"You're probably right," David agreed.

There was a lull and then David surprised me with a question of his own.

"And how are things with you and Connor?"

"Who?" I asked.

"You're hilarious," he replied without conviction.

"Things are excellent," I said. "You know I get free drinks, right?"

"Of course. I forgot. The primary selling point."

"I wouldn't say primary, but it is up on the list."

"Do you think it will last, Isabel?"

"Sure," I replied. "At least through the week."

"Don't you have another lawyer date coming up?"

"Oops. Thanks for reminding me. Talk to you later. Bye."

MANDATORY.

LAWYER DATE #4.

To refresh your memory, lawyer dates with an even number are chosen at my discretion, minus the predetermined standards. I found www.litidate.com to be an excellent site for finding the available barristers in the area. For my particular situation, the best bets were the most attractive and well educated. I figured I could turn off one of those guys within five minutes flat (maybe less on a good day). The key was somehow getting them to go out with me to begin with. I didn't feel like faking my educational background, so I admitted to PI work, but I did claim to be a golf enthusiast,1 a gourmet cook, and a killer on the tennis court.2 What I didn't list on my profile but planned to market on the date, which would make my ill-suited-ness more ill suited, was that I was a new-age enthusiast with an astrological chart obsession.

Conrad Frith booked a table for two at Michael Mina3 for eight P.M. I arrived early to express the eagerness that men so often fear. I smiled too much, looking him up and down, attempting to illustrate approval of the specimen before me. Conrad, I got the feeling, was accustomed to this particular expression of approval. His attractiveness was that standard white-male attractiveness that is typically lost on me. However, I can fake approval with the best of them.

Once we were seated, the gushing phase of the evening commenced. I complimented Conrad's choice of restaurant, then I complimented his tie, his suit, and after looking under the table, his shoes. He ordered a whiskey; I said, "Oh, that sounds tasty. I've never had one before. I think I'll give it a try." Then I returned to perusing the menu.

When the drinks arrived, I took a sip, made a face, and then immediately adjusted to its flavor and downed mine in one quick shot, calling the garcon4 over to bring me another. Then we ordered food. While I was pretty sure I had lost Conrad at "Your shoes are yummy," I sealed the deal over dinner.

[Partial transcript reads as follows:]

ME: What's your full name?

CONRAD: Conrad Easterly Frith.

ME: What a stately name. Are you a third or a fourth?

CONRAD: No, I'm just a first.

ME: Now, down to important matters. What's your birthday?

CONRAD: July eighteenth.

ME: [with palpable disappointment] So, you're a Cancer?

CONRAD: I guess so.

ME: There's no guessing about it. If you were born on July eighteenth, you're a Cancer.

CONRAD: I don't pay much heed to those things.

ME: Well I do.

CONRAD: I see.

ME: I have some bad news for you.

CONRAD: What?

ME: Astrologically speaking, we're a nightmare waiting to happen.

CONRAD: You don't say.

ME: It could still work, but we'd be bucking the odds.

CONRAD: Should we even finish this meal?

ME: We already ordered.5 CONRAD: Maybe we should talk about something besides our astrological charts.

ME: That's an idea.

CONRAD: You're a golfer, I believe.

ME: Yes. One of my many loves.

CONRAD: What's your handicap?

ME: I think the preferred term is "physical challenge" and I don't have one as far as I know.

CONRAD: What's your golf handicap? Your profile says you play golf.

ME: Oh, that. What's yours?

CONRAD: Nine.

ME: No way! Mine too!

CONRAD: Excuse me?

ME: So, aside from golf, what do you do for fun?

THE "FREE SCHMIDT!" EXPLOSION.

My punishment, after my mother heard the recording of Lawyer Date #4, was playing chauffeur for Rae the following Saturday. At one P.M. Rae's final stab at the SAT would be over, and so would her chance to sway all those Ivy League schools my parents had forced her to apply to.

I waited outside Mission High School (the test center) for fifteen minutes until the exodus of weary, test-addled students began. Out of the corner of my eye, something struck me as off, but I didn't turn my head from the newspaper until it was impossible to ignore.

