Dating By Hostage

I was having dinner with a friend not too long ago. Because of our hectic schedules, I only get to see her over an occasional "power dinner."

We managed to get together at our favorite neighborhood restaurant for sushi and quickly made up for lost time, comparing notes from our first year in NYC.

During the course of our dinner, we noticed the "couple" seated next to us. A couple of what, I'm still not entirely sure.

At first, I thought the significantly older male was the female's father, or some other male relative. This notion was quickly quashed, however, when I overheard bits of the conversation. (Not that I was eavesdropping; the tables in this place are close enough that I could have eaten from her plate — which was more than she was doing).

His posturing, word choice and credential flashing made it clear that this was a date of some sort. That, or it was some bizarre hostage situation, as the poor girl looked bored out of her mind and slightly trapped. She mostly just sat there nodding (she couldn't get a word in, even if she tried), occasionally pushing her food around.

I couldn't help but wonder what brought this strange arrangement about. Then another thought crossed my mind — is this all that's left in the dating pool?

All I can think of are those times when you really want a sandwich, and all you have left for bread are the end pieces that never quite match up.