The date

David waited outside the restaurant nervously. To the passerby's he looked like a teenager on his first date. He was wringing his hands and pacing from foot to foot. Nervously he checked his phone for any messages and on his social media to kill time until his date showed up.

The anxiety of dating again for the first time was something he hadn't felt in a long time. And unlike going out with friends this was someone he wanted to spend time with and get to know. Friends are different than dates because he was very selective and his group of friends was very small. And the effects of his divorce meant that he didn't trust as easily as he had before.

The breeze felt nice against the warmth of the sun and David kept playing with his hair to keep spare strands from sticking up everywhere. He had thought about hair spray but his hair wasn't long enough for product and he was rethinking that decision. You always look great in front of your own mirror but no outfit survives the first 10 yards outside your front door.

Finally, after what felt like an hour but was really about 20 minutes Elizabeth turned the corner from down the block and waved to David. He could see her smile as she walked towards him. She was wearing a dark blue dress with light pink-colored flowers printed on it. She had a small clutch in her hands and her hair was pinned up over her ears with barrettes. David couldn't help but smile back. His own outfit was brand new and something he had seen together in a catalog. He knew he looked okay but he still felt kind of awkward compared to the simple beauty of her outfit.

Elizabeth walked up to him and put her hand out towards David. He wasn't sure if she wanted to shake hands or hold hands at this point. He took the safe route and shook her hand. She smiled at him like he had missed the point.

"I'm sorry to keep you waiting. The subway was running behind." She apologized to him and looked at his outfit. "That looks nice? New clothes just for me?"

David had contemplated washing them first to make them look less new and he was regretting not doing so. "Yeah, I thought it might be nice to wear something new. First impressions and all."

She nodded, "No, it looks good on you. Not what I would have expected from you though."

David smiled and thought to himself, 'I wonder what she did expect?'

"Thank you, I will take that compliment. I'm not all students, work, and bologne sandwiches after all." He laughed trying to set the mood as fun and light.

She nodded, "No apparently not. Okay, so what are we having today?"

"Have you ever had curry before?" He asked.

She nodded, "Yeah, I had a roommate who made something they called curry. I haven't ever had it restaurant-style."

"Okay, so the question then is do you care about family-style eating?"

She shook her head, "I don't get hung up on things like that normally. They have a serving spoon right?"

He smiled, "Exactly! Do you have any issue with like, lamb or anything?"

She shook her head. "Nope, let's go in and get started then."

David nodded and walked up to the door. He opened it for her and smiled, He extended his hand in the universal sign of please enter. She walked through the door and did a small curtsy as she passed through the door. "So old-fashioned aren't we?" She chuckled as she passed through.

He wanted good manners for her, but being too chivalrous could be seen as being desperate. He sighed internally and was double guessing every move he made. Ae had told him before he left to just pretend he was taking her out to dinner. That hadn't helped because he remembered one time they got thrown out of a restaurant for having a family fight. Ae was probably his closest friend most days so they had a very different relationship.

The greeter seated them at a table in the back of the room, in a table for two. They sat opposite each other and were handed two menus politely. Shortly after a waiter came through and brought them Naan and dipping sauces along with a large glass of water. They got their drink orders in, Elizabeth got a Mango Lassi and David asked for a large iced tea.

They sorted through the menu and found a sampler that had several different types of curry. It gave them the option to try almost all of the sauces and each of the types of meats they served. The lamb saag was one David had wanted to try anyway so he agreed readily.

While they waited for the meal to come Elizabeth sat on her edge of the table picking small pieces off a Naan and nibbling on them after dipping them into the sauce. She was looking at something over David's shoulder thoughtfully.

"What's back there?" He broke her concentration, she smiled at him and pulled another piece of Naan off and tossed it in her mouth.

"I was just thinking. You sit quietly at work every day, eating your sandwiches, and talking to students. I don't think I ever realized you knew this much about other kinds of food."

David shuffled in the seat and rearranged his napkin nervously. "My parents were very meat and potatoes kind of people when I was a kid. We had Sunday Lunch at a restaurant but it was always one of those choose off-the-line cafeteria-style places. When I got old enough to get my first job I always wanted to try new things so I started eating out on my own. So I have tried a ton of different foods. I just wish my cooking skills matched up to my eating skills though, that's why there are so many sandwiches."

