“Mason?”
Standing and walking toward her with a confident gait, he says, “Tess.”
“What are you doing here? Let’s go upstairs.”
Dropping to one knee and reaching for her hand, Mason takes a deep breath and pulls her closer. “Thessaly Sinclair, would you do me the honor of being my wife?”
Thessaly shifts her weight and furrows her brows. “What?”
Mason removes a small, turquoise box from his pocket and pries it open. He pinches the large diamond between his fingers and lifts the ring from the box. “Tess, will you marry me?” Without an answer, Mason attempts to slide the ring on her finger.
Pulling her hand away and frowning, Thessaly replies, “Mason, I can’t marry you.”
Surprised and slightly annoyed, Mason stands from the floor and glares at Thessaly. “Why not? It’s what you’ve wanted for years,” he accuses.
Shrinking in embarrassment, Thessaly whispers, “I did. I wanted to marry you.”
“Then what changed?”
“I changed.”
Running his discerning eyes over her clothing and wet hair, Mason sighs disapprovingly. “I guess you did.” He returns the ring to the box and snaps it shut. Placing the box back in his pocket and gently thumbing her cheek, Mason adds, “Take care, Tess.”
As he walks away, Thessaly calls after him. “Mason?”
Hopeful, he answers, “Yes?”
“Thank you.”
“For what?”
Passively, she replies, “New York.”
With a tiny smile, Mason exhales in defeat before turning to leave the building. Once outside, he puffs his chest and lifts his chin, unaffected by Thessaly’s refusal and determined to find a proper replacement.
Standing on the other side of the glass door, Thessaly watches as Mason turns his head to the left, and then to the right. But before he chooses a direction, Mason ducks his head and shudders his shoulders. Slapping his neck and swatting the air with his elbow, he bends his knees and growls.
Perplexed, Thessaly moves closer to the door to investigate. As she runs her eyes over the back of Mason’s head, a honeybee hovers in front of her face and then flies away. “A bee,” she warns through the door.
Unable to hear her through the thick glass, Mason shoves his hands in his pockets, and strolls toward the northeast corner.
“That was weird,” Thessaly whispers under her breath.
Waiting until Mason is out of sight, she opens the door and starts walking in the direction of the menacing bee. Mason never really liked bees – always complaining that they were aggressive insects that ruined the summer. But Thessaly loves bees, so she follows the invisible trail along Pearl Street in effort to prove her hunch.
Merging onto Water Street, she’s met with a crowd of pedestrians congregating outside a restaurant. Several people whip out their phones and selfie sticks to take pictures, but no one is speaking. In fact, the atmosphere is hauntingly quiet – allowing the low buzz to penetrate through the thick, July humidity.
Excited that she gets to watch the drama unfold, Thessaly squeezes between two men and removes her phone. Taking a picture of nature’s purest form of assimilation, she then sends a text to Levi.
Tess: A swarm descended on a mailbox!
Levi: Where?
Tess: A restaurant on Water
Thessaly glances at the canopy of the restaurant in search of an address and says, “Holy shit!” Her loud exclamation gets the crowd talking as she cackles to herself. She’s walked along Water Street thousands of times, but she’s never noticed the tangerine lettering printed on the gray canopy.
Levi: Which restaurant?
Tess: Wildflower
She sends the text and then backs away from the crowd.
Levi: I’ll be right there.
As Thessaly sends a photo to Meg, a beautiful woman, elegant and poised, taps her arm and smiles.
“What’s with the crowd?” she asks, her voice fluid and soft.
“Oh, there’s a bee swarm covering that mailbox.” Thessaly points with her elbow.
Elevating herself on her tiptoes, the woman peers over the shoulders of the crowd to catch a glimpse of the imprisoned mailbox. Her eyes expand and her mouth parts as she stretches her neck from left to right. “Wow, that’s frightening!” she exclaims.
“It’s fascinating,” Thessaly replies.
“It looks like the mailbox is moving – how many bees are there?”
Glancing at the basketball-size swarm, Thessaly guesses, “Maybe twenty thousand?”
The woman lowers her heels and says, “Just when I thought Downtown couldn’t get more crowded.” Adjusting the belt of her linen jumper, she adds, “Have a nice day.”
Uploading the photo to Instagram, Thessaly replies, “You, too.”
Nodding, the woman squeezes between the cluster of onlookers and continues along the crowded sidewalk. A few blocks away, she approaches a sidewalk patio, framed with galvanized steel flower boxes, and sprinkled with hot-pink patio umbrellas. She removes her Chanel sunglasses and checks her phone, quickly confirming the time and location of her date. Taking a deep breath and ignoring the bridal shower party gushing over presents at the corner table, she strides toward the hostess podium with a defiant smile – because for this former jilted bride, the romantic idea of love is only as real as the story she creates.
“Hello,” the hostess greets.
“Hi. I’m meeting someone for lunch.”
“Your name?”
Clearing her throat and wetting her lips, she replies, “Julia Pierce.”
“Yes, right this way, please.” The hostess leads Julia to a small table inside the empty, air-conditioned restaurant. Standing behind a seated gentleman wearing a pastel dress shirt with the scent of plum blossom aftershave, she taps his shoulder and says, “Sir, your date is here.”
Standing from the table and smiling cockily, he pulls out a chair for Julia and waits for her to sit. “Julia, you’re absolutely stunning.”
Scooting into the table and placing a napkin in her lap, she replies, “That’s really sweet, Paul.”
“Should we order drinks first?” he asks.
Shivering under the air vents and the industrial ceiling fan, Julia hints, “The patio is really nice – maybe we can move outside?”
“Unfortunately, I’m allergic to bees,” Paul snaps.
Coming Soon
Playlist: Tess New Amsterdam Travis Another Story The Head and the Heart Tompkins Square Park Mumford & Sons Love 3X ZZ Ward Let’s be Still The Head and the Heart Barracuda Heart Wild Honey U2 Love is Easy The Mowgli’s Everlong Foo Fighters Wilder Mind Mumford & Sons
Merci Beaucoup!
With gratitude and appreciation, I’d like to acknowledge the following:
Vincent Pullo
Erika Q. Stokes
Molly Van Roekel
Marla Esposito
Nick Fantini
Christina Mock
Jamie Beshears
Les Femmes
The Indie community
Mom & Dad
Luke & Sydney
New York City
Wilder Mind album by Mumford & Sons
Sonic Highways television series documented by Dave Grohl
Humans of New York created and photographed by Brandon Stanton
About the Author
Residing in New York with her husband and two children, Ashley Pullo is an author, an entertainment blogger, and an advocate for television therapy.
Hey y'all!
NYC is an amazing place to find inspiration – the random and the ordinary that make up reality. My writing showcases inspired ideas, as well as my love for dichotomy, authenticity, pop-culture, and humor.