Page 66 of The Five Stages of Courting Dalisay Ramos

Claire beams and glances at Nicole, whose ears are bright pink, but she’s smiling so wide, Dalisay can almost see the rush of adrenaline pumping through her veins.

Everyone sits at the table and conversation flows as easily as thebukojuice. Claire compliments Lola’s cooking, and Lola takes kindly to that, speaking in Tagalog about how polite Claire is. “She knows what good food tastes like! Learn from her, Daniel,” Lola says to Daniel in English, who looks slighted for being called out in front of a stranger.

“I like good food!” he says, mostly to Claire. “I just like certain good foods.”

Claire tries all the food, and there’s not a second that goes by that her plate is empty. Everyone shovels more food on it than she can keep up with. Dalisay wonders if Nicole will tell her she doesn’t have to eat everything, that it’s more of a sign of respect to fill a plate than expect anyone to eat all of it.

“So you know Nicole from medical school,” her mom says. “Are you studying hard?”

Claire nods, wiping her mouth politely before answering. “I am! I really like it. It’s really tough, though. Nicole makes it look so easy, she’s so smart,” Claire says, glancing at Nicole at her side.

On Nicole’s other side, Dalisay nudges her with an elbow as if to say,I’m proud of you.Nicole’s cheeks must hurt, she’s been smiling so much.

“What specialty are you choosing?” Mom asks as she spoons another serving of adobo onto Claire’s plate.

“Uh, pediatrics,” says Claire. She looks at the food like she’s climbing Mount Everest but hides it with a smile. She must be so full by now.

“Pediatrics! See, Nicole! That’s what I’ve been telling you! I’ve been saying you should become a family doctor so you can work with the community here.”

Nicole sighs and rests her forehead on her fist. “I know, Mom. It’s what I’m going to do! I was just figuring things out. It hasn’t been easy …”

“I know it’s not easy! But Claire is setting a good example for you! You’d be wise to follow her path.” She turns back to Claire. “Did you know that when Nicole was little, she was deathly afraid of needles?”

“Mom!” Nicole groans.

“It’s true! She would scream and cry and hold on to me whenever we went to the doctor’s office for checkups. Nothing like her sister. Dalisay was always an angel. Never complained, not even once.”

Now it’s Dalisay’s turn to groan. The only reason she never complained was because she didn’t want to embarrass her family. She was afraid of needles too.

“Trypanophobia is common,” says Claire. “I think it’d be a good thing if Nicole became a family doctor. She’d know how scary it can be for kids. I think there’s strength in empathy. But no matter what she chooses, it will only help people, and she’ll be incredible at it.”

Nicole’s face is bright red.

Daniel leans back in his chair, arms crossed casually over his chest. “Well, I think Nicole should become a brain surgeon and make as much money as possible—that way we can all live in luxury.”

“As if I’m gonna spend a dime on you,” says Nicole with a smirk.

A child’s scream cuts through the air—Little Luis. Melinda must be having a hard time getting him to settle down for his nap. He’s been a whirling dervish all morning.

“Or,” says Daniel, wincing at the sound, “you can send Little Luis away to boarding school back in the Philippines.”

Their mom hisses at him and throws her napkin at his face. They argue in Tagalog, with Daniel saying it was just a joke and their mom saying it’s not funny. Dalisay catches Nicole and Claire glancing at each other, hiding their giggles, and she breathes a sigh of relief.

By the time dessert comes around, the conversation circles back to Claire.

“So, Claire,” says Mom. “Tell us about your family! Is there a lucky man in your life?”

Claire looks up from her plate, shocked. She glances around the table with wide eyes and then she smiles. “Actually, uh …”

Nicole’s shoulders go stiff, but she stabs at hercariocawith her spoon.

“No,” Claire says.

“Really?” Mom says, impressed. “I guess I shouldn’t be surprised. Nicole hardly has any time either. It’s like she lives at that hospital. She’s hardly ever home. All my children seem to want to work more than spend time with us.”

Blink or you’ll miss it, Nicole and Claire share a glance, but Dalisay is paying attention. Her stomach sits high in her gut, and her heart rate spikes. She can tell that Nicole isn’t ready.

“You can’t just ask people things about who they’re dating here, Mama,” Daniel says, coming to Nicole’s rescue. Dalisay isn’t sure if he’s picked up on the truth, but based on the way he looks at Nicole, she thinks he might have. “That’s private stuff.”

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