Recent Interactions With People In New York, Ranked: Part 2

4. Looking for two friends at the entrance to a park; my phone buzzes and I see they’re watching me, texting me directions. “No, walk away from the capoeira.”

3. Uptown, early for a meeting, I know I’m not hungry but I want some sugar, so I get one of those twirly vanilla cones dunked in multicolored sprinkles. The guy in the truck tells me he was just about to pull away but he could tell I really needed this particular ice cream cone, and he was so right and I am so grateful.

2. I get on the elevator at a nice hotel with a young, baby-faced, drunk couple. The girl is cooing over their still-drying photobooth pictures. “Look how cute we are!” she exclaims and her boyfriend says “I bet she doesn’t think it’s so cute,” gesturing at me with an apologetic smile, and I protest, no no I do because I don’t want them to think I’m judging them. She shrugs because she’s not embarrassed. “It’s nice to be young and in love and enjoying a hotel you can’t afford,” she says, and she’s right.

1. Late on a weekend morning, a friend asks: “How is your need for coffee?” “Powerful,” I say, overstating just because I like the sound of the word. “Yours?” I ask in return. He shrugs. “Present.”

Previously: Recent Interactions With New Yorkers, Ranked