“This restaurant is literally like two minutes away, just over on Sansom. It's a little kabob place. The lamb is good if you don't think too much about how cute and cuddly your entrée once was.”
“I try not to contemplate what my dinner was like in life.”
“Probably wise.” I glanced up at him and smiled. “So, you grew up around here?”
“In Bryn Mawr,” he replied, naming a town on the Philadelphia Main Line with one of the wealthiest zip codes in the United States.
“Nice neighborhood.”
“The Upper East Side of Manhattan isn't too shabby either.”
“Been talking to Mark huh? What else did you find out?”
“Your mom is a VP at Goldman Sachs and your father is the CEO of a Fortune 500 company. So, you’re a trust fund baby like me but you’re an only child. I’ve got to share my inheritance with my younger brother and sister.”
“Well, at least you know I'm probably not after your money.”
“Most people highly motivated by money don't become public defenders.”
“My parents like to point that out too, but not for the same reason.”
“Are you close to your mom and dad?” he asked.
“Yes, very. They’ve been happily married for twenty-eight years and they’re very loving parents. Is your family close?”
“Yes, exceptionally,” he answered. “My parents have been happily married for thirty years. And my brother and sister and I are close even though Drew and I rag on each other.”
“You went to Georgetown Law and you’re twenty-seven like Mark?”
“Right. You went to Penn Law and you’re twenty-six?”
“Yep. So now we know the details,” I said with a smile.
“Now we know the details,” he agreed.
“Ah, here we are,” I said as we approached the restaurant. “I warned you that it's not fancy.”
“I don't care about fancy as long as it tastes good. I'll try the lamb even though I'm afraid that now I'm going to think about how cute my dinner once was.”
“Sorry about that.” We went down the steps from the sidewalk to the entrance below and entered into the quaint interior filled with delicious smells and Turkish music. I saw my friend Ahmet rushing to greet us.
“Gabrielle! It's good to see you! Come in! Sit down! Damla will be happy you are here! And you brought someone with you!” He gave me an inquisitive smile.
“I've been telling him how great the food is here.”
“Ah, yes thank you!” He beamed. He handed us menus and then hurried off. He was back in a moment with his wife Damla.
“Gabrielle! You are looking so beautiful! And who is your friend?” Damla asked with a huge smile. Damla was so warm she glowed.
“This is Braden. He's a lawyer too.”
“And are you on a date?”
“We are actually, yes.”
“That is good news!” she said, clapping her hands excitedly. Great, even the people at the kabob place were thrilled to see me with a date. “She is very lovely!” Damla said to Braden. “She will have beautiful children someday.” I wanted to slide out of my chair and crawl under the table to hide. I started to read the menu with the focus of a Talmudic scholar.
“I haven't had that yogurt soup in a while. That was really good.” Thankfully they took the hint.
“I'll send Fatma over to take your order. Have a very nice date!” Damla said sweetly.
“We hope we will see you many times,” Ahmet added. They kept smiling and waving as they backed up toward the kitchen. When they got there I saw them peek their heads back out again. They had huge smiles and waves for us. I waved and spoke to Braden as I smiled back at them.
“I helped them with some immigration stuff once. They're very thankful people. And I haven't really dated anyone in a while so I guess they're happy that my attractive ovaries might not go to waste.”
“Why haven't you been dating?” he asked.
“My opportunities are mostly for inner-office romances or one night hook-ups with strangers but neither one of those really appeals to me much. So, why have you been… um?”
“Having casual sexual encounters with no emotional investment or commitment?”
“I was just going to say not dating, but okay, if you prefer.”
“It’s been a while since I’ve been interested enough to want to know more about a woman than whether she preferred to be on the top or the bottom.”
“Oh. Well, I’m flattered, I guess, and for the record, I like both. It just depends on my mood.” He grinned and I saw his eyes start to heat up. Fatma came over and took our order. When she left Braden picked up where we left off.