Melissa MeskuNobody calls it Dimes Square without modulating their voice like they’re quoting someone. Nobody calls this place Dimes Square because it’s not called Dimes Square. It’s a test. He’s testing me. He’s trying to see if I catch the reference.
I’m at a bar in Chinatown. I’m alone, but I still don’t want to get into it with this guy. We’ll probably have a lot in common. How awful.
“You live in the neighborhood?” he asks. I know it means Are you the kind of upbeat, motivated person who goes to different neighborhoods for variety’s sake or whatever, or are you actually cool?
Six years, I say. Seven, he replies, lifting his pint glass. Did you catch that? We just played a round of Who’s More Lower East Side. He who has lived here longest wins. This guy has me beat. But since my number was close to his, I...
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