It's strange how you become accustomed to city streets. People used to warn me constantly that it wasn't safe to walk at night. Never really bothered me. Except for a few people here and there walking just a little too close or staring a little too long. As long as I payed attention, I would be okay.
I walked along Essex with my hands in my jacket pockets as the warmth kept within my layers offered a welcome comfort. Streetlights made the damp concrete glisten at this time of night. Few people were out so I had the street to myself.
In another 5 minutes i would make it to his house. Just as i was about to cross the street, a FedEx truck slammed on his breaks and fishtailed into a building on the corner. The tiles that lined the outside of the building indented slightly, but it seemed that no other damage was done. Cursing, the driver jumped out of his cab and looked for the car that caused him to break so quickly. Throwing his cigarette to the ground, he stomped back and forth, unable to find the fiend.
I shook my head and crossed anyway. I would have called the cops except the driver made it back to his cab and was on the radio in no time. I continued down for two more blocks.
Either the music from my earbuds was really engaging or I was on autopilot because I can't remember getting to his apartment. Before I knew it, I was inside. I didn't feel uncomfortable or intrusive. It was as if someone invited me in, just not the owner. I could hear rustling from another room - I think it was the cleaner.
I was so surprised to see how simple his setup was. Compared to my own apartment, his Ikea furniture and lack of very expensive items made me feel silly for being embarrassed when we first met.
If i remember correctly, I placed an ad on Craigslist selling some of my old vinyls given to me by my Grandmother. I was hard up for money and needed to pay the rent. I received an email shortly after with an urgent ask to purchase those albums. I arranged a pickup at my apartment for that weekend. To my surprise, the guy that showed up to purchase the records was Robert Downey Jr. himself.
Mr. Downey Jr. wasn't with anyone, and was really polite. I froze for a moment with embarrassment because I hadn't cleaned the place and it was in quite a state of disarray. I apologized to him for the mess and invited him inside to look through the records.
That afternoon was magical. We listened to records, talked about life and what was going on in our lives. His visit went long into the evening and he even offered to get Chinese. When his visit was over, he insisted on overpaying for the records and asked if he could call on me again to have another afternoon. I assured him that was fine by me.
Now I was let into his own home. There was art on the wall, a flat screen TV and a few couches. Nothing that would suggest he had a famous life style. I was checking other things around the living room when I heard keys in the door. Mr. Downey walked in with a surprised look. I froze in my tracks. I couldn't remember why I was here. Did he invite me over? Why the hell was I let into his apartment? Was this even okay to be here?
Cautiously, he moved towards me, almost studying me to see what I would do next. I felt as if he was trying to gauge my discomfort and was hiding a laugh behind those watchful eyes. I did my best to play it cool. I pulled out a drawing pad and started to sketch random shapes.
He moved to the couch and turned the TV on. The door opened again and his wife stepped through. She smiled and welcomed me, then began bringing in groceries. I asked if i could help but Mr. Downey said not to worry about it. He invited me to sit down and started up a conversation. It had been a while since we last spoke after all.
I was mortified. I felt I didn't belong here and I couldn't remember how I got here or why. Mr. Downey seemed to pick up on that and moved closer on the couch. I kept my eyes down on my sketching.
I was able to make a swooping shape to the left. That gave me an idea for a dress for cosplay so I mirrored the shape and kept drawing. To my surprise, it turned out incredibly well and that caught the attention of Mr. Downey. He started to watch.
My nervousness grew, I am not a good artist, but he seemed interested and working with the blue pencil and paper kept me somewhat calm. I was able to sketch out a highly detailed wedding dress until he moved a bit closer.
I could feel my temperature rise, having this person I admired from afar so close to me and there was nothing I could do about it. His wife was working in the open kitchen, starting to make dinner. And then he got closer.
At this point, he was close enough to whisper into my ear. My pencil stopped drawing for a moment as it took everything within me to not try to melt. He asked if I was going to his High School Reunion. I blinked, not comprehending what he just asked and asked him to repeat his question. He laughed a bit, probably noticing the breathless quality in my voice, put his arm around me and asked again. When i realized what he said, i started to laugh.
I asked him where it was. He replied it was set in Ontario and he expected that I'd want to go. He would really like it if I went. Then he'd have someone to talk with. I felt honored and surprised at the thought of it and was quickly reminded of my financial situation. I let him know I'd think about it.
