Page 79 of Pride and Protest

“Celebrity chef, the king of Queens, Asian fusion guru, affordable-chic food magnate Joseph Park?” Colin asked.

Park pulled at the collar of his shirt. “Yep, all of that!” Everyone at the table laughed. Park made the rounds, shaking everyone’s hands and charming them effortlessly. Dorsey made an undignified sprint, just beating out Chicho for the seat next to Liza, while Park sat across from him. A woman came to pour the wine, and Liza and Dorsey reached for the same wineglass.

“Wineglasses go just above the knife, which will be onyourright.” Dorsey managed a smile.I’m doing it. Relating without sounding like a robot.

“I really should brush up on my Emily Post,” Liza quipped. She looked slightly embarrassed.

Oh god, did I call too much attention to her mistake? I’m terrible at this.Every time he looked up, his eyes met Liza’s. She would flit her eyes away, or he would pretend to look down into his drink. Drinks that were flowing a bit too freely for Dorsey’s liking. He was suddenly glad he hadn’t driven, because his head was swimming. He wasn’t sure if it was his prolonged proximity to Liza or the wine. Her sparkle made everyone seem like such dull company. It wasn’t just him who seemed to think so—everyone asked her questions and picked her brain for outrageous tidbits.

“Ron absolutely didn’t deserve Hermione,” Liza finished. “He negged her the entire series!”

Park scoffed. “Get out of here with your Hufflepuff sensibilities. It’s a Gryffindor or Slytherin world out there.”

“Hermione chose exactly who she wanted!” Anne said. It was the first topic Dorsey had seen her passionate about. Had everyone seen this film? Anne was a generation ahead of him and followed this conversation. Why hadn’t he just sat down and watched the damn movies? All he knew was Harry was good and the green dudes were bad, but he had never understood why.

Liza crossed her arms. “I ship Hermione and Harry all. Day.” She clapped her hands for punctuation.

“Why would Harry do that to his friend?” Park asked.

“Now who has Hufflepuff sensibilities? The heart wants what the heart wants.” Liza shrugged.

“Forget Hufflepuff, that is so Slytherin of you.” Park laughed. “Dorsey’s got a Slytherin streak too.”

“I will not even pretend to understand what exactly you allare talking about,” Dorsey said quietly. When Joseph rolled his eyes, Dorsey added hastily, “But I vaguely remember the green guys—”

“Slytherins,” Liza said.

“I think Slytherins get a bad rap.” The table groaned around him.Oh boy, am I bad at this.Only Liza slapped the table decisively.

“Oh my god, thank you for your bravery,” she said. “What is wrong with ambition? That is J. K. Rowling’s Britishness erupting all over the page.” Liza smiled at Dorsey, and he smiled weakly back. How could he steer this conversation to a comfortable place?

“I enjoy the animated seriesAvatar,” Dorsey said haltingly. Why couldn’t he be the man he was in texts? Why was it so hard to push out these words?

Liza’s brows rose in surprise. “I... I think Katara was underutilized.”

Dorsey nodded. “I mean, she could blood-bend.”

“Right, just do what you have to do to win the war,” Park said.

Dorsey, buoyed by the positive reactions, continued. “And Aang and Katara were a terrible match.”

“Zuko and Katara...” Dorsey and Liza blurted out at the same time. He nodded, and Liza finished.

“Zuko and Katara were a better couple,” she said.

Park scoffed. “He was a jerk to her. Just like Ron.”

“The heart wants what it wants,” Dorsey said. When Liza looked up at him, the bottom dropped out of his belly.

“What do you think, Lucia?” Park asked.

“Liza and I have been down this road before. We have a binding agreement. I won’t talk aboutUnsolved MysteriesandTheFirst 48, and she won’t talk about her cartoons,” Chicho said, and Liza laughed.

“Yes, we called that the Treaty of Paris, I think,” Liza said.

“Do you all name your friend truces?” Park asked. “Dorsey, we have to do that.”

“What is your Magna Carta?” Dorsey asked.