Free Sweet Bits by Karen Moehr Page A

campus, had beers with him and other guys at school and liked him well enough. When he saw him enter the café where they met for lunch there was no mistaking him; he hadn’t aged much and only looked like a more mature version of his college-kid self.
     
    “Hey Jay!” Ben waved him over to his table and stood up. They shook hands and gave each other half-hugs like guys do. Jason had a big grin on his face. He was dressed casually in shorts and button down shirt. Ben had come from work and wore his suit.
     
    “Casual Wednesday?” asked Ben.
     
    Jason looked down at his clothes. “No, I’m on vacation! I live out in California now and I’m just here visiting my family for the week.”
     
    “Oh, wow, I didn’t know,” said Ben. “What part?”
     
    “Oakland. It’s awesome. I love it there, but it’s great to be back here in the windy city.”
     
    “When did you go out there?”
     
    “After law school. I took the bar here and then got wooed, well, sort of wooed, to go out there. I took the California bar and got a job out there.”
     
    “Wooed?”
     
    “Yeah, well, kind of… I was dating this girl, we’re married now, and she got a job out there and kept begging me to come out, so I guess she was the one who did the wooing.”
     
    “Congratulations,” said Ben. “On being married, I mean.”
     
    “Thanks,” said Jason. “How about you? Are you married, seeing anyone special, what? You were always kind of a lady-killer.”
     
    Ben laughed. “I wouldn’t say that… But no, well, maybe…it’s complicated.”
     
    “Relationships always are,” smiled Jason. “So I saw you, Mr. Big Man, all over the TV this week.”
     
    “Yeah,” said Ben slightly blushing. The notoriety still embarrassed him. “That was good win. I never expected all the press, though.”
     
    “So, I thought you were some fat-cat attorney working with millionaires and such,” said Jason. “Did you switch firms or something?”
     
    “No, actually it was a pro-bono case. I guess some higher ups wanted it cleaned up and my boss put me on it for some reason.”
     
    “Because you’re good, that’s why,” said Jason taking a sip of iced tea.
     
    “So, how about you? What type of firm are you with now?” asked Ben.
     
    “Not really a firm,” said Jason. “I’m with a public interest organization and work on wrongful convictions, human rights issues…that sort of thing. There’s no money in it, but I love it anyway.”
     
    Ben’s eyebrows rose. “Really? How’d you get into that?” He had never considered that type of law, but after doing the slumlord case, he felt really drawn to those types of projects. It really meant something and it made him re-spark his interest in being an attorney.
     
    “Well, my wife, then my girlfriend, got me out there and I took the bar, passed and did the typical thing and interviewed with a few high-end firms, but nothing really clicked. Then I worked pro-bono at a community center and really loved it. I started to re-focus my job search and found a great place. I’ve been there about four years now.”
     
    “Sounds good,” said Ben. He didn’t dare confide in him about how the work was re-inspiring him. He wasn’t really verbalizing it out loud to anyone but Ali. “I am really enjoying these cases,” he said, “so I get it.”
     
    “Yeah, man, it feels good to really make a difference in someone’s life, huh?”
     
    “Yeah,” agreed Ben. He was starting to like Jason even more than he had in college. He hadn’t thought about him since graduating.
     
    “Well, it’s good to see you, man,” said Jason. “I guess if you’re ever out to the San Francisco or Oakland area, look me up. Oakland’s just across the bay from the San Francisco. I’d love to show you the city.”
     
    “Odd you say, that,” said Ben. It was strange how San Francisco was such a common thread in his life lately. “I was just out there with Ali.”
     
    “Ali? Is this the