Tim smiled at Maria. Maria smiled back.

Good start, thought Tim, but one of us needs to say something before our faces start hurting.

“Have you ever had a date at opposite ends of a park bench before?” he asked.

“No,” said Maria.

Tim waited for her to say more.

Maria kept smiling.

“So this is your first first socially distanced date as well?” asked Tim.

Maria’s smile twitched wider for a moment, acknowledging that he’d made a joke without laughin...