Friday

It was 7:45 AM, and like 99% of the people on this planet, she woke up this morning with a general feeling of bleh. Not quite icky, not quite blah. Just bleh. It clouded the rest of the day, from when she brushed her teeth, to her commute to work, to the entire workday.

The redeeming moment of this day arrived in an email from a certain male friend. He had forwarded her something about some nearby music event and asked her if she wanted to go during their lunch breaks. She of course said yes, and so after shooting a few emails back and forth, they decided to meet up at 11:55 AM and go to the event. Within the first five minutes of arriving, they realized it was pretty lame, and so they decided to just grab lunch. Lunch was pleasant and they chatted a bit. Then they went back to work at 1:10 PM.

She had planned on having an after work drink with this girl but the girl called at 2:05 PM to tell her she couldn’t make it. The after work drink was her only plan for this Friday night. She hung up the phone and turned back to her computer screen, realizing that her Friday night would be a menage a trois with her, her computer, and her work.

Then at 4:30 PM her phone rings. It’s the same certain male friend. Seeing his name light up on her phone momentarily startled her from her feeling of bleh.

She flipped open the phone. “Hi,” she said.

“Hi,” he said.

“How are you?”

“Good.”

“Good,” she said.

“Look, I’m looking for a present for someone. Do you have time after work to help me?”

“Sure,” she said.

“Okay cool, I really appreciate it.”

“No problem. When and where do you want to meet up?”

“How about 5, on the corner of 53rd and Fifth?”

“Sure,” she said. “See you then.”

“See ya.”

They hung up. Thirty minutes. Thirty more minutes until this strung up version of bleh lapsed and she could meet her certain male friend.

At 5:00 PM, she sees him on the corner, standing patiently with his hands in his pockets. She walks over to him and smiles. “Hi,” she said.

“Hi,” he said back.

The two friends went shopping on Fifth Avenue. They went in and out of stores, perused items, talked to store clerks, admired certain things and disregarded others. She peppered him with advice which he gladly accepted. Finally he settled on the thing he needed. The item was purchased, boxed and wrapped.

It was about 7:00 PM and they walked towards the train.

“Thanks so much for helping me with this,” he said smiling.

“Sure, no problem.”

“I owe you a lunch,” he said to her.

“Yeah, you do,” she smiled.

They stood outside the subway entrance. “Have a good weekend,” he said.

“You too. Bye.”

He waved to her and walked away.

There really was no point to this story, except to say that her interaction with this certain male friend was the highlight of her day. That, and the fact that he was married and the something he was buying was a gift for his wife.