But when she flipped the lid of the little box, she gasped with excitement.
‘Three dates!’
The three soft, dried pieces of fruit lay in the box, each one the same, each one very, very different.
‘Do you like dates?’ Shay asked.
‘I think so.’
‘These are three different dates.’
‘You can get different dates?’ Tammy asked, holding up the first one.
‘You bet,’ Shay replied. ‘That one’s a Zamli. Try it.’
‘Zamli? I just thought they were all dates.’ She took a bite from the golden, almost translucent fruit. When she tasted it, her eyes widened. ‘Oh my goodness! This issogood. It’s like… butterscotch.’
‘You’ve got a good palate,’ Shay said. ‘Zamli dates are famous for their buttery flavor. Try that one next,’ he said, passing her a larger, more wrinkled date. It’s a Medjool. People call them the king of dates. But it’s mostly just because they’re the biggest.’
She took a bite. ‘Mmm, this is so different. It’s almost, like, boozy or something. And it’s so sweet. Like a boozy fruitcake. Oh, oh, oh, and I love the texture. It’s… meaty?’
‘If you say so. Which do you prefer?’
‘I mean, they’re both amazing. Just different. I don’t think either one is better than the other.’
‘Interesting. Try that one now,’ he said, motioning at the final date.
‘What’s this one?’
‘The rarest of the three. These come from Saudi Arabia and they’re called Sukari dates.’
Tammy picked up this date— it looked markedly different from the other two. It was smaller, pale brown, with noticeable folds on its skin. ‘This one seems kinda gnarly.’
‘Wait until you try it.’
Tammy took a bite. ‘Oh. My. God. That is one of the best things I’ve ever eaten. What the heck? How does it taste like that?’
‘What does it taste of?’
‘Strawberries? Honey? Cream? It’s like… everything that’s delicious. And there’s crunchy bits of —what is that?— sugar inside it?’
‘Could be. The reason I like the Sukari so much is because it seems a bit weird — almost off-putting – on the outside. But as soon as you taste it, it’s like—’
‘Not everything is always as it seems?’
There was a moment of Tammy looking at him, almost in tears. Then they kissed. She tasted sweet — her lips sticky from the dates, but inside, she was even sweeter.
*
‘Feck, crap, I mean, is this thing on?’
There was a buzz of static, and then Finn’s voice carried over the PA system in The Den. Everyone was here — all the residents, and even Cassius, Tammy’s new colleague. The one person he cared about most was right there, in pride of place, at the front.
Tammy.
Shay had brought her to the pub and was now sitting with Conor in a booth at the side. This was technically Finn’s date with Tammy, even if the other brothers were here too.
Finn slid a finger into his collar and pulled it away from his skin. He was feeling seriously nervous. He’d never read any of his work out loud before.