They Stood

My sister and her very significant other came to New York this weekend.  As the temperature rose and heated the concrete slabs of the city and warmed the chilled bricks of Brooklyn, the volume of tourists and locals alike followed suit.  EVERYBODY was outside this weekend.  Our shoulders blazing and quickly reddening, the three of us gave the Big Apple a good how's-your-father.  

The two lovebirds stood in my kitchen, touching the designed metal ceilings and rummaging around for snacks.  They stood at the fence at the promenade, overlooking the East River for a Friday night sunset and jumping through the long rays of light as my camera clicked.  They stood shooting darts at the board at Angry Wades, laughing with Antonio, the stinky Italian who repeated the undeniable fact that "Family is everything!"  They stood 80 feet above the East River, on a stroll across the Brooklyn Bridge, dodging bicyclists and water sellers.  They stood at my desk at Scholastic, smiling at the colors and chatting with the large stuffed Clifford.  They stood on the skywalk above Ground Zero, and talked with a fire fighter who showed them pictures of that fated day.  They stood on the "packed" subway, watching the crazies that I have long ago gotten used to.  They stood in Columbus Circle, snapping upward shots of Trump Tower and saying "no thanks" to the blaze-eyed rickshaw drivers.  They stood in the middle of Central Park, among about one million others.  They stood in front of the Dakota, where we quietly mourned the loss of a legend and learned that Yoko Ono still resides there!  They stood on Pier 17, adjusting their ISO's just right for the perfect picture of bright bridge lights against black sea and sky.  They stood in the middle of Times Square, their eyes eating the lights and colors, their noses catching every odd smell.  They stood at the top of the Times Square Mariott, toasting to the Bright Lights and the Big City.  They stood with arms around each other on the cobblestone streets near the Brooklyn Flea, and soaked in their last rays of New York sun at the Empire State Park.  

Soon, I hope, sometime in the future, they will stand, together, in front of all of us, sliding rings onto fingers and tossing bouquets into my waiting hands...