Alignment

Two scenes.

It’s a Wednesday evening in FiDi.

We’re fresh out of a dive bar, and decide to stop at a bookstore.

Princess and I enter the store and split.

I’m down the aisle considering a small-ish title on the history of AI when she calls out to me.

Look! Pemi’s book!

The cashier looks up and smiles. “She’s upstairs.”

Her books are curated upstairs, I think.

He calls out again, “She’s upstairs, signing her books.”

As it turns out, Pemi was indeed upstairs signing her new book, One Leg on Earth. Unimaginable serendipity. Especially for a city like New York.

Fade to black.

Scene two.

We’re in Bushwick with Emy, at the last bar of the night.

The crowd feels very trendy. Few Blacks.

I’ve just picked up our order of drinks, only to learn that it’s a cash-only establishment.

Princess has a $5 note.

Neither of us has any cards on us, and the bill is $30.

We don’t want to ask anyone.

Emy and I decide to try her credit card.

Usually doesn’t work but we go still.

On the first try, the card fails, but a $20 note glides out of the machine.

It never works again - and in fact didn’t work the first time.

But I have $25 now, so I offer it to the bar.

“It’s what we have.”

In moments like this, I feel my life is perfectly aligned.