Under the Influence….
At Central Park Zoo, they see a squirrel feasting on madeleines as fed to him by a French couple who are cooing to him in French.
UnderWoman almost takes the Proustian path, but instead exclaims:
“My God! Is it possible that even animals get Type 2 Diabetes in a city with food this plentiful and sumptuous?”
They laugh.
“I’ll look into it tomorrow,” says Brian….”If I remember.”
They fall silent. Neither breathes for a moment.
When they breathe again, their breaths form intersecting arcs of steam and ice.
“The day we met,” says UnderWoman, “I was listening to Winter, by Tori Amos.” She hands Brian her iPod, and they share the earbuds. At appropriate points, UnderWoman sings the chorus — that of a father to his daughter:
“When you gonna make up your mind; when you gonna love you as much as I do?”
They say nothing, walk on….