I had great plans for today - Manhattan, MOMA, Grand Central Station - but I woke up tired, and it was raining, and I thought I'd take a day off. I sat on the couch all day, drinking cups of coffee, listening to Kiki work (she works from home) and puttering around on the internets.
What a nice way to spend a rainy Monday.
One of my plans I stuck to though: dinner at O'Barone.
Kiki and her son Ted are regulars at O'Barone on a Tuesday, so Nate was surprised to see them there tonight. I think Nate said he was from Chicago - he's been in New York for a couple of years and has a surfer dudeishness about him.
Nate is a sweet young man, and was very surprised to find that Kiki thought he was gay. He assured her he wasn't but also mused that maybe that's why he wasn't quite as successful with woman as he thought he ought to be. He is also the butt of jokes from teh kitchen staff. A couple of times during our meal we noticed he had things stuck to him - such as the label from a bacon packet or a twisted piece of grease-proof paper on a hook from his pocket. It seems that Nate has such an amazing ability to focus on the thing he is doing - like reading his book, for instance - he doesn't feel the kitchen help attaching weird stuff to him until someone in the restaurant brings it to his attention.
We stayed long past opening time, talking with Nate and drinking red wine. The short walk home to our warm beds, falling asleep as the rain pattered against the window.