First Glances

It was a cold Saturday morning in 2006; the kind of day where you selected to spend time with your DVR and sofa rather than completing the lengthy list of errands that had aggregated over the previous week. After an exhausting week of client meetings and late nights responding to RFPs, two colleagues from an advertising firm decided to meet up for drinks on a Saturday night. One of the friends lived in New York and the other was in town from Chicago to visit a good friend from his childhood. After a bit of emailing and analysis of the weather, they decided on a time to meet later that evening at a friend’s terrace on the Upper East Side.

As the taxi drove up 1st Avenue from 34st Street to the Upper East Side, she gazed out the window at the other women who were all dressed up with places to be. Saturdays are legendary in New York, not only for the parties, but also for the fashion. Throughout the city, you would find a mix of good and bad fashion decisions as women attempted to evoke the Carrie Bradshaw inside them. She herself had carefully chosen the appropriate gold accessories and high heels to match her turquoise top and 7 Jeans, and felt confident in her ensemble that evening.

The taxi stopped on a small street uptown after a ten minute ride, and she paid the driver as she got out and went to the door. She used the glass in the front door of the building as a mirror to quickly tousle her hair and reapply lip gloss, and began her climb up the stairs to the party.

After entering the apartment of her colleague’s friend, her colleague led her up an internal spiral staircase and out to a large terrace. He paraded her around the room, politely introducing her to all of his friends and the owners of the flat. The tour ended with him guiding her to a chair on the terrace and placing a glass of white wine in her hand. As she chatted with her new acquaintances, she had a sneaking suspicion that this was going to be a fun night.

This was the night Monique first met Julian.