I laugh. “Well, it suits you. But … you don’t look comfortable. Maybe you should change into something more … comfortable?”
Ishu raises an eyebrow in my direction. “If there was ever a time to wear something uncomfortable, it’s in this very uncomfortable situation I’m getting myself into.” She pulls the straps of her shoes on, before turning to me with a frown. “You don’t think I look like a clown, do you?”
“What? No!” I don’t even know where she’d get that idea.
“Just … you know how Aisling and Deirdre can be. I don’t want them to … make fun of me for … trying too hard,” she says. “This is a dress from House of Fraser.”
“Wow …”
“I mean, I’m pretty sure my sister got it during sales … she’s very thrifty,” Ishu says. I definitely can’t imagine House of Fraser being a regular shopping spot for them. Not just because it’s a posh shop, but because it doesn’t really seem like their thing anyway. Ishu is so down-to-earth. House of Fraser is not.
“I feel kind of underdressed compared to you, you know.” I comment. I’m wearing a pair of black jeans and a red polka dot blouse. I guess I should have dressed up a bit more, considering this is supposed to be a date.
Ishu looks at me with scrutinizing eyes for a minute. I shift around, balancing my weight on one leg, then the other.
“You always look good,” she says finally. “You don’t have to worry.” I know I shouldn’t take it to mean much, but I still feel heat rise up my cheeks. I want to say that she does too, but I don’t want to piggyback on her compliment.
“Should we get going?” I say instead, reaching out my hand. She takes it, pulling herself up off the last step.
Taking a deep breath, Ishu says, “I guess so.”
Since it’s May, the weather has started looking up. It’s actually warm, and the sun has decided to come out for a few days. We meet Aisling, Dee, Colm, and Barry at St. Stephen’s Green, which is full to bursting with people. People who are lying on their backs and sunbathing, people who have picnics laid down on the grass. And people who have snuck cans into the park and are trying to subtly drink without any gardaí seeing them.
“Took you guys long enough,” Aisling says, as Ishu and I walk up to them. She’s wearing sunglasses and sitting with her legs crossed. Barry has his head on her lap, his eyes closed. Colm and Dee are nowhere to be seen.
“Dee and Colm aren’t even here yet.” I sit down, crossing my legs. Ishu stands for an awkward moment, before slipping down right next to me.
“They are, they’ve just nipped down to the shop,” Aisling says. “We’ve been here for ages and ages. The park’s going to close soon, you know.”
“Well, I thought we were supposed to be going for dinner, not just hanging out in a park.”
“Well, plans change when the weather changes,” Aisling says. “Hey, Ishita. You look very summery, unlike Maira here.”
Ishu shrugs and shifts close to me. Like I’m some kind of a safety blanket for her discomfort. “You look nice too,” she adds after a beat of silence. “I like your sunglasses.”
“Thanks.” Aisling grins. “This is Barry, by the way.”
Barry just raises a hand to acknowledge us. He doesn’t even open his eyes or look at us. It’s very rude, actually. But what else is new?
“So, we were thinking we would go to Captain America’s,” Aisling says. “It’s just down the corner and we can get the student dis—”
“That’s not halal, though.” Ishu interrupts.
“Maira doesn’t mind. She’ll just eat vegetarian like she always does.” Aisling shrugs. “Right, Maira?”
“Yeah.” I nod. “It’s not a big deal.”
“Captain America’s has like one vegetarian option,” Ishu says. She digs into her bag and pulls out her phone. She taps twice before spinning the screen around toward Aisling. “This is a list of halal restaurants I found … some of them are pretty close. Most of them, actually. And—”
“Why do you have that list?” I peer over her shoulder and take a peek. It’s a long list.
“Because … I needed to know where we can go that you would like.” Ishu shrugs like it isn’t a big deal. Still, it feels like a huge deal. I knew that she had specifically looked for a halal restaurant for our “first date,” but I didn’t realize she had made a whole list and saved it onto her phone. Like there would be a time when she would be out and about with me again. As friends?