Page 128 of Jinxes and Drumsticks

“Whoa, you guys already ordered?”

“It’s banchan,” Lillith says as she starts pointing out all of the options on the table. “This is japchae; it’s like a sesame stir fried glass noodle. This is a pan-seared tofu. Those over there are picked radish papers. Then there’s a seaweed salad, some napa kimchi and a hot cucumber salad! It’s like a spicy pickle.”

She picks up her chopsticks and starts working on pulling the tender flesh off the body of the fish. I follow suit. I take the first bite and nod. It’s not bad. The tiny bones are a little unnerving, but when I look around the restaurant, I see other patrons eating it with a little rice or tofu. No big deal, it seems.

“Do you want mine?” Binx offers.

“You don’t want it?” I ask.

“I have some food sensory things. The bones freak me out, but I also hate looking rude. You’d be doing me a favor.”

“Sure, man,” I say, taking the small fish onto my plate.

I bask in Lillith’s happiness as she eats and catches up with her friends. She makes up some fake ailment to explain her need to stay at home, but also explains that she’s getting better. She tells them about what we’ve been up to—at least the PG version, anyway. She tells them that they should come visit Odd Bird.

I love seeing her with her friends. Love seeing how much they love her.

Binx delivers on his promise of goodies, giving Lillith a tidy stack of drawings he’s made. She flips through them after we all order our tofu and wait for our food. Some of the drawings are of Lillith. Some of them are of both of us. Some are of my hands, which makes her flush with embarrassment, as if I could ever dislike that she’s obsessed with my hands.

The meal is damn good. The soup is flavorful and unctuous and the tofu is silky like a poached egg. I devour all of mine and Lillith requests several refills on her favorite banchan dishes (the seared tofu, the cucumbers and the japchae, I note for later). By the end of dinner, we’re all full and lazy.

“Well, love birds, I have to go open the store, and I’m Raina’s ride. Can we call for the check?”

“I got it, don’t worry,” I say. “Thanks for coming out.”

“You’re paying, too? Oh, I like him,” Naomi says.

“Thanks, Damien,” Raina says as Lillith stands to let them out of the booth.

“No problem,” I say.

“I better go too,” Binx says. He doesn’t say so, but I think he might be hungry. He did his best to eat the food, I think, but I know sensory issues can be tough. He’s probably starving.

“Yeah,” I say, standing up to let him out too.

There are some hugs, some promises to visit each other, and then it’s just the two of us. We sit down and wait for the check. Lillith reaches her hand out across the table and I take it, leaning forward to kiss her knuckles.

“This was so sweet,” she says. “I missed them so much.”

“I figured you did.”

“When did you even find the time to invite them?”

“While I was changing and you were hanging out with Wren and giving her hell,” I said with a grin. “I got in touch with Naomi and she actually did the rest. I can’t take all the credit.”

“Still,” she said squeezing my hand. “Thank you so much. I loved this. And I love you.”

I kiss her hand again. “I love you too. Impossibly more every second, if you can believe it.”

“I can,” she says with a meaningful smile. “So, what’s next?”

“What. A piercing and dinner wasn’t enough?” I ask.

Her expression falls, and I laugh as how easy it is to mess with her. “I’m kidding. Of course we’re going somewhere else,” I say, before giving her a sober expression. “But need to talk before we go.”

Her face blanches, and I feel a little shitty for messing with her.

But not shitty enough that I regret it.