Page 82 of The Five Stages of Courting Dalisay Ramos

Becca’s eyes go to Little Luis, who is threatening to wander off. Evan grabs him by the arm, securing him in place, and Little Luis laughs.

Before she can ask if he’s his, Evan says, “I’m babysitting.”

Becca holds up her fish bucket. “I’m working.”

“I thought you were in Boston.”

“I was!” she says. “But a position opened up here to care for the penguins and I missed San Francisco. Are you still at Overnight?”

“I am, yeah,” he says, heat rising on his face. “I had no idea you were in town.”

“Yeah, well …,” she says, trailing off. “I didn’t want it to be awkward.”

Evan’s stomach makes an odd gurgling sound and he muffles it with his fist. They stand in silence for a second, neither of them knowing what to say.

“Are you doing okay?” he asks, bridging the silence.

“Yeah! I’m good. Are you?”

“Totally!” This is about as awkward as it can get. At one point, he thought he was going to marry her, but then she left, and now here she is, standing in front of him again. He’s not quite sure what to do.

“Are you seeing anyone or …?” she asks.

“Uh, yeah, actually. She’s, uh …” He’s not sure if he should say more. Will it make her jealous? Is she going to take it personally that he’s moved on? But Becca doesn’t look disappointed, she actually laughs. “How did you know?” he asks.

“You look happier,” she says. “It’s all over your face.”

“Really?”

“Yeah,” she says, smiling slightly. “I’m glad you’re doing better.”

“You don’t think I was happy when I was with you?”

Becca considers it for a moment, squinting in the bright afternoon light and tapping a finger on the bucket handle. “I think when you’re with the right person, you just know. There’s not much more to it than that. You might not have realized it at the time. But I think we both knew we weren’t right for each other,” she says.

Deep down, Evan knows she’s right. They weren’t meant to be, like they were riding on the same highway but in different cars going along until the route diverged, taking her one way and him another.

Suddenly, he realizes that maybe they both ended up where they were supposed to be. And he met Dalisay. Evan really did trust his gut by staying in San Francisco. If he hadn’t, he never would have met the girl of his dreams.

Little Luis is starting to get fussy. He wants to see the penguins. He pushes against Evan’s hand, straining to go. Evan plants another hand on him, keeping him locked in place. “I hope we can still be friends, though?” he says to Becca.

They may have broken up, but that can’t mean they need to treat each other like strangers.

Becca smiles. “Yeah. I think so. I’m single if you know of any leads.”

“Yeah,” he says, trying to smile back. “I do …” He has a few people in mind, but his stomach twists, making him queasy.

“Are you okay? You’re looking a little … green.”

“All good!” Evan lies, trying to ignore the saliva gathering at the back of his throat.

Becca starts walking toward the penguins. “Well, it was good seeing you!”

She leaves and not a moment too soon. Evan’s stomach lurches. He knows what’s happening, but he can’t stop it. He claps his hand over his mouth and rushes to the nearest trash can, puking up his lunch with such intensity most other visitors flee in case whatever it is, is contagious. His hot dog and nacho combo tastes horrible coming back up.

Little Luis laughs as food poisoning makes Evan’s life miserable.

Evan stops puking long enough to lift his head and wipe his mouth when he sees a security guard standing in front of him, arms folded, frowning.

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