la madonna del flatos tortillas

I have a reputation for being a bit of a control freak, especially around my best friends. I just like things to follow a specific order. If dinner reservations are at 9:00, we need to be in a cab by 8:45, no exceptions. I know it can be frustrating for those around me, but it truly is out of my best interest for the collective. I simply want things to go as planned. I just want everyone to have a good time.

I have tried to put reason behind this constant demand to be in control and have come to believe that it is partly derived from my wishes to protect those around me. When my girlfriends are under my command, for lack of a better term, I feel as though they are safe. I feel like their protector. This undoubtedly is a result from my position as the only boy, sandwiched between two sisters. I know these girls tend to find my antics a bit irritating, but its all generated from concern.

Anyways, many months ago, Alanna, Dianna, and I found ourselves at this little Mexican joint in Meatpacking—long story, longer than anyone has time for. This particular restaurant, being the geniuses that they are, paired pitchers of margaritas with watercolors. I know, amazing. Somehow, around three drinks in, I came up with my own rendition of the Virgin Mary. After much insistence on my part that Dianna cram the wet picture into her Louis Vuitton clutch, the picture soon found a place on Dianna and Alanna’s wall. We soon began to think of her as our protector, watching over us as we prepared to go out and take in the wonders of New York. She was our own patron saint: la Madonna del Flatos Tortillas.

When the year ended, la Madonna came home to Atlanta with me, and on my desk she still resides. With me in Paris, and the girls in New York without either of their protectors at their side, I can’t help but be a little apprehensive. Both of us, la Madonna and I, will be watching from afar. We will be keeping an eye on our ladies, just to make sure that everything, well almost everything, is in order. I am sure the girls will be able to keep up with their everyday, and not to mention fabulous, lives, filled with classes on the square, brunches at Pastis, and nights in the Lower East Side. I mean, how could they not? They are just too damn fantastic.