Stories by Simone

       Every weekend, for the past six weekends, Kim would leave her husband Gerald and meet up with a man in the East Village. She told her husband that part of her new promotion required her to travel on the weekends, for sales and pitch meetings. This was fine with Gerald and he didn’t ask too many questions, because a blind man could see their marriage had been dwindling for a while now. He was happy to have some time alone while she was away, and it’s not as if her need to travel for work was a lie, entirely. The first two weekends, she did in fact need to travel for work. But when she got home, got back to the monotony of her everyday life, and didn’t have a weekend away to look forward to, she needed something to ease her loneliness. So she did what most people do. She downloaded an app. She made her profile on Casualconex and began scrolling aimlessly through the list of available men in her area. Initially, she didn’t have much intention with this new platfo...

  It was a pretty chilly evening in March, but when you’ve had a few, there’s really no such thing as too cold. Rob needed a break from the music and the crowd that overtook the inside of the bar. He signaled to his friends that he was stepping out for a smoke, before emerging into the crispy night air. He patted his pockets while he searched for his J, his lighter, and his balance. As he leaned up against the building with relief, like it was built specifically for this purpose, he lit the J and deeply inhaled. He knew that if he’d had one more drink, he would have been a goner, so you can imagine how thankful he was to his past self, that he remembered his emergency J to help get him through yet another drunken night. While he stood minding his business, a group of young ladies also stood a few feet in front of him on the curb. He watched as they took selfies to document their night, and listened while they laughed way too loudly at something that probably wasn’t that funny. Afte...

       Kathy came home at the end of the workweek, exhausted. Along with her regular 9-5, she freelances on the side and has made some decent income doing so. It’s safe to say that she does pretty well for herself, seeing as how she lives in a one-bedroom with her dog, so besides that, she doesn’t have many responsibilities.  “Hi, Lulu! Hi, mama! Hi, hi!!!” Lulu happily greeted her as she walked through the door, barely giving her the space to put her things down, but she managed. After taking off her shoes, hanging up her coat, and tossing her keys on her dining room table, she made her way to the fridge. She knew what awaited her on the other side, but still, she was hopeful that there might be something salvageable enough to get her through the evening. Unfortunately, the reality was confirmed as both the lights and disappointment hit her face, when she opened the door and saw half a bottle of wine, some questionable vegetables that have seen better days, a...

       Steven is a dedicated construction worker and has been for the past 15 years. During that time he’s gotten married and became the father to three beautiful children. His wife is a teacher and the five of them live in Queens. He’s a normal man with a normal family who lives a normal life. He’s seen New York City change for better and for worse but despite all this city has seen, his love for it has never wavered. Every now and then, he would catch himself daydreaming about a different life, one with more leisure and less stress, but ultimately he’s decided that he’s satisfied. One day after work, Steven decided to stop and grab some food after a long hard day. As he stood out on line near Ray’s on the lower east side, red stripe in hand waiting to place his order, a young woman with a camera caught his eye. She had brown curly hair, glasses, and a green Carhartt jacket. He watched as she allowed herself to become fully immersed with the city streets and the sur...