Page 23 of Status Undefined
“Stop it.”
“Stop what?”
“Evading my questions.”
“You’re evading my present.”
“Be rational. You have to think about the future sometimes.”
“There’s nothing rational about thinking about a future without you. Maybe there’ll be another pandemic and I’ll get stuck here with you. What’s so rational about being sad? It’ll happen eventually, one way or the other, so why think about it?”
“I can’t stop myself from worrying about the future.”
“Maybe you should come with me. We can be nomadic together. Anywhere you like except New York City.”
“Scared of New York?” I teased.
“Besides being the most expensive city in the world, it’s not a good place for nomads. And going back to the place you were born and raised doesn’t do it. You don’t get wowed at every turn and the locals’ stories don’t interest you. But you have a point. I am scared. Going there, and staying for any length of time, would probably be the end of the nomadic chapter of my life. It was so hard to get away; I don’t know if I’d be able to do it again.”
“Ok. I get it. But tell me about New York. I’ve always dreamed about going there.”
“The New York you’d like to visit is crazy overcrowded, with homeless people everywhere. You can’t stop in the street because you’ll get trampled. The stench of sewage and the noise from construction are inescapable. And the winters are freezing beyond description.”
“But there must be places that you like.”
“Yeah. There are places in New York where you can escape the things I’ve just described. Central Park is the best, especially in spots like Strawberry Fields where you can’t hear the noise of the traffic.”
“Strawberry Fields?”
“Yes. The memorial for John Lennon. Sometimes there are musicians or performances there and it’s nice to sit and take a break from city life.”
I sent myself a WhatsApp.
“I wrote it down.”
“What?”
“I’ll get there eventually, so I want to remember where to go.”
“The world is so vast. What’s so attractive about New York?”
“It’s a meaningful place for you, which means it will be meaningful for me. I probably won’t get to all the beautiful places you do, but maybe I can at least get to the meaningful ones.”
“Now you’re the one who sounds like a Chinese sage.”
“I thought Americans don’t like the Chinese.”
“We don’t. So stop sounding like one and start sounding like an American idiot.”
“There are more than enough of you already. No need for another one.”
“You are so phobic about Americans, you know.”
“Hey! I have one American friend. I’m not anti-American.”
“Let me get this straight. You’re using me to prove that you’re not anti-American?”
“Yes. Why else would I hang out with you?”
