In January of this year I decided, finally, to get shades or shutters for all my windows. That’s how I met John. He installed my blinds. Tonight we have a date. I haven’t seen John since our last date in late April. We have a very casual, pressure-free relationship. I think we both like it that way.
I am nervous about our date. Not at all about seeing John, but rather about the meal. We always go to a nice restaurant where the food is fabulous so I mentally have to prepare for what I will or will not eat. I had previously been strategic about picking the actual date. I didn’t want to taint the quality of the date by scheduling it on a Monday or Tuesday, too close to weigh-in Wednesday. So Thursday was perfect.
We decide during the day to go to The Strip House, one of NYC’s popular steak houses. My friend Shari (who knows so much about so many things) highly recommends it. I call her for ordering advice and she has three suggestions: 1. Don’t be tempted by all the great-sounding steaks. Order the strip steak. It’s what the restaurant is known for. 2. The french fries are amazing. Don’t order them. You’ll have to eat them all if you do. 3. Order the truffled creamed spinach. You’ve never eaten anything like it.
John arrives on time and looks great. I like the way he dresses. Jeans with always a nice button down shirt. I decide on a skirt and white blouse with slimming suede boots (that I later learn are good for no more than a 5-block walk, discovered during our after-dinner walk through Washington Square). So, here's me, 10.6 pounds lighter from when I started. I know that the flared shirt doesn't accent my new-found waist:
I don’t give John a chance to say anything about my weight loss. Within five minutes of getting in his car I ask him if I look thinner. He says I do, but then I think he is saying yes to be nice. But later John, unsolicited, does tell me again that I really do look thinner, and that he would have told me on his own had I not asked.
The restaurant is perfect. Buzzing with New York noise. Intimate. And crowded. We are seated immediately. With great will power, I am able to ignore the breadbasket, but do try a delicious cracker with pate that is offered. We order a glass of red wine each, and decide to split a shrimp cocktail for an appetizer. It’s perfect. Two giant shrimp beautifully presented on two separate plates, a little heap of cucumber strips, and cocktail sauce. For dinner, we follow Shari’s recommendation exactly and she doesn’t disappoint (she rarely does). The 16-ounce strip steak is maybe the best steak I have ever had. I leave only about 6 ounces for tonight. And the creamed spinach with truffles is hard to describe without having the skills of a food critic. So I’ll just say it was amazing. We each order another glass of red wine. We skip dessert and just have cappuccino.
After dinner we go for a short walk. That’s when I discover the walking-limitations of my boots. John drives me home and before we say goodnight, John says that when he sees me on our next date in February I should look even thinner. I should, but I hope he’s kidding.
No comments:
Post a Comment