"So no home-cooked dinner dates at your place then?" She leaned forward a bit hoping to get his reaction.

David's eyes got wide and he smiled, "I will make my best effort, but I'm not winning any culinary prizes. That's all I am saying."

She laughed at him, "Honesty is always a good thing. I always loved Italian food but I can't get noodles right to save my life. So I guess that's the same thing really."

He nodded, "Exactly. I am sure with some classes I'd become okay at it. What about you? Anything surprising about Elizabeth I should know? Roller Derby or anything."

"Do I look like the roller derby type to you?" She faked surprised. This was going differently than she expected.

David backtracked quickly, "No, No, that's why I said it. That would be very surprising."

"Well then, what do you think I am into when I'm not working?"

David leaned forward and looked at her eyes. He put his hands out, "Can I see your hands?" It was as much a reason to touch her hands as it was to look for signs of manual hobbies.

She smiled and tilted her head, "Okay, if you want to hold my hand that badly."

David knew that the ball was in his court now. He could really screw this up if he wasn't careful. She put her hands in his and he flipped them over palm side up. He looked at her fingertips, she didn't have any calluses from playing a stringed instrument. She did have signs of working on paper, cuts on the sides of her thumb from flipping through sheets. He touched the palm of her hands with his finger. She suppressed a giggle when it tickled just a little bit.

She pulled back her hands after that and rubbed them together to get rid of the itch. "Okay, that's enough. What's your guess Zoltan?"

David put his hands together in front of him and looked at her hair and her nails. They were painted soft light pink and her clutch was new with no signs of scuffing at the bottom. "Okay, I think you have a small collection of books. You probably do something artsy in your past time, painting or something based on the color of your nails. I think you like to take walks occasionally, and maybe play a video game or two now and then."

David looked at her face but it didn't betray the slightest shred of surprise. He should have guessed poker because her face didn't give anything away. "Interesting," she said and leaned back in her chair. "You really wanted to just hold my hand then?"

"That wrong then?" He sighed, he had tried.

"Not entirely. I just hoped for all that tease up you were gonna blow my mind with accuracy."

"What and make you think I'm a freaky internet stalker? No thank you."

"You didn't even snoop through and look for what you could find?" She said with surprise.

"What?" He said with surprise. "Is that normal now?"

She laughed at him, "Wow you really haven't dated in a while. Everyone does a little research. You don't go in for an interview without looking up the company first do you?"

She had a point and David felt a little bit stupid. "Sorry, no I didn't. I hoped to learn that from you organically."

She leaned forward and looked at him. A pregnant pause sat in the air for a minute before she laughed. "Wow, Okay I will take that as a compliment. You got books right. I haven't played video games since college, not enough time for that. No real arts and crafts though. What about you?"

David sighed. She was messing with him. He hoped the flush in his ears would go away soon enough. He could tell from the heat in his ears that he was blushing. The conversation quickly turned into hobbies. He told her about his cat and his apartment.

Shortly after dinner showed up. It was nearing 9 pm now and they each took small bites from the individual pots. They compared sauces and meats and swapped out different mixes.

When the plates were taken away deserts were served they each had a coffee and the conversation winded down. They had talked about work and friends. The conversation wasn't forced, Davids attempt to break the ice with the hands had worked. By the time the coffee was done David slipped the waiter his credit card discreetly and waited for the check to come back.

When the clock started to show 9:30 Elizabeth folded her napkin and put it on the table. "Well, would you walk me back to the subway station?"

David smiled and nodded, "Sure, I can walk you as far as you'd like."

She smiled and stood up. David followed suit and walked with her to the door. He opened it for her again and she laughed at him as he did it. He hoped it was a good laugh. They walked together to the subway station. It was only a few blocks down the street and around the corner she had come from earlier. David had nervously contemplated holding her hand but every time he looked she had both hands holding her clutch in front of her.

"It looks like the subway is coming up. I had a good time tonight." David said smiling.

She tilted her head towards him, "Tonight was fun, it was different than I expected."

"Different?" He felt sweat starting at the use of that word.

"Not bad, just different than what I expected."