It was Larimar Square on Thursday night. D pointed out the Ferrari parked in front of Rioja and a long-legged woman in a pair of 5-inch heals and a tight blue dress; I really couldn't fault him for either sighting since both were impressive. I felt frumpy and old; mostly because it took me a minute to realize it was Thursday night downtown and then to be thankful I took a shower and threw on a dress yesterday. The concept seemed so foreign to me, like I was being introduced to a night out in Denver...again.
We had a pretty amazing dinner at Russell's Smokehouse. I stared at the word "smoke" backwards through the opened door as we sat at our table. I thought it was somewhat suiting given the situation in Colorado right now (smoke and fire being everywhere around us). We went a little overboard ordering our food: the calamari special, loaded house chips, brisket sliders, which were my absolute favorite until the combo plate of ribs came, which were then my absolute favorite, until we had a slice of Wednesday's Pie - a cherry and orange mix with whip cream on top, which was really U-N-B-E-L-I-E-V-A-B-L-E! Add to that a complimentary homemade kielbasa sausage and mac & cheese for Miss M. It was one of those meals where you just don't ever want to stop eating; everything was brilliant - even the music was awesome, with or without the shoulder twisting and cheers from Miss M.
A guy working at the restaurant caught me jumping on the hopscotch rug on the way back from the bathrooms. I wanted to show Miss M how it worked and clarified my performance was really for her eyes only. He feigned curiousity in the game saying he was trying to figure out how it was played. I explained you consecutively throw a rock in each numbered box and jump through the series skipping the box with the rock in it till you get through all the numbers. Then realizing how archaic that sounded by today's standards, I said, "It's for old people." And then I realized that meant me and I think I caught a understanding head nod from him (yuck!).
After our meal, we decided to let Miss M walk off some of the sugar high from the pie. We took her over to see the DCPA and to look at the "Dancers". She was dazzled by the lights of the theater, the sculptures of art, the steps - so many steps - to master. I was dazzled by the ominous colored clouds creating a beautiful sunset around 9 pm; the way a building can frame a view of the city; the sheer magic of "downtown" as a concept still exciting at my age and truly delightful through the eyes of a 20-month old.
We finally got to the sculptures and Miss M was confused for a bit about what to look at until we ran down and got up close to them. Music was piped through outdoor speakers and I layed down on the "dance floor" to see what it felt like to be an ant in their world. She layed down next to me to see what I was looking at. She has been so affectionate lately, asking for hugs/kisses or throwing her arm around me and patting my back, it melts my heart. I say this knowing full well part of it is sheer love, part of it is sheer intelligent coercion practice, and part of it is butterscotch ripple.
D caught up to us and layed down too; we ran off from him earlier as he was texting a client. I suddenly felt the urge to snap a photo with my hot date. We got caught up in the moment and then realized there was a toddler on the loose. She's fast these days and was half way up the grass by the time we sat up to resume parental composure.
Could it be: a hot date downtown on a Thursday night with my husband and our daughter? Yeah... it was smokin' hot.
