Page 6 of The Five Stages of Courting Dalisay Ramos

Pinky rests her chin over her interlocked fingers, peering at Evan with her doe-brown eyes. “Whatever you call it, you’re clearly into her! Sure, it’s kinda old-fashioned, but it’s not so strange. It’s just a way a person can prove they’re worthy. The first stage is called the Teasing of Friends.”

“Teasing of Friends …,” repeats Evan. “So it’s like the friends playing matchmaker?”

Pinky waves her hand. “Kinda. It’s hinting at a relationship without saying it outright. The Five Stages are all about being modest and formal, about taking your time, showing interest in ways that don’t come off as presumptuous. Asking to take her out for drinks was a big faux pas.”

“Bigfaux pas,” echoes JM. “You have to earn it.”

“So it’s a game,” Evan says.

Pinky shakes her head. “No, it’s not a game. It’s about respect. Tradition is important, especially to Filipinos. Just because you move halfway across the world doesn’t mean it’s so easy to let that part of yourself go.”

JM nods, adding, “When you’re an immigrant, you’re bringing everything with you—that includes your heritage. When you’re starting over somewhere new, sometimes that’s all you have left.”

Evan’s great-grandparents on both sides came to America from Iran—Persia at the time—but he never met them. He doesn’t have any clue what moving to another country is like. It’s one thing to travel and visit another place, it’s an entirely different thing to decide to stay.

“My parents did the Five Stages; so did JM’s parents,” Pinky says. “I think it’s been around since the Spanish ruled the country or something.”

Evan’s never heard of such a thing before. But maybe Dalisay was right. He doesn’t know anything about her country or their traditions. His knowledge about that side of the world is particularly lacking, and it shows.

JM says, “My parents spentyearsdoing the Five Stages. They talk about it every anniversary, and how my dad took forever to get enough nerve to do stage three.”

“What’s stage three?” Evan asks.

Pinky doesn’t let JM answer. “Forget it. She already shot you down! Best to just move on and take the loss.”

“Unless you want to come home scowling and soaking wet like last time you went on a date,” Riggs teases.

Evan frowns. Becca. He suppresses a shiver, remembering the way the ice cubes slipped down the back of his shirt as the champagne bucket emptied over his head. Evan swallows the memory down with a swig of beer.

“Evan’s not looking for another serious girlfriend,” Riggs says. “Are you?”

Evan shakes his head swiftly. “Not a chance.” He’s barely home enough as it is. “Besides, I have Tallulah. I’m not lonely. I’m just here to have fun.”

Right after his last relationship ended, he went to the pound and rescued Tallulah. Taking care of something other than himself helped occupy his heart. Before he became a dog-dad, he used to laugh when people would question whether they rescued their dog, or the dog rescued them. Now Evan knows firsthand that the latter is true.

Riggs gestures to the group, palms up, as if sayingSee?“Being single is actually fun. You two wouldn’t know that.” He points to JM and Pinky.

Pinky holds up her hands. “All I’m doing is telling you how it is in the Philippines.”

“People actually go through the Stages? Even today?” Evan asks.

“Yeah, dude,” says JM. “Though maybe not like they used to. But sort of.”

The only one who doesn’t seem convinced is Riggs, who sighs and bites down on a Funyun. “Well, the Five Stages sounds like a pain in the ass to me. Why do you have to jump through a ton of hoops just to tell someone you’re into them?”

“It’s only one of the most romantic things a person can do,” Pinky says.

“I never took you for the romantic type,” says Evan.

Daintily, Pinky shrugs a shoulder. “Every girl wants to feel special. I bet you would have done really well with the Stages … Too bad. Now let’s kill some orcs.” She snatches up her dice and rattles them in her hand, grinning.

JM hums and leans in to kiss her on the forehead and Pinky’s smile is radiant.

She may be right about one thing. Evan isn’t the type to make grand, sweeping, romantic gestures. Besides, Dalisay isn’t interested in him at all. “Even if I went through these Five Stages, Dalisay still could’ve said no.”

JM says, “The Five Stages isn’t a guarantee, but you would have stood out among the crowd.”

Evan grunts at that but Riggs still isn’t convinced. “Dalisay seems to know what she wants,” he says, “and it ain’t Evan.”

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