Not His Dream Girl

Finally

New York City was alive. Every building and every street has a personality of its own. With streets filled with cobblestones reminding me of the New York that stood years ago. While streets inhabited by art and artists emitted and encouraged freedom. The finance district was filled with busy people talking on their phones and walking at the speed of life. It was intimidating, exciting, and strange all at once.

Nothing compared to how the building looked on the inside. Restaurants, bars, pop-up shops, coffee shops, and more made up several little pockets of the city. You could go get sushi for lunch, Beignets as an afternoon snack, Indian for dinner, and gelato for dessert all within one block. As you attempt this feat, you will run into people from all over the place, Koreans, Indians, Polish people, and so much more. I was in love and wasn't sure I could go back to Pasadena after this culture shock.

On my second night here, Deepti was out for the singles event and I decided to attend a Broadway play, Aladdin.  The colors, acting, and engineering that went into the play amazed me beyond belief. Not to mention the overpriced drinks were weirdly worth the money.

Perfectly, as soon as my play ended, Deepti and her gang of doctors were free and made a plan to meet me at a bar a few blocks away. So I walked away from the crowd ejected from the theater, and walked towards a much quicker street...we'll quiet for New York.

The bar was called Family Room and as soon as I walked in, I knew why. Couches of different colors, designs, and sides were placed all over the open-plan room, with different side tables or coffee tables surrounding them. The menu was showcased on a small TV one might have had during the 80s, in place of either the coffee table or side table depending on the cluster of couches you sat at. It wasn't like anything I had seen before.

Deepti and her crew of four people, each of whom I had seen in various combinations throughout my two days here, were waiting for me at one of the couch clusters.

"Hey guys!" I greeted. They each nodded, smiled, and hello-ed back at me. I took the empty seat next to Deepti.

"Whatchu drinking cuz?" Matt, one of Deepti's friends asked, pointing at the menu. I started at it, the TV screen just showed food. Catching my confusion, he added pointing to the bottom, "You see that dial there?" I nodded. At the bottom of the TV, there were three circle dial labels, dinner, lunch, and drinks. "Click it, and the menu will change."

I pressed the drinks button and the TV scrolled to a different screen, now showing a list of cocktails, all credited to a family member. They had names like Grandma's Gin and Tonic, Mother's Mending Methods, papa's Pain Killer, and sister's soothing soda. So when the waitress came around, I decided to order a grandma's gin and tonic as it was the only cocktail I recognized.

"Good choice, though all the drinks here are very good!" Lindsay,  a nurse from Deepti's hospital, commented.

"Thanks! Love this place! What an odd concept for a bar though." I laughed, looking around.

"That's because no one in New York had enough space for a family room, so they can come here and pretend," Claudia, a German girl, who was introduced to me as Deepti's neighbor the first night, said. I laughed harder.

"How was the show?" Jeff, who I think was Matt's boyfriend, and the only other pediatric surgeon in the group, asked.

"Amazing! Never seen anything like it!" I cooed. "How was the singles event?" I turned to Deepti and Claudia to ask this question.

"Homophobic." Claudia chinned in, and Deepti tapped her on the leg. "No one there for me. Deepti got a few matches thought."

"Oh man, sorry Claudia. I am sure you'll find what you are looking for." I suggested. "But Deepti, look at you go! Are you going on dates with any of them?" I wiggled my eyebrows at her.