Member-only story
A San Francisco Dating Tale
I was rummaging through the stacks of City Lights Bookstore in North Beach when I noticed an attractive young woman in the Russian Literature section. She was reading The Overcoat by Nikolai Gogol, one of my favorite authors. I feigned interest in the nearby books, summoning the courage to speak to her.
“I love that book you’re reading,” I said. “I won’t have any coffee today. Just hot bread and onions.”
She gave me a strange look.
“That’s from The Nose. It’s the third story.”
“I haven’t read that yet,” she said with a European accent.
She had beautiful green eyes and soft pink lips.
“You don’t meet many Russian literature fans,” I continued. “How’d you discover Gogol?”
“A friend thought I’d like it since it’s weird and twisted.”
“That was my major in college, weird and twisted.”
I hoped for a laugh. She remained stoic.
“I’m Loren.”
“Adeline,” she said.
“Nice to meet you, Adeline. Where are you from?”
“Germany.”
“What brought you to San Francisco?”
“I studied philosophy at Berkeley.”
