"Don't. I really don't mind talking about them. I mean, I don't really remember them or anything, but I absolutely love hearing stories about them. And I've recently begun meeting with an old friend of theirs, so it's been great to hear about their lives and what they were like."
"That's really nice," she said. "I'm sure their friend is probably just as happy to share the stories with you as you are to hear them. Reliving old memories of dear friends is a great way to honor them."
"I never really thought of it that way," Harry said.
The waiter appeared at the table again serving the calamari. She gave his hand a quick squeeze before letting him pull away. Harry waited and let Jessica make the first move. She saw that he was waiting on her and gave him a smile for his efforts. She pushed a small pile of the squid onto her small plate and poured a bit of marinara sauce over it. He smiled at her and mimicked her actions. He skewered one of the breaded pieces and brought it into his mouth.
He chewed it curiously for a few moments before smiling and nodding to himself.
Jessica giggled softly and asked, "Is that your first time having calamari?"
"Uh huh," he replied shyly.
"I could tell," she told him. "Your reaction was cute."
Harry felt his face heat up and knew that his cheeks must be stained red. He mumbled a "Thanks," and forked another piece and put it into his mouth.
They ate their way through the calamari and waited only a moment before the waiter appeared to claim the empty dish. "Your meal will be ready shortly," he informed them. "I'll be back in a minute with it."
"Thanks," Harry told him sincerely.
He and Jessica chatted for a minute as they waited for their main dishes. Sure enough, the waiter was back carrying two plates. He placed the Lasagna before Jessica and the Fettuccini Alfredo in front of Harry. "Bon appetite," he said to them merrily.
"Thanks," they both replied. They grinned at each other for a moment before turning to their meals.
They talked a little as they ate, but they mostly just enjoyed their meal. Harry found that he rather enjoyed the restaurant's take on the dish. He didn't fancy himself to be a great chef or anything, but he thought that he made a decent meal on his own. But his dinner here was fantastic. He told Jessica as much.
"I'm glad you like it," she told him. "I wasn't sure what kind of food you liked, but I figured Italian was a pretty safe bet."
"It was a good choice," he told her earnestly.
Soon enough they were finishing up their meals. The waiter returned shortly thereafter and asked, "Any dessert for you or coffee."
Harry looked at Jessica. She shook her head slightly to show that she didn't want anything else, so Harry replied, "No, I think we're both pleasantly full."
"Very well, I will just leave this with you then," he said as he placed the check in the middle of the table but slightly towards Harry.
"Thank you," Harry told the man.
Harry took the check and looked at the price. 40 pounds, gratuity not included. Harry had never eaten out before, so he didn't know how much to leave for tip. He turned to his date and asked "Umm… I feel kind of stupid, but how much should I leave for a tip?"
She smiled at him warmly and said "Don't feel bad. 15 is about the standard."
"Thanks," Harry told her gratefully. He turned back to the check and did the math in his head. It took him a minute to do the work since it had been some time since he had taken a math course, but he eventually figured it out. 40 pounds for the meal and an even 6 pounds for the tip would do it. He had a 50 pound note from the goblins, so he took that out and gave it to the waiter saying, "Keep the change."
The man grinned at Harry for a moment before saying, "Thank you, sir," and disappearing.
Harry turned back toward his date who was grinning at him yet again, "You really are the biggest tipper I've ever met, you know that? If you're not careful, you'll end up giving all your money away."
Harry just smiled shyly and shrugged his shoulders. "Are you ready to go?" he asked her.
"Yes, I suppose so," she answered.
They walked through the restaurant and out onto the street again. Harry turned to Jessica unsure of what he was supposed to do now. "Err - thanks again for setting everything up. I really enjoyed the restaurant."
"Me too," she replied. "The company was especially nice."
Harry's face turned scarlet yet again as he responded, "I really enjoyed spending the evening with you too."
She smiled back at him warmly and the two stood there silently grinning at each other for a minute. "Umm, do you have your car nearby? Would you like me to walk you to it? Or do you live nearby?"
"I live a few blocks away," she told him with a brilliant smile. "And an escort would be lovely."
"Great," he replied. "Shall we?"
"Indeed," she responded.
She gestured to the right, and they set off down the street together. After a minute of walking silently, she reached her hand and placed her palm against his. He spread his fingers and intertwined them with hers. He glanced over at her and flashed a wide grin at the gesture. She returned his smile, and they continued to walk.
"I really had a great time tonight," he told her. "I haven't had fun like this in a while."
"Well you should do it more often," she told him. "I really enjoyed being out with you as well. Thanks for the dinner."
"Oh don't mention it," he replied shyly. "It was really my pleasure. It's not every day I get to eat a nice meal with a woman as beautiful and sweet as you," he said boldly.
She rewarded him with a slight blush and wide smile. "You're not too bad yourself, Harry."
They turned a corner and continued to walk and talk. "Listen, I know you're going back to school soon, and there's a good chance I won't see you again, so I just want to let you know that I really have enjoyed spending time with you. You're a really sweet guy, and any girl would be lucky to be with you."
Harry blushed spectacularly at the praise and moved to interrupt, but she continued. "I mean it. You're sweet and honest and cute. You're shy, but it only makes you seem even cuter. You have my number if you ever want to give me a call. It would be hard to start a relationship or anything like that when we hardly know each other and we'd be apart, so I don't think it would be smart to try. But I don't want you to feel like I'm rejecting you or anything. Maybe when you're finished with that school of yours, if you come back to London, you could look me up, and maybe we'll pick up where we left off tonight."
Harry smiled at her. "Thank you Jessica. I appreciate your honesty. You're right, of course. It probably wouldn't work between us right now. But I do like you and enjoyed spending time with you tonight. So maybe I'll hold onto your number and give you a call the next time I'm in town. If you're seeing someone by then, we can always just catch up as friends."