"Welcome, folks," the driver says. "I hope you'll have a wonderful experience tonight."
He lifts the silver cover from the platter, revealing a gigantic plate loaded with an assortment of meats, salads, and fruits.
I'm really astounded by this.
"Oh my God. Is this dinner?" I ask.
Fabian just laughs at me.
"Everything here is freshly cooked," he explains. "The carriage kind of doubles as a kiosk, a place where they can prepare the food right on the spot."
This is all very endearing to me, but to be honest, the only thing I'm thinking about right now is how sanitary this is. Because… where would he wash his hands?
The driver looks back at us and smiles.
"Enjoy," he says.
"Thank you," I tell him.
Then he flicks the reins, and the white horse starts moving.
"Fabian…" I start, not knowing what to say. "I wasn't aware we were going on a date."
“It's not a date unless you want it to be a date,” Fabian smiles. “Relax, it's just dinner. The truth is I wanted to talk and I wanted you to enjoy yourself while we did.”
“We're going to have dinner while the horse is walking around town?” I ask.
“Yeah, I figured we can see the sights, go alongside the river and everything while we have dinner, and then just enjoy each other's company. We already do at work, but I just wanted to do something fun outside of work.”
“This is all… it's really nice. But how much is this costing?”
“Ah! None of that. If I couldn't afford it I wouldn't have planned on it, and I wanted to have this experience too. I just didn't want to be a loser and do it by myself,” Fabian laughs.
It takes only a few blocks until we arrive at the river.
Fabian and I have been talking for a while, just about the city and about our childhoods and things we used to do when we were younger and how we view life and the world now. It's only been ten minutes, but it's weighing on me a lot as I hear the horse snorting while it clops along.
“Excuse me,” I say quietly to Fabian before turning to alert the driver.
“Yes ma'am,” the driver says kindly.
“I just… sorry if this is rude but how long has this horse been working?”
“Ah, Anavra has been working for 10 years,” the man answers joyously.
“Doing carriage riding through New York?” I question.
“That's right. Very good horse, the best I've had,” he says.
This makes me wonder how many horses he's had.
“I meant tonight. How long has she been working tonight?”
“You are the fifth customer.”
“So how many hours?” I question.
“No worry ma'am. I promise it's a good price and already taken care of,” the man says.
