Getting to know our classmates； spending some time out in the open country； living off the
earth？way it should be； man。 Way it should be。
Peace； love； and unity；
Urth Greenberg
breaking up isn？t all that hard to do
Dan sat on the curb outside the Strand； a cigarette in one hand and a cup of weak； tepid black
coffee in the other。 Taxis rumbled down Broadway； pouring black smoke out of their tailpipes。 A
stream of tourists flooded the sidewalks； mopping their sweaty brows and looking questioningly
into the musty old bookstore as if trying to gauge the strength of its air…conditioning。 The heat
shimmered off the pavement in waves and Dan pushed his long； straggly brown hair back from his
forehead with one hand。
For the past few days； he？d bailed on the shifts that overlapped with Greg？s in an attempt to
postpone their inevitable talk。 He just didn？t know what tosay when Greg told him he wanted to
be more serious； moreofficial 。 Avoidance had seemed like a good plan； but then this morning his
boss had threatened to fire him if he didn？t e in； so he？d spent the day in stealth mode； hiding
out in the gardening section and ducking behind bookshelves whenever he heard footsteps
approaching。
？Hello Daniel。？ An unfamiliar； elderly voice startled him。
He looked up from his perch on the sidewalk and recognized Aggie； the seventysomething
receptionist at Riverside Prep who wore a different wig every day。 Today it was black and curly；
sort of like Ernie？s hair fromSesame Street。
？Hello Aggie；？ Dan mumbled。 This was the problem with New York？you couldn？t get a second
of peace and quiet without running into someone you knew。 Aggie would probably want to have
tea with him now； maybe get in one last heart…to…heart before he left for college。
Or take him wig shopping？
？Well； Daniel； it？s lovely to run into you like this； though I can？t stay and chat。 Congratulations
on your recent announcement； and I？m sorry I missed your party！？ Dan watched in shock as Aggie
smiled； patting her wig； and then shuffled off in the direction of the discount books racks。
Dan gave her a slight wave and then sighed； pressing his back against the brick wall； which felt
like it was searing his flesh through his damp T…shirt。 Well； that was weird。 Did his mom invite
theentire world to his ing…out party？ He adjusted his butt on the hot pavement and pulled a
notebook from his ratty black Timbuk2 messenger bag。 If he didn？t get something written for the
wedding soon； he？d be seriously screwed。 But the trouble was； nothing was ing to him。 What
did he know about marriage anyway？ How was he supposed to write about loving someone for the
rest of your life when he couldn？t even figure out hisown love life？
Good point。
As he looked up from the blank white page； he saw Greg stroll around the corner； wearing a
white button…down shirt and stiff white jeans。 Oh God。 Greg stopped when he saw
Dan sitting there and smiled。 Then he smiled and hurried over。
？Hey。？ He touched Dan on the shoulder。 ？Where？ve you been？ I？ve been wanting to talk to you。？
His voice sounded genuinely concerned。
Dan looked at the cement。 He could feel his T…shirt sticking to his back with sweat。 ？I？ve been
sick；？ he mumbled； coughing into one fist and looking away。 He noticed a group of tourists
approaching en masse and he wondered if he could duck in with them and make his
escape。 ？Really sick。？ His gaze shifted tentatively to Greg； who was staring at him with something
like amusement； his blue eyes creasing at the corners。 ？I just didn？t want to give it to you？I think
I？m still pretty contagious and？？ Greg cut him off with a wave of his hand。 ？Listen； I really
wanted to talk to you about something。？ He sat down next to Dan on the sidewalk。
Dan stayed silent； fiddling with the pen in his hand。 The throng of tourists came and went； but he
knew he had to sit there and stick it out。 He dreaded the words that were sure to fall from Greg？s
lips any second now。Let？s do this thing。 I want you to meet my parents。 I want to show you things
only another man can。
Greg cleared his throat and continued。 ？I thought that me and you had a pretty good thing going。？
He stopped； his words hanging in the air above their heads。 ？But 。 。 。 I？ve kind of met someone
else。？ Huh？ Dan stared at Greg； his mouth open。 He felt like he？d just been smacked in the head
with a two…by…four。 Two girls dressed all in black stepped around them； practically trampling them
with their bat boots and giving them a dirty look for blocking the sidewalk。
？I met this amazing guy at 。 。 。 um 。 。 。？ Greg looked down at the pavement； his cheeks flushing
bright red； and ran a hand through his hair before continuing。 ？A party 。 。 。 and； well； we kind of
just had this really intenseconnection 。？ He put his hand on Dan？s forearm； squeezing hard？but in
a brotherly； reassuring way。 ？I？m sorry。？ This time； Dan didn？t squirm at his touch。 ？Don？t worry
about it。？ He patted Greg？s hand。 ？It？s totally fine。？ He sighed； breathing in the heavy August air；
which suddenly felt a whole lot less oppressive。
A look of relief swept over Greg？s face。 ？I know you？ll find somebody special；？ he declared in a
rush； removing his hand from Dan？s arm。 ？And I hope we can still be friends；？ he added； pushing
his glasses up on his nose。
？Absolutely；？ Dan enthused。 ？Totally。？ He looked out at the bustling city traffic and wondered
briefly whether his ？somebody special？ could be right here； before his very eyes； among the
