Little Manhattan Page #4

Hey.

Hey.

My mom dropped me off.

She's going to pick me up

at 5:
15, if that's okay.

Yeah, sure.

Whenever is fine.

All right. Let's go.

So, um, do you remember

the old place?

Yeah, it's been

a long time.

Yeah, it has.

Oh.

Mom, this is

Rosemary Telesco.

You remember her,

don't you?

From kindergarten.

of course.

I haven't seen you in forever.

Look at you, Rosie,

you're all grown up.

Hi, Mrs. Burton.

We're practicing

karate.

Excuse me.

Yes.

Ronny's here.

Should I bring him up?

Oh, um, okay.

I...

I didn't know you were

having a play date...

...or I wouldn't have made plans.

Should I stay?

It's not a play date, Mom.

It's practice.

Do you need snacks?

No, we're fine, and

don't worry about us.

Okay.

Who's Ronny?

My mom's got

a date.

- Um...

- Hey, big guy.

Um, Ronny, this is Gabe's

friend, Rosemary Telesco.

Nice to meet you...

Rosemary Telesco.

You, too.

Uh, do you want me to hold this for you?

Oh, thank you.

I'll just get my coat.

Is there anything

more excruciating...

...than you and your date

and your mom's date...

...all hanging out

with absolutely nothing to say?

Don't do anything I wouldn't do.

Okay, kiddo?

Okay, that's more excruciating.

Oh.

I'll, uh...

I'll be back

in time for dinner.

- Okay.

- Okay.

- Bye. -

Bye. - Bye.

I didn't know your parents

were divorced.

Well, they're not,

officially.

See, it's kind of this

long-term project...

...they' ve been working on...

...for, like, a year and a half now...

...and my mom's

decided that...

...she's finally got to

move on with her life.

That sucks.

Well, it is what

it is, you know?

- Hey, you want to see something funny?

- Mm-hmm.

A few weeks earlier...

...my mother had left

her Match.com file open...

...on her desktop.

See, this is like a list...

...of all the 45-year-old

men in New York...

...who are looking for wives.

Most of them are looking for

their second or even third.

These are the ones

my mom picked out.

They all look like

the same guy to me.

Yeah, she's kind of got a type.

Oh, my God, there's Ronny.

"I'm a real...

"live wire who tends to take

everything in life...

"up a notch.

"I like being quiet

and contemplative...

...but rowdy and

spontaneous..."

Enough of my mother

and her romantic dead ends.

Today was about me

and Rosemary.

She was in my house, all alone.

It was time for us to fight.

Ki-yah!

Sparring that day...

I was channeling none other...

...than the great one himself-

...my master, my inspiration-

Mr. Mike Chat.

It's a dance, Gabriel.

You lead her, not she lead you.

Ki-yah!

Kiss her. Kiss her!

I can't, that's disgusting.

Trust me.

Not disgusting.

How could you let her do that?

Girls mature faster than boys.

Baloney!

Don't let her brainwash you

with that.

Boys stronger.

I had absolutely no idea

what she was thinking.

She was this total mystery

to me.

Did I want to kiss

Rosemary Telesco?

Yes, I guess I did.

I wanted to-

more than anything on earth.

Do you, um...

...want...

...some Gatorade?

Who was I kidding anyway?

Was I really going to kiss her?

I mean, come on,

she's 11, I'm ten.

Well, 103/4 actually.

She's May, I'm September.

What do all the

different names mean?

Oh, it's my mom's stuff

and my dad's stuff.

Wow.

Isn't it hard?

Oh, no, not really.

I mean, I can choose

from either of them.

No, I mean having them

still living together.

I might be falling in love

with the woman...

...but it doesn't mean I'm

in the mood for soul searching.

Don't you think

it's going to be so much better...

...once it's all over?

What do you mean?

I don't know, like...

...getting your lives

started again.

I guess so, yeah.

Well, who do you think's

going to move out?

I don't know.

My dad, I guess.

Has he looked at any places yet?

I don't think so.

Hey...

...maybe we should look for him.

Turns out, Rosemary's parents...

...their favorite hobby was

looking at apartments.

They never actually

buy anything...

...but every Sunday, for as long

as she can remember...

...they dragged her out

to open houses.

She knew what everything meant.

"WBF"?

"Wood-burning fireplace."

That's good.

How much?

Way too expensive,

that's how much.

Yeah.

"Estate Condition" is scary...

...it means it has to be gutted.

Oh, this is nice, look.

"Romantic treetop view...

...attic loft, hardwood floors."

It's a little downtown,

but there's two bedrooms...

...so you can stay over

whenever you want.

Should we call?

Call?

Hello? Can I help you?

Yes. Isaac?

We wanted to, um...

...arrange to see

the romantic treetop view.

Something right in the range

of your place.

Yes.

Maybe it is true.

Maybe girls do mature

faster than boys.

Could I talk like that?

How is tomorrow afternoon

for you?

Tomorrow for me?

It's, uh...

It's good.

Yes, that'd be perfect.

3:
00? See you there.

3:
00 tomorrow.

Right.

Quick.

Here. Hurry. Hurry.

Are you back here?

Got some new kicking tees.

They're titanium.

Oh.

How's it going?

Good.

Dad, you remember

Rosemary Telesco, right?

From kindergarten. Sure.

Hey.

Hi. Long time, no see.

She's in my

karate class, Dad.

Cool.

But she wasn't just

in my karate class anymore.

Oh, no.

She was in my life.

We were going out

to look for an apartment...

...for my father tomorrow.

These are things boyfriends

and girlfriends do.

What other things do boyfriends

and girlfriends do?

Someone

need a ride?

So, I'll see you tomorrow; 2:30.

Yeah. See you tomorrow.

Are there any

more beautiful words...

...in the English dictionary

than "See you tomorrow"?

Oh, the plan was perfect.

She would tell

her friend, Libby...

...to say Rosemary's playing

over at her house.

...from, like, 2:30

until around dinnertime.

See, Libby had a grandmother

who took care ofher...

...and was literally deaf.

Would never hear the phone

if it rang.

So her story was solid.

Let's try "Anagrammed Birds" for $200.

I would tell my friend

Max Kavinsky to cover for me.

The only possible flaw

in my plan...

...was that I didn't

actually have the guts...

...to tell Max that

I was hanging out with a girl.

So, you know, I, like, never

actually had the conversation.

Luckily, I knew Max was going...

...to Six Flags

for the entire day...

I got this.

...so I knew he wasn't

going to accidentally call...

...looking for me,

or anything.

You, um... Ride

the subway a lot...

...without any grown-ups?

Actually, no. I...

I do it all

the time, you know.

It's much more

fun this way.

I didn't have the heart

to tell her...

I'd never been

south of West 72nd.

I felt she needed

my leadership.

Greenwich Village

might as well have been...

...a thousand miles away.

I think we might have gotten off

a stop or two early.

Do you, um...

Do you want a ride?

You think

we can both fit?

We can try.

Come on. Get on.

With that girl's

arms around me...

...there was nothing

I couldn't do.

I think it's this way.

With the possible

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