|  | The biggest thing to happen in my life, besides moving to the city with Elle, happened this past Monday night. There is a restaurant across the street from our building that we have been dying to try, it looks so cute. So finally on Monday we make plans to go. I was taking a little long on my walk home because I stopped at Lord and Taylor (typical), and Lim decided she was too hungry to wait. I begged her to wait– I said I would take the subway (I usually walk to and from work), so she said if I took the subway she would wait.So we go to the restaurant, it is so nice out so we sit outside. Across the street, a great view of our building. Above us, a great view of the Roosevelt Island tram supsended in the air. For hours.We eat our food (yum!) and then order dessert– chocolate fondue! However, they gave us like 6 tiny pieces of fruit, and there was SO much chocolate left. It was so warm and sooooo good, so being the gluttonous beast that I am, I was scooping up chocolate with my prongs. Repeatedly. They are tiny prongs, so I couldn’t get more than a drop of chocolate each time. So I am focused on the task of eating as much chocolate as I can off tiny little sharp pieces of metal, when a girl at the next table says, “Excuse me, what’s your name?” Â
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I say, “Dori.” She freezes, her expression was incredulous. I say, “Do I know you?”, which I have been saying a lot latey. What can I say, people know me. Anyway, she says, “I’m Danielle.” It took me a second or two to register what I just heard. I look at the woman sitting at her table. I stand up and slowly walk toward her, not even sure if what is going on is actually going on.I can’t clearly remember the next events, just that I hugged her, kept saying “Oh my G-d”, and at this point her mom didn’t even realize who I was. How Danielle recognized me, I have no idea. I haven’t seen either of them since my Bat Mitzvah, 10 years ago… and before that, since I was little.
Danielle is my cousin. My first cousin, my best friend from when I was born until I was 6. I have so many pictures of us, one which is in my room here in the city. Her mom was my dad’s sister. For certain reasons, we have no contact with them at all. But I have always wondered about my cousin, who is as innocent a player in the drama that is our family as I am.Her mom only realized who I was when I introduced her to Elle as “my dad’s sister.” Her eyes became so wide, and she jumped up and hugged me. We all talked, I cried (I am not usually a happy crier), I even ran across the street to bring out the picture of Danielle, my father and I that I keep on display in my room. So just like that, I have a cousin my age. Who lives in the city. I am still in such shock– shock over how she could have possibly recognized me, shock over how Lim and I wanted to eat there and chose that day and almost didn’t make it because I was shopping, shock over the entire situation. Danielle has a younger sister, Lindsay, who I will probably be in contact with as well. I have spoken to Danielle a few times since then, tried to make plans to get together but it hasn’t happened yet, but I am sure we will see each other soon since we live so close to each other and have 20 years to catch up on….And the first image my cousin has of me after 10 years is me desperately digging into chocolate with prongs.
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