A Summer's Weekend With RQS

 

RQS and I agreed that she would come up this past weekend, and I would go to her place the next.  Often, when RQS comes up for the weekend, we choose to go out to eat either on Friday night or on Saturday.  This week would follow our usual pattern, but in ways we didn't expect. We would take advantage of the opportunity to visit a restaurant on City Island and have broiled lobster for Bronx Restaurant Week.  However, things would not go as planned for us, although we did have our lobster. 

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Earlier in the year, RQS picked up a "Backup" phone she could use in case she had problems with the cell phone she normally uses.  (I have the same thing with my backup phone, using a cheap phone/text only plan.)  Well, she brought her backup phone with her, instead of her normal phone, and tried to connect with me on the way up to my place using my backup phone's number.  When she reached me, she asked whether I had received any messages, and we discovered that she was calling the wrong number.

Next, we went to the supermarket to pick up some food, then went back home to relax.  I could finally take off my dress and my bra and get into something comfortable. (RQS never tin her wildest dreams thought that she'd ever be intimate with someone who'd be saying THAT!  Score one for us TG's.)  And then I proceeded to cook dinner - assorted seafood in marinara sauce over angel hair pasta.  Yum!  That was filling!

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Saturday came, and we took it easy most of the day.  Around 4 pm, we got dressed to go to the City Island Lobster House restaurant in the Bronx. Now, for those of my readers unfamiliar with the NYC area, the Bronx is the only NYC county located mainly on the mainland.  The rest of NYC consists of island based territories: Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens and Staten Island (making up the other 4 counties of NYC).  City Island is a small community in North East Bronx which is isolated from the rest of the Bronx by a large park and a narrow road that leads to the island, crosses a bridge, and then has a perpetual traffic jam during summer months.  And we decided to visit City Island at its busiest time.

After we suffered the traffic jam leading to City Island, I handed my key fob to the valet who parked my car.  (I hate valet parking, as I have to detach my key fob from my handbag to that s/he can park my car.) Then we entered the restaurant.  Both of us considered this to be a big mistake, as the staff was totally overwhelmed by the mob of people looking to have a good meal.  Yet, we hung on for 30 minutes before we could get a table.  (Reservations mean nothing in this place when it's busy.)  Once seated, service was less than desirable - it took forever for us to place our orders, then it took even more time for us to get water, and our food.  Normally, I might blame the wait staff for not caring to bother with customers.  But today, they were running around the restaurant like whirling dervishes.  There were too many people there, and they set no limits to the number of people the restaurant would serve on a busy night.  Yet, when the main course came, we loved the food - but not the service.  They didn't bring us lobster crackers, nor bowls for the shells.  I had to ask several times for them, when if I had seen them, could have grabbed them myself.

Would we go back?  For the food, YES!  For the service, NO!  Yet, we feel that the place is worth trying on a weeknight when the place is not as crowded.

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No church for this Sunday - both of us stayed in bed until 11 am.  It was a jammie day for both of us, and we relaxed - as usual for a Sunday afternoon and evening.  We figured out much of our game plan for next week, as well as making sure that RQS had everything ready to go for her trip home on Monday, 

 

City Island Dinner with Vicki

     

City Island is nautical hamlet off the coast of New York City's mainland borough, The Bronx. It still has a small town feel, even though it is in America's biggest city.  The reason why most visitors come to this out of the way part of NYC is its collection of Seafood Restaurants.  And this is where Vicki and I planned to head today.

It was nice to get dressed as Marian again.  Unfortunately, it was a little bit too cool to go out in one of my summer frocks.  Instead, I took out a dress and a pair of leggings that I wear during the winter, threw on a light denim jacket, and drove to Vicki's place to pick her up.

Normally, Vicki does much of the driving.  But her car was in the shop for warranty repair.  Given how much the repair would cost if not under warranty, I'm glad that she is still  covered by her manufacturer's warranty.  Otherwise, she'd be spending 40% of the car's original cost to fix it.

I picked Vicki up a few minutes after 6, and we started catching up on things.  It was nice to be able to tell Vicki about our cruise, and the disembarkation day problems.  And she mentioned things I won't cover here.  Arriving at the restaurant around 7, we sat down to order our food - a lobster plate for each of us, with a calamari dish we could share.  Yum!

We had to rush back to Vicki's after dinner, as she has a couple of dogs to care for.  But we'll be having dinner again soon, as RQS, Vicki and I will be feasting somewhere nearby. 

I saw an old flame tonight

No, I did not even think of reigniting the flame.  Patty is a pleasant memory, and we retained our friendship after we broke up.  And now, when I meet her, it is in Marian mode for two reasons:

• I don't want to reawaken things by presenting as a male.
• I am more comfortable meeting women in female mode, so that there is no hint of sexual interest.

Patty is comfortable with this.  And yet, I was thinking of warning her that I was going to be wearing a dress when I went to City Island to see her.  Go figure.

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Before we got together, Patty texted me to let me know that there was an unexpected death in her family, so that she wouldn't have to talk about it in any detail.  Yet, that was one of the first things we talked about, because she needed to tell me about it.  And then, we started catching up on what's been going on in each other's lives.

Patty grew up in a close knit family, and anything that would unravel that fabric has to hurt a bit.  This death, coupled with a family issue which I won't go into here may make things unable to be mended between Patty and a family member.  I feel sorry for her, as I think she's already read the tea leaves and sees the last chance to heal some old wounds go away.

Dinner was a little bit more expensive than I had planned.  But I had the cash ready and available tor a bill that was higher than expected.  (Moral: Don't eat the broiled fisherman's platter when a simple piece of fish will do.)  At least, I was filled to the gills, so to speak....

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All too soon, we had to leave.  But I suggested that we try to arrange a foursome for dinner next month, with me presenting as Mario.  Hopefully, that will happen....