Hallucinating with Dua Lipa

What’s the official protocol when you spot a celebrity in the wild?

Recently, in the middle of my workday, I decided I was in dire need of a sugar-and-caffeine pick-me-up to carry me through the remainder of the afternoon. It was another scorcher, and my initial instinct was to deny the craving and go about my day. But once the thought began gnawing its way into my frontal lobe, it was all I could think about. I would brave the heat for that famous chocolate chip cookie made with 50% lard from Prospect Butcher Co.

In one quick move before my next call, I was out the door. Midway through my walk, I decided to take a slight detour to pick up a few things from my preferred grocer, Union Market, because if I was going to eat a cookie made with lard—and, if I’m being honest, probably more than one—then dinner needed to involve a lean meat and a leafy green. Balance!

The sun was hot as I walked south on Carlton Avenue. I wondered if it had been a mistake to wear the thin T-shirt I’d chosen that morning because surely the sweat happening underneath was going to reveal itself. How embarrassing, I thought. In between an important rumination about the appropriate thickness of cotton T-shirts, I fidgeted with my phone, trying to decide whether I should listen to “Inside of Me” or “Love Tried to Welcome Me” from Madonna’s Bedtime Stories. “Inside of Me” always wins.

As I pressed play, I happened to look up and noticed someone standing at a nearby Citi Bike dock. Long, wavy black hair fell most of the way down her back. Her light-wash jeans had a distinct patch centered at the waist. She was with a friend, a blonde woman in oversized glasses, and they seemed to be mid-conversation as I passed them.

As the lyric “I just think of your smiling face” filled my AirPods, I thought: That woman looks familiar.

I paused.

Even though I had only caught a brief glimpse of her as I passed, I knew who it was.

It was Dua Lipa.