Chapter 30
The traffic into Milwaukee was heavier than they expected. Fletcher suggested they go straight to the restaurant before checking into the hotel.
“The reservations are hard to get. I don’t want to be late, or my mom would be mad.”
Dot was fine with that, and even thought it was nice that he was close with his parents.
And that they could get them reservations to nice places and go to Europe for two-week vacations.
It certainly wasn’t the way she grew up.
They were more of a “Let’s go to our local place for clam chowder” type of family.
Fletcher’s parents were lawyers and had met during the early days of Facebook.
As some of Zuck’s first employees, they had made a lot of money and then invested it well.
In his college days, his dad had played basketball for Cal Berkeley, and Fletcher had inherited his dad’s height.
His mom was the daughter of Mexican immigrants who’d worked the fields in the San Fernando Valley.
He’d inherited her slight build, dark eyes, and high cheekbones.
As Mary said, “He definitely won the genetic lottery.”
At seven, they pulled into DanDan, an award-winning Chinese American restaurant on Erie Street. One of the owners had been on Top Chef.
“Perfect timing,” he said, flashing Dot a smile.
They checked in with the ma?tre d’, and as they sat down, their waiter came over.
“What a beautiful couple,” he said.
“Oh, we’re not . . .” Dot started to say. But Fletcher put his hand on her knee.
“Thank you! She’ll have a Community Effort, and I’ll try the Freddie’s on Fire.” He returned the cocktail menu to the waiter and then turned back to Dot. “I studied the menu last night, so I’d be ready to go.”
She was surprised he ordered for her rather than asking her what she wanted. But it turns out that is what she would have ordered. So, who was she to complain?
“Right away, sir.”
Fletcher looked sheepishly at Dot.
“Don’t worry, I know we’re not a couple. But we’ll get better service if they think we are.”
“Oh, sure. Ha. Okay.” Dot thought it was a little weird and controlling, but she was also hungry.
Over the course of the meal, they ate several small dishes. The smashed cucumber dim sum was Dot’s favorite appetizer, and Fletcher’s was the chicken and dill dumplings. They ordered two entrees: salt and pepper shrimp and kung pao chicken. For dessert, they shared the mango crème br?lée.
Throughout dinner, Fletcher made her laugh with stories from his childhood, and she found him very entertaining and charming. He was smart and well-read.
They had a very similar vibe on political issues. After her cocktail, she wondered if they could be a couple after all.
“Believe it or not, I was an awkward child,” he said. He’d switched to nonalcoholic beer since he had the keys.
“I find that hard to believe.”
“I was. I grew tall so quickly that everyone thought I was a lot older than I was. So it was kind of hard to be a little kid. I had to grow up kind of fast.”
“You consider yourself grown up now?” she teased.
“Ouch! But I’ll allow it,” he said. “What were you like as a young girl? I bet you were cute.”
“Oh, I was a big troublemaker and was always in detention and had to go to juvie for a bit.”
“No way!”
“Totally not,” she said. “I don’t know, I was . . . normal. Had a lot of good friends from different groups. I was in theater and worked on the yearbook. That kind of thing.”
“Did you ever think you’d be here today?”
“At a gourmet restaurant with a guy working to get Democrats elected in Wisconsin? Definitely not.”
“Same. But I’m glad we’re here.”
She raised her glass to his. “Me too.” They finished the last sips of their drinks.
“I’m so full. I won’t need to eat at all tomorrow,” she said.
“That might be a good thing. Can you imagine how bad the food will be at this?”
“Don’t be a snob, Fletch! I know you love cheese curds as much as I do.”
“Admittedly, they’re delicious.”
“Hey, let’s quickly go over what we want to show them tomorrow about the FTW efforts so far in Cedar Falls. I was thinking I could point out the new social media post ideas they could copy across the state. Our engagement for get-out-the-vote was solid last week.”
“I like that. And I can show them how I’m using AI prompts to get better results from the contact spreadsheet. I’ve literally got it down to a science.”
“Perfect. I’ll send Kitty a note in the morning detailing our plan. Have you noticed she’s been irritable lately?”
“A little. But she’s just under her own pressure. She’s got the five-hundred-grand win bonus and the cover of Washingtonian on her mind. Ignore her when she gets snappy. You’re doing an awesome job.”
“You think so?” Dot asked, seeking reassurance.
“I know so. I see it every day. We have great new volunteers who only signed up because of you. And the office is cheerful and productive. Can’t ask for more than that.”
“Thanks, Fletcher. I needed a boost of confidence.”
“You’re the most confident person I know, Dot.”
“If you only knew.”
“Come on, let’s end this night on a high note. Shots?”
“Absolutely not!”
“I was kidding. I’m driving, remember?”
They walked out of the restaurant together and went to their respective doors of Fletcher’s car. Before getting in, he said, “Hey, who said you can’t mix business with pleasure? This was fun.”
And she had to admit, he was right. It had been a fun dinner . . . and date?