Page 1 of New Girl in the City
Chapter One
“Hey, I’m walkin’ here!”
The line was classic Hoffman. A work of cinematic glory and pop culture. Or, at least, it was when it wasn’t being yelled by me in earnest while dodging an asshole moped veering onto the sidewalk.
But that was New York for you.
Or at least, I thought it was? I couldn’t be sure, not when I was as green as the mountain town I had left to come here. I’d been here, what? Two months? Maybe two and a day. That was hardly any time at all to say I lived here. I still felt like I was passing through. I turned, surveying the city in all its morning glory. It was pretty damn good if you asked me. The soft pinks and yellows of a picturesque sunrise breaking through the earlier gray gloom of a spring shower was enough to soften the stone and steel of New York into something dreamier. Though even in its normal state, the city was magical. The spirit of possibility and energy particular to people in motion, constantly looking for their next move or inspiration had me feeling light-headed at times.
I turned clutching my coffee and remembered the halfhearted shrug and flippant smile my coworker had given my awestruck first week in the city. They had been in the city proper for going on a decade themselves and had only recently begun to refer themselves as a New Yorker. ”It's a rite of passage, I guess,” they had said, taking a drag of their cigarette and leaning back against the brick of the trendy bar we had meandered to on a shared happy hour. “Wait till you have your first year under your belt. Then you can feel settled in. But it’s not gonna be home for, oh, I dunno, five to seven years?”
It would feel good to call this city home, even if it was a long way off.
A horn honked announcing the arrival of a sleek black town car. I perked up at the sound and shifted my shoulder bag, making sure not to drop the second coffee I was carrying. It was for my driver, Walter. The man had been a godsend since I’d moved to New York for my promotion, for my big break. My time working PR in a boutique firm had been a dream, especially against the picturesque backdrop of the Colorado Rockies. It had been even better when my best friend, Aurora, had joined me.
What more did a girl need but her best friend and a job she enjoyed?
Turned out a lot more. There was always more, or could be more, when it came to a career. It was hard not to take the promotion offered, not when I was thirty-five and finally making ground in the career of my dreams. I hadn’t always known that I wanted to do PR, but there was something satisfying about managing information, creating a brand, a carefully crafted persona for a client, and seeing a project to completion.
Each new project and campaign was a new exercise in problem solving and creativity. Being able to do so in a place like New York City had been enough to tempt me to leave the mountains for a new adventure. New York City was that adventure, and Walter was a wonderful addition to my life here. He’d been indispensable since I’d arrived, making sure I knew the ins and outs of where I was going and always making me feel welcome no matter the early hour meeting or late-night cocktail.
He had insisted I call him when I ventured out. “It’s on the company dime, and I’m not doing much on those weekends. Give me the overtime, yeah?”
I’d used him sparingly, but it didn’t mean I wasn’t grateful for a friendly face after one of my disastrous blind dates in the city. Who knew trying to meet someone of substance was near impossible in a place with over eight million people?
I smiled wryly and opened the car door. “Hey Walter,” I greeted him, sliding into the backseat and leaning forward to hold out his coffee to him. “Two creams and a sugar.”
“Perfect as usual.” He took the cup of coffee and raised it in greeting.
“How was the weekend?”
“Uneventful. Quiet. Played some bridge, took a drive upstate.”
“What a wild life you lead, Walter.”
“I try.” He laughed and then pulled away from the curb easing us back into traffic. “Anyways, now that you mention it, my kids are still leaning on me to move upstate. It was nice to see them even if they kept it up.”
“They just miss you,” I told him, sipping from my coffee.
“All they want to do is boss me around, y’know?”
“So let them boss you. They love you. Bossing means love,” I reminded him, and he snorted but said nothing. He’d been talking about retiring lately. His kids had been happy with the idea, hell, I was happy with the idea. Driving in the city was stressful, hence why the company had dangled the perk in front of me to sweeten the job offer. Out of all the benefits the company offered, insurance, a free gym membership, exclusive travel discounts and brunch deals, my time with Walter behind the wheel was by far the perk I used and valued the most.
“Ah, I don’t know. I’ve got everything I need right here,” Walter said, blue eyes meeting mine in the rearview mirror. “Good coffee and a smart woman to talk with. How can I give up such a lifestyle? Not putting me out to pasture just yet.”
I laughed and sipped from my cup. “You’ve got me there but even still...you know that a sweet little retirement upstate surrounded by your adoring family wouldn’t be too bad a gig, Walter.”
“Trying to get rid of me?”
I gave a quick shake of my head, fingers tightening on the cup I held. “Never. I’d be lost without you.”
It was true. Walter had been, well, a rock for me. It wasn’t easy leaving Colorado, eager as I was to make a new life and further my career. It could be a lonely endeavor and Walter’s familiar presence, his steady banter and familiar smile at the start and end of my day, was comforting.
The drive to the office was surprisingly short and before I realized it was time for me to wave goodbye to Walter and step out to face the day. It was going to be a long one. I had clients and meetings booked back-to-back until quitting time, but a smile and a wave from Walter made it a little easier to face, so did a text from my best friend Aurora Solis. She was living her best life in Colorado; the small-town life was agreeing with her. I suspected that had a lot to do with a certain hot to trot lumberjack handyman/secret millionaire my girl spent most of her days wrapped up in.
That would put any red-blooded woman in a good mood. I, for one, was happy for her.
‘How’s the big city?’
