Several good old friends including Anthony and James were going to meet them there. Joel was particularly excited to see Anthony as he always had a crush on him. He could not wait to meet him that evening not only for the eye candy that would get him on fire in the freezing cold weather, but because every time he met Anthony he had high hopes he may get “lucky” that night.
Joel lived in Hell’s Kitchen. He got all dressed up, took his dog for a walk so he didn’t have to worry about that all night, and then took the subway crosstown to meet Carla and Evan at their apartment. He got there a few minutes after 7:30 pm, and found Carla very concerned that Pricilla, the baby sitter had not called her to confirm that she would babysit Alexa. It was very cold in the Big Apple, mid-January with only 10 degrees temperature outside and a wind chill factor that made it feel below zero.
“Pricilla is not like that”, Carla said very impatient. Maybe it is the weather...is there a snow storm predicted for tonight? she asked, and then said: “with this cold I can’t go with you guys, I can’t leave my little baby especially if we are expecting a storm, even if Pricilla shows up...maybe she won’t be able to stay that long, who knows what’s going on.” Evan offered Joel a drink and told Carla to “relax,” and while they all waited for the baby sitter Joel started playing with Alexa, who was all smiles half way sitting all cute on Carla’s lap. Joel told Carla: “be patient, Pricilla will show up and anyway the guys are not going to be at “Michael’s” until after 9:00 pm. We have lots of time and besides, I want to spend more time playing with my beautiful 6-month girlfriend Alexa.” Joel was tickling Alexa who started laughing non-stop.
Carla was not happy. She hated leaving Alexa alone with the babysitter. The only exception was if her mom or sister where babysitting her. Pricilla was ok, but Carla had just recently met her through another lady that works in the building as a housekeeper, and had no further connection with her. Suddenly the bell rings and there is Pricilla, big, wet and cold but all together, taking her coat off and getting comfortable for the mission ahead. She picks up Alexa and apologizes for being late. “Don’t worry, have fun. I will take good care of Alexa”. Joel, Carla and Evan started getting ready to go to the local hangout. They arrive at “Michael’s” around 8:30 pm. Joel told the hostess they had made a reservation and she proceeded to check if their table was ready. The three of them were having dinner by themselves and then, join the rest of the gang for drinks and play billiards.
After they finished dinner and once Joel saw Anthony and James immediately offered them to go smoke some marijuana right outside of “Michael’s” in the freezing cold. James and Anthony accepted and there they went. The streets were very quiet so they thought it would not be a problem to light up the joint right then and there. A minute later, they saw the silhouette of a big lady all wrapped up carrying a baby walking towards them. Joel turned around to have a puff of the joint while the lady tapped him in the back begging for money. She said: “Please help me, I am homeless and I need to take care of my baby”, and to Joel dismay when he turned around, he saw Pricilla carrying baby Alexa, using her as bait to beg for money in the streets of New York instead of baby sitting in the warmth of her home.