June 7, 2003

Jonathan was present at one of the first meetings between me and my now-husband, Ruediger. I went to Ruediger's house a few days after we first met. I had arrived wearing a fancy dress and bearing limes, which go so well with gin. I had come to flirt, and Ruediger was not the most intuitive flirter. Jonathan, whom I'd met once before, was over at Ruediger's house for a beer. I don't know how much they had discussed Ruediger's lady situation before I arrived, but I remember that Jonathan deftly, perhaps unconsciously, helped Ruediger along. "You smell good," Jonathan said to me as he hugged me goodnight, no big deal, so easygoing. "You do smell good," Ruediger echoed. I loved not only that Ruediger took the hint, but that he had such a friend as Jonathan to offer it.
(Posted by Sarah Berger)