headed over to Cinema for brunch with friends and then, post-quick dessert pick-up at Eli's, our trip to Jersey commenced.

All in all, a wonderful weekend -- spending time with my other half, chasing laughter around the City, fighting the cold by sharing body heat and smiles, seeing family and friends, and ducking in doorways to steal kisses and time, is the way life should be. It's nice when it's the right person, and nicer when there's no doubt it's the right person.

What's even nicer is knowing I never want it to end.