“Sure. Something light. I didn’t mean to go into my whole history.”

“Right. Okay. Um, here. You can just check it out.” She dug through her purse and handed him her phone once she’d opened the app. “It’s one of those kinds where the guys can’t reach out to me unless I reach out to them first. You cruise them there on that page. And if you want to connect, you can either write them a message in that box there, or you can tap them using these emojis.”

“This app is my personal nightmare.”

“Why? All the hot older-man action?”

He laughed. “No. The idea of a woman reaching out to me with just an emoji and then me having to try to figure out what to do next? I’d never sleep again. I’d just spend all my time trying to guess the difference in meaning between a waving-hand emoji and a cat with hearts for eyes.”

“I’d never send the cat with hearts for eyes! Are you nuts? The man would think I was a psycho. You send that emoji as an icebreaker and you’re practically showing up at his house with a boom box held over your head.”

John laughed. “See? I’d fail. I don’t speak the language of the emoji. I think I’m too literal minded.”

“Most of the guys don’t use the emojis. Most just respond with words.”

“Are these your chats up here?”

“Yes. You can look, but I’m warning you, I haven’t screened them yet today.”

“Screened them?”

“Take a look for yourself, if you’re feeling brave.”

John clicked into her messages. Apparently, Ritz-cracker eyes were hereditary. He nearly choked as he took in the dick pics from four separate guys. There were three other perfectly nice chats as well. Kind, considerate men who hadn’t replied to her “Hi, I’m Mary, how are you?” opening line with a horrifying photo of an erect penis.

“Good Jesus,” John murmured, slamming his eyes closed and pinching her phone between two fingers like it was suddenly contaminated with perv germs. “That’s awful. You have to screen those out every day?”

“Yup. I just forward them to the customer service concierge and then block the guy.”

“What is wrong with people?”

She shrugged. “They’re lonely? Horny? Depressed? Looking for a way to feel alive? Scared of the life unlived? Desperate? Sad? Overzealous? Proud? I think there’re a lot of reasons why.”

“Mary, you might be the most compassionate person I’ve ever met in my life. I would have just said they were all dirty perverts and left it at that.”

She laughed. “And this from the public defender? Takes more than an unsolicited dick pic to send me running home.”

He squinted at something at the top of the app. “Mary, you said this app was called Silver Fox.”

“Right. See?” She pointed at the logo.