The Perfect Summer Night

by Nicholas Allen — August 10, 2007

When I called Patricia yesterday to arrange our date, she said, "There's a place down on 21st and 3rd called Molly's that has the best burgers in the city."

I think I fell half in love at that moment.

Molly's is a pretty standard Irish pub, the kind with actual sawdust and peanut shells on the floor. The crowd was unpretentious--people stopping in for beers and wings after work. Patricia and I wended our way to the restaurant section in the back. And, indeed, the burgers were some of the best I've ever had. I couldn't help raising an eyebrow when Patricia ate an entire half-pound burger, smothered in sautéed onions.

She caught my look and laughed. "Don't worry," she said. "I always travel with breath mints."

I laughed too. "I wasn't even thinking about that. I was wondering where you put it all!"

She blushed slightly. "I've just got one of those crazy metabolisms."

The night was overcast, but it wasn't raining yet, and the weather had finally turned about 10 degrees cooler--a welcome relief after so many days of desperate heat and humidity. So, after our burgers and beers, we decided to walk aimlessly, which is one of my favorite New York pastimes. We headed down 2nd Avenue into the East Village. The crowds were thick as they always are on Thursday nights in the summer, when so many people take long weekends and head out to the Hamptons or the Jersey Shore on Friday afternoon. St. Mark's Place was lit up like Broadway, and we ducked into yet another darkened dive bar for more beer and conversation. On our way out, Patricia stifled a grin when she saw me grab several matchbooks and stuff them into my pockets.

"I sort of collect them," I said sheepishly, sensitive as many a man is about exposing his hidden geek tendencies on a first date. "I've got matchbooks from every place I've been to since I moved to the City twenty years ago."

Patricia's grin became a beaming smile. "I've got the Playbill for every Broadway and off-Broadway show I've been to since I moved here 15 years ago."

I could fall in love with this woman, I thought.

Entirely too soon, it was past 2:00 am and I offered to see Patricia home. "Just put me in a cab," she said, so walked up to 3rd Avenue to look for a cab that would take her uptown.

"I had a great time tonight," I told her. "I'd love to see you again."

"I'd like that too," she replied. And then she moved slightly closer, and I lowered my head, and we kissed and kissed and kissed...

Nicholas Allen is a writer and columnist based in Manhattan. To read all of his blogs, click here.