Other People's Love Stories

Gabe and I went to the Brooklyn Botanic Gardens Saturday for the Cherry Blossom festival.  It was really beautiful and fun (and crowded.  With people dressed up as Anime characters.  Who knew?  I didn't.)  I included some pictures at the bottom if you want to check them out.

We were walking on the Upper East Side to hang out with some friends when we passed a stack of books on someone's apartment stoop.  This kind of thing happens a lot in the city where people put their unwanted things outside for the taking.  It looked like they were moving or spring cleaning and had done a book shelf weed-out.  This is the sort of thing I can't pass up.  I don't know what it is... if someone invited me into their home, I'd have no interest in snooping around in their things.  But something like this feels so exciting to me!  Like a glimpse into a stranger's life - so I stopped to look at them.  (It might be weird - people have told me before.  Whatever.  I'm gonna do it again next time, I don't care.  I'm a honey-badger).  I ended up taking one of those little monochromatic books with little pictures of animals in it.  That's where my heart lead me that night.  Guess I wasn't feeling particularly profound.  Here's the prize:

I forgot I took it until tonight when I was cleaning out my purse (which is  a miracle since it's like a semi-annual event).  I got about 5 pages in and noticed there were tiny hand-written notes in the margin.  Commentary on the little story - about falling in love.  

I was like omagod! This is so an ex-girlfriend gift that he couldn't burn because he lives in a studio walk up so he threw it out on his steps!  Maybe that story is more exciting... but it turns out that's not the case.

It's an engagement gift - from a mother-in-law-to-be.  There's a note in the back to Lindsey about how excited she is to welcome Lindsey to the family.  How she knows they are soul mates and will be forever.

I closed it for a minute.  I shouldn't be reading this!  Why would someone throw this away?  Did they not go through with the wedding?  Did she forget why this book was significant and just deemed it clutter? Did she not mean to throw it out??  It's sitting on my bed and I'm actually considering putting it back just in case she misses it.  But I ended up reading the whole thing anyway.  Honey-badger.

Obviously every one of these millions of people bumping into each other on the subway every morning have rich stories and complicated lives, but it feels so strange to actually have a glimpse into one.  The Mom was so excited about the engagement.  They met at a bar in New York.

I hope it worked out.  I'm putting the book back. OK.

In other news  --  Brooklyn Garden Photos if you want to check them out.  So pretty.  They don't grow 'em like that in Texas.