Partial Views: A Memoir in 365 Parts, #4. Very Close Call

tinalear
tinalear
Jul 23, 2017 · 2 min read

To quote Stephen King’s memoir On Writing, “…don’t look for a through-line. There are no lines. There are only snapshots, most out of focus.” This is a memoir in 365 parts. They’re not necessarily chronological. Come along for the ride.

Harry and I are at the Metropolitan Museum to hobnob with some bigshots. He runs his operation so close to the edge that most of our eighteen-year marriage was spent thinking we were declaring bankruptcy in the thirty days. Schmoozing is my least favorite thing to do, but I’ve gotten fairly good at it, so it’s not all bad. The babies are in Italy with our housekeeper, the mother of my heart, Angela. All I want is to be back home, but I have a job to do. We need to sell an important sculpture of Harry’s this month, or this time, for real, we’re closing our doors.

I am dressed to the nines in black, open-toed, silk high heels, and a cocktail dress that’s serious in all the right places. Underneath the make up and the laughing and the smooth segues, I am bored to death and I have to pee. People are starting to arrive, but there’s still time. The ladies room is all the way downstairs and a small city block to the left. I go.

On my way down the escalator, my eyes lock with an anonymous tourist coming up. He’s better dressed than most, lips to die for, curly salt and pepper hair —something about how he carries himself stops me dead. We stand still, gliding toward each other, then away. We don’t break eye contact. It is a combustible Yes. Eight seconds tops. I didn’t want to crane my neck, so I let go first, deliciously shaken.

That makes the evening worthwhile.

And then the evening got really tricky. Turns out Escalator Guy was one of the main players we were there to meet.

tinalear

Written by

tinalear

Writer. Yoga teacher. Musician. Buddhist. Quilter. Animal lover. Visible grownup. Hidden child. Secret dancer when all alone. Makes good bread.

Welcome to a place where words matter. On Medium, smart voices and original ideas take center stage - with no ads in sight. Watch
Follow all the topics you care about, and we’ll deliver the best stories for you to your homepage and inbox. Explore
Get unlimited access to the best stories on Medium — and support writers while you’re at it. Just $5/month. Upgrade