I'll Have What He's Having by Adib Khorram

Author:Adib Khorram [KHORRAM, ADIB]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing
Published: 2024-08-27T00:00:00+00:00

twenty-eight

David

It wasn’t like David could bail on dinner with his dad. And especially not on his dad’s new girlfriend. But why didn’t he bother checking where they were going?

He knew the address looked familiar—he knew it. He just hadn’t put two and two together. And now here he was, outside Farzan’s restaurant, and what if Farzan was there working? Would it look like David was bringing his parents for Farzan to meet? That was abso-fucking-lutely not the signal David wanted to be sending.

A light rain had started to fall, misting over David’s windshield. His phone buzzed; he had missed a few Are you still alive? texts from Ayesha. He’d been meaning to give her a call for the last couple weeks, but between Aspire, and his test, and Farzan, he’d been too busy. He was typing out an apology when a familiar off-white SUV pulled into the spot beside him.

He could finish it later.

David checked his hair in his visor mirror before stepping out.

His dad shot a quick smile his way before scurrying around the hood to open the door for his girlfriend—a chivalrous move David couldn’t remember Christopher Curtis ever pulling off before.

David got most of his looks from his dad: the same dark brown skin with cobalt underneath, the same high cheekbones, the same blocky hands. (He’d gotten his eyes from his mom, though: Christopher Curtis’s eyes were small and spaced a bit too close to his nose.) David was the same height as his dad, too, though lately he’d seen the slightest of stoops in his father’s shoulders. He refused to think about that.

The woman his father helped out of the car was lovely: dark amber skin, a broad nose, full lips painted a cool purple that matched her cardigan. She was short and plump, with a shy smile that turned the corners of her eyes up as she looked at David.

“David, this is Deb,” Christopher said. “Deb, my pride and joy, David.”

“It’s lovely to meet you,” David said, offering his arm as she stepped up onto the curb. Her nails were short, manicured, and the same lavender as her lips. “How’d you two pick this place?”

“My ex-husband’s Iranian,” Deb said. “We used to come here all the time. I still bring my kids when they come to visit.”

“Oh yeah? How many kids you got?”

“Two daughters. Both in their twenties.”

Christopher held the door open; after letting Deb through, he rested a hand on David’s elbow. “I hope this place is okay.”

“It’s fine,” David said, a little too quick.

“What?”

But David shook his head.

Deb was at the host stand, waiting next to a lovely fat white woman with her black hair pulled back into a ponytail. David followed them to their booth in the corner. A small, red-wreathed chandelier hung above, thankfully high enough David didn’t have to worry about standing up and hitting it.

“Nathan will be taking care of you tonight,” the host was saying. “Let us know if you need anything, Deb.”

“I will. Thanks, Patricia.”

David slid onto his side of the booth, crooking his arms out a bit because his pits were suddenly sweaty.

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