Twenty-two years into a relationship with someone, it’s sometimes difficult to find those moments of romance and intimacy, but every once in a while a romantic night surprises and unexpectedly delights with the simple gratitude of sitting next to your husband at dinner and a show.
We began at our usual dining haunt in Albany, dp: An American Brasserie, where we ordered a few of our favorite dishes and eased into a rare Saturday evening out. No matter how many years have passed since we had our first conversation at Oh Bar, I still thrill at dining out with Andy. Even more thrilling than that is when he joins me for a concert, such as this Candlelight event of a string quartet playing the music of Taylor Swift at the Kenmore Ballroom. While I am a long-time-in-coming Swiftie now, Andy is decidedly not, so I billed this as a classical concert.
In the same way that I got him to sit through ‘The House of Mirth’ and any film with subtitles (hello ‘Crouching Dragon, Hidden Dragon’), I intentionally neglected to mention it was a Taylor Swift concert, he just thought it was a classical show. There is a photo I snapped when he realized what was happening, but that’s just for me. Happily, he said he enjoyed it, and we both loved visiting the revamped Kenmore Ballroom for the first time.
It was during ‘Blank Space’ that I suddenly had that lovely feeling of gratitude and appreciation for Andy wash over me, the same way it has happened sporadically over the years, most memorably in this dinner overlooking all of Boston as we planned our wedding.
The next day, I was sitting in Starbucks with a pistachio latte (my latest unhealthy obsession) and this version of ‘Blank Space’ came over the speakers, which was the universe’s way of cementing this romantic moment in my happy memory firmament.
