Jane was relieved that he didn't pry further about how her father had died, and that he didn't ask about her mother. Both were sad stories that were likely to end in tears, and that would definitely be a date ruiner. His hand was warm, and the caress of his thumb made her heart skip a beat. The touch was as tender as his heart seemed to be.

"Friends are the family you choose, isn't that the saying?" Friends were all she had left, and she had plenty. They did not fill the hole left behind by her father, though. It was a big one, and some days it felt like it would consume her like a black hole. Those days were happening less often with time.

She reluctantly pulled her hand away so she could resume eating. The waitress returned, this time with Jane's sushi order on an elaborate plate made to look like a boat. Jane realized she had fallen victim to her usual dilemma - her eyes were bigger than her stomach.

"Feel free to try anything you want. I may have ordered too much." She grinned. 'May' was an obvious understatement.