Picture this: A swarm of close to two hundred awkward and not-so-awkward students of various sizes, shapes, and ethnicities, all in the now-familiar blue T-shirts with yellow felt letters: Free Schmidt!

Just as all penguins look alike to most nonpenguins, I didn't even notice my sister until she approached the car and knocked on the window. Intriguingly, she was accompanied by none other than that secret boyfriend with the bicycle, although he did not have his accessory with him. I unlocked the car door.

"How'd it go?" I asked.

"Only time will tell," Rae vaguely replied.

"You didn't throw it again, did you?" I asked, annoyed. It was a reasonable accusation. She'd thrown the PSAT (pronounced Psssat) last year.1 "No, not this time," Rae answered.

By now both my sister and the relatively unknown male were safely ensconced in the car. I thought introductions were in order.

"Who's the intruder?" I asked.

And then the fresh-faced young male leaned over the seat and held out his hand.

"Hi, I'm Fred. Nice to meet you, Isabel."

"Fred what?"2 "Fred Finkel."

"Seriously?" I said, because if Rae was in the mood to make up a name, this would be it.

"Do you want to see my ID?" "Fred" asked pleasantly.

"Sure," I replied. "Why not?"

"Fred" presented an authentic school identification card. He wasn't lying.

"I'm sorry," I said, handing it back to him. The apology was less about demanding the ID and more about his unfortunate name. Fred picked up on that.

"It's okay," he replied. "After seventeen and a half years, you get used to some things."

"I like your attitude, Fred."

"Thanks."

"Where's your bike?"

"How'd you know I rode a bike?"

"There's a wear mark on your right pant leg from a leg strap."

"A friend of mine is riding my bike home. But your observation was impressively Holmesian."

"Thank you," I replied, pleased that my fake deduction got its due notice. Fred was growing on me in leaps and bounds. Aside from the company he kept and the FREE SCHMIDT! T-shirt he wore like a uniform, no obvious faults were apparent in this boy. Was it possible that Rae had better taste in men than I did?

"Rae, what have you done to all these people?" I asked, staring at the swarm of blue T-shirts with bright yellow lettering.

"I mobilized them," Rae replied.

Trying to avoid a repeat of the same conversation I'd been having for the past several weeks, I kept quiet and waited for my driving instructions. Because celebrating was in order, and celebrating with the unit is hardly celebrating (especially these days), Rae insisted that I drive the pair to Henry's house. I couldn't imagine what he had planned for the duo, but I didn't bother asking.

"They're everywhere," I said, slowly fighting my way through the traffic of FREE SCHMIDT! fashion campaigners.

"It's not too late for you to join the cause, Izzy," Rae said.

"It looks like you've got it covered."

"Schmidt's not the only one."

"I have my Schmidt, Rae. I don't need another."

"We'll talk about this later," my sister said.

And we did. Sort of.

THE FINGERPRINT FAIRY.

I delivered Team Schmidt to Henry's house a few minutes later. He patted the delightful Fred on the back and said, "Dude, how you been?"

"Dude"? Since when did Henry use the word "dude"? Also intriguing: his familiarity with the previously unfamiliar Fred. Before I inquired into professional matters, I needed some background information.

"You know Fred?" I asked with a touch of accusation.

"He's great, isn't he?" Henry replied.

Meanwhile, Fred and Rae ignored the adults and raided the shelf in Henry's pantry that contains my sister's stash of food, all of which lives somewhere in the heavens of the food pyramid--specifically, a blend of salted and heavily sugared items that Henry thoroughly disapproves of and yet agreed to accommodate under the duress of a rather lengthy negotiation.

"He seems more likable than I would expect," I replied, "but sometimes that's a sign of a true con artist."

"No con," Henry said. "He's exactly what he seems: nice, honest, humble, smart, geeky, curious. You couldn't assemble a better kid if you got a kit and made one on your own."

"If he's that great," I said, "shouldn't we be protecting him from Rae?"

"My thoughts precisely."