masses。 Two girls sat at an outdoor table in front of the Cos？ restaurant across the street； sipping
lemonade as they surveyed the passersby from behind huge sunglasses。 Across from them sat a
guy in a baseball cap； iced coffee in hand； reading a magazine。 He looked up and caught Dan
staring； and Dan quickly averted his eyes。
？Soooo 。 。 。？ Greg looked over at his closed notebook。 ？What are you working on？ Another
futureNew Yorker poem？？ ？Hah。？ Dan snorted； opening the notebook and holding up the blank
page。 ？I？m supposed to be working on a poem for Vanessa？s sister？s wedding； but I can？t think of
a thing to say。 I mean； what do I know about marriage？？ Greg wiped his hands on his jeans。 ？All
you have to do is envision the person you love most in the world？the person you want to wake up
with in the morning and go to sleep with at night。？ He paused； blushing deeply and running his
hands through his hair。 ？Even if you haven？t met that person yet？you just have toimagine them！ I
mean； with me and 。 。 。？ Greg looked sheepishly at the ground。 ？I can？t imagine wanting to do
those things withanyone else； you know？？ ？I guess。？ Dan stared at the cracks in the cement。 ？I just
don？t know if there？s anyone I feel like that about 。 。 。 any…more。？ He closed his notebook and
tucked it back inside his messenger bag。
Looking at Greg？s feet； Dan noticed he was wearing black socks with little white Paul Frank
monkey faces on them。 Dan didn？t know exactly what his type of guy？er； person？was yet； but he
was pretty darn sure his soul mate didn？t wear monkey socks。
？I mean；？ he started again； looking over at Greg； who was listening intently； ？how will I know
when it？s the right person？？ Greg held Dan？s gaze for a moment before standing up。 He slapped
the back of his white jeans with both hands。 ？You？ll just 。 。 。 know；？ he said quietly。 ？You？ll know
when you know。？ Dan looked out again at the sea of people on the street？the wide…eyed tourists
with their cameras； the skater kids who flocked to Union Square in the summer； the NYU students
who were moving into their apartments a few weeks early； lugging hand…me…down furniture； arms
loaded with boxes。 In the few minutes that he and Greg had been sitting here； hundreds of people
must have walked past。 If he stayed a little longer； those hundreds would soon be thousands。 How
could you find one out of thousands？ Wouldn？t it take forever？
Greg stuck his hands into his pockets。 ？You？ll know when you can？t imagine seeing anyone else
after the day？s over； and even though you just saw them a few hours ago； you can？t wait to see
them again that night。？ Dan nodded mutely； still dizzily watching the crowd on the sidewalk as if
it held all of life？s answers。
？Well； I？d better get back to work；？ Greg said； pushing his glasses up on his nose。 ？I？m not even
on break yet？I just snuck out to talk to you。？ Dan remembered himself and stood up； slinging his
messenger bag over one shoulder。 He grabbed Greg？s arm before he walked away。
？Hey；？ he said； moving closer。 ？Thanks 。 。 。 for everything。？ Greg smiled。 He wrapped his arms
around Dan？s back and squeezed tight； clapping him on the shoulders before they both pulled
back。
As Dan watched him walk away； he couldn？t help feeling a little sad。 Not about Greg； but about
love in general。 He wanted what Greg had described： someone to sit around and drink coffee with
in the morning。 Someone he could do all those dopey； ridiculously romantic New York things with
before he left for Evergreen？like watch every Woody Allen movie filmed in Manhattan； or take a
carriage ride through Central Park under a full moon。 Someone to wake up with every morning；
the light covering their bare skin like a golden blanket 。 。 。
Pale fury。Why did you leave me？
He pulled out his notebook and scribbled furiously； unsure of what he was writing。
Eyes closed； our bones ache。
This isn？t chemistry or geography。
It？s physics。 Pure physics。
Dan still wasn？t sure what he was trying to say； but it was something to do with friction； and
friction caused heat； and when he thought about heat he couldn？t help but think about a certain
prickly…headed girl lying next to him in bed。 His hands began to sweat as he continued to write。
Not feeling so gay anymore； eh？
maybe a leopard can change her spots
？Watch where you？re going； man！？
A yellow cab swerved on the shimmering black asphalt； almost grazing Vanessa？s arm as she
crossed Broadway； squinting into the annihilating afternoon sunlight。 The cabbie？s rude； grating
voice lingered in her ears。 Did he sayman ？ Vanessa smiled smugly to herself。Well ； she thought；
picking up the pace；that？s what you get for having such a sleek； aerodynamic hairstyle。
Doesn？t she mean androgynous？
She？d gone downtown around noon to film some of Ruby？s East Village hangouts in the daylight；
but now； faced with the sweltering heat of the day； she was ready for a break。 She rubbed her
stubbly head with one hand as she waited for the light to change。
The Strand bookstore was half a block away； its carts of moldy discount books parked out front。
Vanessa wondered if Dan was working？she？d been avoiding him the last few days after the whole
romantic…gay…poetry incident； but maybe she？d just stop by and say hi。 She watched the little red
hand warning her to stay put。
College was just around the corner； and soon Dan？along with just about everyone else？would be
gone。 Well； Ruby would be around； but it wasn？t exactly the same between them anymore？now
that she spent every waking second with Piotr。 Vanessa co