City Love(28)

D could never understand me. He can’t relate to my background at all. His parents are paying for everything. He has no idea what it’s like to constantly worry about money every day. He doesn’t need a Plan D. He has, and always will have, everything he needs. I have seventy-three cents.

I want to stop thinking about the date.

I want to stop thinking about D.

But I can’t.

Yeah, he’s appalling. But he’s also kind. And smart. And every time he complimented me, he seemed genuine. As much as I hate to admit it, I felt a real connection. And there’s the way he makes me feel. The way he looks at me, the way he touches me. Underneath the stuff that bothers me, I can’t help feeling attracted to him.

Not that it matters. I could never get serious about someone like him.





THIRTEEN

SADIE


WE’RE GOING TO PAPER LOWER Manhattan with warm fuzzies.

This just might be the best idea my Random Acts of Kindness group has ever had. Our objective is to make the world a better place by doing good things for everyone. Random acts are all about being aware of your surroundings and taking an active role in improving other people’s lives. A random act of kindness could be helping a senior in the grocery store reach a can on the top shelf. Or complimenting someone on her beautiful necklace. Or even just smiling at the bus driver and saying hi. These might seem like small things to you, but they could be huge to someone else. Everyone appreciates help. Everyone likes compliments. Well, almost everyone. We occasionally encounter antisocial people who don’t want human contact for whatever reason. That’s okay. The point is to keep reaching out.

That’s why we’re going to paper lower Manhattan with warm fuzzies. Most of us live downtown. We’re going to break off into our respective neighborhoods of the West Village, East Village, Tribeca, Gramercy, Battery Park, the Lower East Side, and the Financial District. Each of us will make twenty-five warm fuzzies. Then we’re going to leave them around for people to find. Why? The best reason for random acts of kindness. Just because.

The warm fuzzies will feature motivational quotes and uplifting encouragements like “Be the change you want to see in the world,” “Go confidently in the direction of your dreams! Live the life you’ve imagined,” and “Imagine all the people living life in peace.” We’ve been brainstorming places to leave the warm fuzzies that are easy to find. The list in my notebook looks like this: – Next to a coffee cup at a café – Tucked under a string of lights in a tree outside a restaurant – Between two books at a library – Taped to a parking meter

– Stuffed into the takeout-menu box at a deli – Left on a subway seat

– Sticking out of a dryer at a Laundromat It makes me so happy to think about people finding our warm fuzzies like little treasures. Each one is unique. My rules about making warm fuzzies are strict. You can’t whip out a raggedy pen, write a note on some old discolored loose-leaf, and proclaim that to be a warm fuzzy. Boring pen plus generic paper does not a warm fuzzy make. You must use fun paper. Construction paper is fine. Better if you cut the edges with patterned scissors. Pretty stationery is the best. To create the most important warm fuzzies, I use the heavy cotton stationery made with pressed flowers that Brooke gave me for my birthday. And I always use Gelly Roll pens. The glitter ones and the lightning ones are the best. Using a quality pen is just as important as using quality paper. It’s a yin-yang dynamic. Warm fuzzies must also include some sort of design element. Whether it’s drawn, painted, glued, or otherwise attached, artwork adds pizzazz. Additional bedazzlement involving sequins, stickers, or rhinestones is always welcome.

Making twenty-five warm fuzzies will take a while. But that’s the kind of time commitment I love. Hopefully the warm fuzzies will bring a ray of happiness to everyone who finds them. Maybe their finders will be motivated to pay it forward and do something nice for someone else.

My stomach has been fluttering with butterflies the whole meeting. These meetings usually go by so fast I can’t believe it when they’re over. But tonight is different. Tonight I’m going to a party with a boy I like. A boy I really, really like. And he’s picking me up in five minutes. Maybe he’s already out front waiting for me. The thought of Austin waiting for me in his car to take me to a party for our second date, which will probably end with kissing, makes the butterflies flap like crazy.

It’s time to go. I make sure I have everything. This takes a minute. Carrying around a ginormous bag is kind of my thing. Ginormous bags can be a hassle, but I like to be prepared for anything. Like for this party with Austin. What if my lips got dry and I didn’t have gloss? Or it was humid and my hair spazzed and I didn’t have clips? Or I desperately needed a mint? After making sure I’m not leaving anything behind, I say a quick collective goodbye and dash to the elevator. The butterflies are flapping harder than ever. They really, really like this boy, too.

Austin is in front of the community center, leaning back against a white SUV. Or one of those cars that’s bigger than a regular car but smaller than an SUV. I have no idea what anything is called when it comes to cars.

“Hey,” he says. “How was the meeting?”

“Awesome. We’re papering downtown with warm fuzzies.”

“Warm what now?”

“Warm fuzzies.”