Come Closer

by Sara Gran

THE NOISE WASN’T SO unusual, really; our building was close to a hundred years old and one expected that kind of noise. It had been built as an aspirin factory when the city still had an industrial base.

Amanda's loft is inspired by many, many lofts I've known and loved. My father (the afore-mentioned architect) had a huge loft office in what's now called DUMBO in Brooklyn in the 70s. In the 90s, I moved to a loft in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, where I met my now-husband, who'd lived in the same building since the 80s. Hard to believe now, but both neighborhoods were full of abandoned buildings. In DUMBO, in particular, a bunch of buildings that held spices and coffee had been abandoned still full, and the streets had a strange, good, distinctive smell. But please note the location in Come Closer is intentionally never specified. Could be any city. Could be YOUR city.