Out of Hiding

The forks have been scrubbed with SOS pads. The scrubbing bubbles have worked their magic on the shower grime. The water has been emptied from under the dish drainer. The couch has been vacuumed, though sitting here now with my feet up eating cheese puffs, I think I'll have to redo that one.

Maria is coming.

My best friend from high school and my separated-at-birth sister and soulmate, Maria hasn't visited me in New York in three years, so I want to be ready. Sheets changed. Refrigerator stocked. Dirty laundry folded as though clean. Tiny toothpaste dots wiped off the bathroom mirror. Trash emptied. Recycleables recycled. Everything else Swiffered or Dustbusted.

Things have changed a lot in three years. True, she'll find me in the same tiny enclosure as last time, but now it is both my captor and my protector.

I can, I hope, make Maria comfortable in here, but how do I make her comfortable in the city I suddenly don't recognize? How do I show her the New York I love (which I do), and protect her from it at the same time? Lock her in my apartment, as I have locked myself?

I haven't created a full itinerary for her visit. I'm sure we'll find something to eat, someone to talk to, something to take photos of, and something to laugh about together. I just hope New York behaves itself, just for a couple of days...

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