There’s no right answer—as always, context is king, and patience is a virtue—but here’s a good story that illustrates the importance of doing so:
“It was so Washington, the way they met. She was on the dais at a panel discussion on media and politics, holding forth knowledgeably; he was in the audience, smitten. At the steakhouse dinner that “followed, Jake Brewer got the courage to walk up to Mary Katharine Ham and give her the hopeful, ambiguous let’s get a drink sometime line.
“Then he emailed her an invitation to a tech policy luncheon. She never replied.
“Soon after, he was sitting at El Tamarindo in Adams Morgan with a friend, and she was beelining for their table. She greeted the mutual friend at his table—and only then turned to him with a friendly stare of nonrecognition.
“’Hi,’ she told Jake. ‘I’m Mary Katharine Ham.’
Later, they got married and had two children.
