CHLOE BAKER'S LOST DATE

Chapter Ten: Is This a Second or First Date?

"Oh, I thought you lived on the Upper West Side."

"Not anymore. I grew up there. My parents still have a place on Park Avenue."

"Fancy."

"The apartment's been in the family since before it was that fancy, but ... Yeah."

"Sorry, I didn't mean ..."

"It's fine. Everyone always says that."

I look down at my plate. It's white with a blue trim that matches the awning. There's rain forecast for later and I can feel it in the air.

"So ... That's how you knew about the good eggs benny?"

"Yes."

"It was good."

He frowns. "You had food?"

"Oh, Kit didn't tell you ..." I stop. How am I supposed to explain Fake Jack to him? "Um, we went there today. Kit and I."

"You did?"

"You'd spoken of it so highly. I was curious." The lie feels weird in my mouth and like a bad place to start a date. I search around for some other topic. "And it's near the Met, so we went there also."

"How was the Met?"

Yikes. This conversation is a minefield. "It was good."

"What was your favorite part?"

"The Temple of Dendur, I think. And all the Mixed-up Files stuff."

"Hunh?"

A waiter approaches, wearing a white shirt and a black apron. His dark hair is slicked back. "Have you had a chance to look at the menu?"

"Oh, sorry, no," I say.

"Anything to drink?"

Jack nods to me.

"I'll have a glass of white wine. The pinot gris?"

"Of course. And you, sir?"

"Just water for me."

The waiter nods. "I'll be back in a few minutes."

"Do you not drink?" I say to Jack.

"Not really, no."

I bite my lip. I don't want to tread into dangerous waters. There could be any number of reasons why Jack doesn't drink. It doesn't have to be a red flag. "I don't have to have wine."

"No, go ahead, please." He picks up his menu. "What looks good to you?"

I grab my menu. It's full of delicious-looking items including fried zucchini and grilled octopus.

"I love tzatziki," I say.

It's my favorite condiment. When Kit and I went to Greece on our graduation trip from college, we judged the restaurants in Santorini by the price of their tzatziki. The cheaper it was, the better the food. I gained five pounds on that trip and didn't regret it.

"Oh," Jack says. "I, um, don't like creamy foods. But go ahead and get it, of course."

"Creamy foods?"

"You know, that creamy texture." He shudders. "Makes me gag."

"Does that include hummus?"

"It does."

"Okay." I look at the menu again. "What about the octopus?"

"I'm allergic to seafood."

My menu goes limp in my hand. "Why don't you choose some things."