It Is You She Is Holding

This past weekend I made my first of surely many return trips to New York City. On Friday afternoon I went for a long walk with cycling girlfriend A, and it felt so nice to be able to talk with her in person instead of on our marathon phone sessions. I woke up at the crack of dawn on Saturday to go for a run in Central Park while I watched QZ’s bike race. Just past 72nd street on the west side I caught up to SJ, another cycling girlfriend who was also running and cheering on her husband in the bike race. It’s amazing to have lived in a city as big as the Big Apple and still be able to bump into a dear friend at 6am in the park.

That afternoon, QZ and I drove out to the Hamptons with P&S, a pair of wildly entertaining Australian lawyers, for a weekend of sun, a bike ride out to the Montauk Lighthouse, a very posh beach party, a 3am dip in the ocean, and a lot of laughs. A diehard Jersey Shore loyalist, I never expected to love the Hamptons so much, but with clean beaches, delicious sandwiches and fun company, what’s not to love?

Back in Manhattan on Sunday evening, I tagged along for QZ’s skeeball league game in the East Village (yes, competitive skeeball), then we went out for sushi with G&MH. I miss having so many terrific restaurants just a short walk away – here in College Park, the closest thing to fine dining seems to be the Ikea food court.

On Monday while QZ was at work I went for a ride in Central Park then met up with MQ for some lunch, girlie gossip and errands around the city. She’s a new friend, really one of QZ’s good friends that I’m getting to know better whose freelance work schedule let her roam around all afternoon with me. It’s unfair that even now I’m developing friendships with wonderful people in New York and I don’t even get to live there!

I thought leaving was difficult two months ago; this time around was infinitely harder. I’ve tried to be tough about the distance and how much I miss my life there, but last night I couldn’t fight the hot tears that streamed down my face onto QZ’s chest. Here I believed that I left the Midtown Holding Pattern – I even brainstormed new blog names! – but my heart has been there with him all along.