Robert De Niro's Waiting

Fearless Girl

Kristina decided not to go home after work. It was late on a Monday evening when she left, and she still had the whole week ahead of her. It was so late in fact that the cleaner, Mary, joked that she was too young to be working so hard. When Kristina didn't laugh, she said, "What's the matter darlin'? Is it really that bad?" Kristina nodded. "You need some adventure child, and from what I can tell, you ain't gettin' it at home. Have yourself a night out, mmmhmmm!" On the elevator ride down, she started crying. She was sick of her boring job, her boring boyfriend, and her boring life. Mary had nailed it. She needed some adventure.

Instead of taking the train uptown to her apartment in NoHo, she decided to wander towards the East River. It was a short walk from the financial district. She passed the statue of "fearless girl" and wondered what her name was. She ran different names through her head, dismissing each one as it came. She tried to think of other names but drew a blank. "Kristina!" someone called out. She turned her head and saw a dashing young businessman in an overcoat. She didn't recognize him. A woman brushed past her and ran towards him. "Of course," she said to herself. She hated when that kind of thing happened. She always felt like a fool when someone would wave and she'd wave back hesitantly, only to discover is was someone behind her they were waving at. But at least this time she got something out of it. Fearless girl's name was Kristina. And why not? She smiled because it fit better than all the other names. "Thanks unknown business guy!" she said out loud. Her mood changed, and she decided to be like fearless girl. To become fearless girl.

When she got to the East River, she looks over the water. She had never taken the ferry, always opting to walk across the Brooklyn Bridge instead, when she felt like going to Juliana's for pizza. She wasn't a fan of boats because of an incident she had when she was younger. It was nothing overly traumatic, but she would avoid them if she could. But not tonight. Tonight she was fearless, and she decided to try something new. With a little assistance, she got her ticket and waited for her ferry. When she boarded, she took a seat, but then decided to explore. She discovered there was an upstairs with banks of seats. She saw an area that was empty, but decided to sit with the elderly man that got on ahead of her. She didn't want to go for pizza and decided to ask him for advice on what to do. She figured he knew his way since the ferry workers all smiled and nodded at him when he boarded. The ferry was moving and the wind tossed her hair around. She asked if she could join him, and he said, "sure," and motioned for her to take a seat. "I'm Bob. And you are?"

"I'm Kristina." She replied as she pulled the hair from her face allowing her to see the fast approaching Brooklyn Bridge.

"Good to meet you Kristina. I have to tell you, nobody usually has the nerve to ask to sit with me."

Kristina looked at him, puzzled at first, but then as she pulled focus, she realized why all the ferry worked greeted him so warmly. She was sitting beside Robert De Niro. But this most definitely wasn't a Bananrama song. "yes, well... I'm fearless." She said, and she took a deep breath as she focused back on the bridge.

"Yes you are! Yes you are. And what brings you to Brooklyn? I'm escaping TriBeCa. What's your plan."

Kristina kept repeating to herself that she was fearless. "Well, that's what I wanted to ask you. What are your plans?"

"No plans! No plans... just seeing where the evening takes me." He smiled.

"I like this no plans idea Bob. Mind if I... I mean... Would you like to join me?"

"Sounds good Kristina. Sounds very good! Well! Here we are!"

They got off the ferry and De Niro was a consummate gentleman. He asked Kristina questions that were not too probing, but it was obvious he genuinely wanted to know more about her. As they made their way up Atlantic Avenue, she asked him what he thought about the Bananarama song. He said he didn't know it, and if she would sing it to him. She indulged him and he smiled, then started laughing. "Wait! You do know it!" And she hit him. He stopped laughing. "I'm so sorry," she said. He smiled and laughed again. "Well that's it, I'm not singing for you anymore!"

"Well, that's okay. And let me tell you a little secret. I don't speak Italian."

"Well, they got that wrong then," she replied. "Hey look! Bond Street! I live on Bond Street in NoHo."

"Well you know, that's a sign. Let's turn here."

"And there's another sign! We need to go in there."

De Niro opened the door to "Robert", a neighbourhood bar just off Atlantic on Bond. It wasn't too busy. Kristina walked straight to the jukebox and looked for "Robert De Niro's Waiting" by Bananarama. De Niro took a seat at the bar. Kristina joined him when she couldn't find the track. It was a shame. She would have loved to play it. But she realized that she had nothing to complain about. She felt like a new woman. Being fearless was amazing. She couldn't wait to thank the fearless girl and the unknown business man, if she ever saw him again. De Niro bought the drinks and they toasted. "To the fearless girl!" De Niro said.

"To the fearless girl," Kristina thought.