Chapter 33 Elaine - Maid In Manhattan

• No matter how many times I see Manhattan at night, it looked more beautiful than the last. When I newly moved to this city from New Zealand where my family was, there was never a night that went by for the next year that I wasn't out strolling and checking out all the fun bars and people. I felt freer than I ever was, but I was still a tad bit uncertain about what the future held because I had no friends and my family was not with me.
• When I sighted Cora and the girls the first time sitting across from me in a then trendy new pub downtown, I was intimidated. Everything from their appearance to their manner of speech and the guys that were hanging out with them screamed wealth. They were the sole center of attention and I was left feeling so self-conscious and envious. I thought I didn't belong there. Knew I didn't belong to this town. But then Cora held up her hand and signaled me to come to sit with them. Mortified, I turned down their offer at first, insisting that I was okay with where I was seated, but they weren't having any of it. They practically ditched their guys — boyfriends and came to sit where I was.
• Whenever I asked them what drew them to me, they just laughed and assured me that it wasn't pitying, as I was thinking. They just loved me at first glance. I didn't know if that's how friendships are meant to be born but with time our bonds grew, and after my first boyfriend's stupid move that wrecked me for months, they urged me to come live with them in their flat. We all split the rent and existed as one big happy family.