Gramercy confessions

It's one of those light rains that feels like the first day of fall, Chloe and I at the Rose Bar on Lexington after dark but before midnight. "Let's go out tonight" she says over dinner earlier, mother is home and secretly wishing we'd stay in with her. The only thing she hates more than being alone is admitting it, she'd never actually ask us to stay.

With a Rose Martini in front of her, Chloe is constantly looking over her shoulder, checking her phone for missed calls. "I sometimes envy you", she says, "you don't have to worry about any of this". There's no need to answer, I remember telling her about the guilt and I thought she would judge me but she didn't. "I've never talked to anyone about this" she says, "but I will, with you. I just need to see him first".

We order another round of drinks, then walk north through the damp, the Chrysler Building like a candle in the distance. I know how much my father loved it and the memory of it makes me smile.