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I smile and put it on. “How does it look?”

“Like you won’t die of sun exposure in the next hour. It’s a good look.”

The elephant demonstration ends with applause, and the crowd begins to disperse. Bastien checks the zoo map he picked up at the entrance. “Can we see the otters? I love otters. They always look like they’re having fun.” He looks up at me. “Thanks for suggesting this, Levi. I would never have gone.”

“I think my ideas are pretty good, in general.”

“Well, so far, you’ve had three really good ones in a row, so I’m more willing to give you the benefit of the doubt. What is it I want?”

“Ice cream,” I answer as confidently as I can.

He takes a breath and then hesitates. “Now I want ice cream.”

By the time we are leaving the zoo, the sun has begun its descent, painting the sky in shades of gold and pink. We’re both reluctant for the day to end, lingering on the path that leads back to the main entrance.

“So, dinner?” I ask. “And then we can retreat to the hotel.”

He smiles at me. “Okay.”

I just want to keep him hooked a little bit longer before I start letting real-world things intrude.

“Which way?” he asks.

Before I can answer, a young woman hurries past us, balancing what looks like an elaborate floral headpiece. She’s followed by another person carrying what’s unmistakably a costume on a hanger—something gauzy and green.

“That way,” I say, gesturing after her. “Whatever’s going on there, I’ll bet it’s cool.”

“Or a cult,” Bastien observes.

“I’ll protect you. Unless there’s spiders involved. Spiders are creepy. You’re on your own.”

He laughs. “So that’s how it’s going to be, between us. The big strong man who has to call me to kill the poor defenseless spider.”

“Oh, no, I’ll kill those suckers dead right on the spot. It’s just, if there’s a lot of them, like a nest of them? Fuck no. I’m burning down the house and moving us to Utah. Just so you know.”

“Wow. That’s pretty detailed.”

“I don’t make the rules,” I say, but now I’m thinking about the fact that I just conjured an entire future out of whole cloth. For us. I take his hand so that he doesn’t have time to process it.

I’m intending to check out whatever they’re up to over there, but his phone rings. He glances down and grimaces.

“Give me just a second,” he says, and crouches down to answer, like he’s tying his shoe. “Hi. Did you find something I left?” He listens. “Oh. Umm. No, I…” he stands and flashes me an apologetic smile. “Can we not—Oh. We are.” A pause. He sighs and starts to pace. “No, I’m listening, but you made a choice, and you had a long time to reconsider.” He looks up at me. “This is really not the time.”

“Baby boy,” I call, like I’m trying to coax a puppy out from under the bed.

“Maybe before I had to drive alone across the country!” Bastien says. “And thank you for not asking, that meeting went exactly as you could expect.”

“Baby boy…” I singsong.

He looks up at me, surprised. I can see the pain in his eyes. He lowers the phone and mouths, Sorry.

“Who’s the joker?” I drawl, like I’m asking who played a cute little prank on me and I’m going to give him a big hug. He takes a deep breath and blushes. “Ex,” he whispers, holding the phone away from his mouth.

“Okay. Do you want me to handle it?”

“Can I put you on hold for just a second? I’m muting myself very quickly but I’m still here.” He hits the button, puts his fingers to his forehead, and exhales loudly. “Okay,” he says, looking up at me. “What’s going on? I’m sorry. He’s talking and you’re talking and I just couldn’t track both.”

“What’s the ex’s name?”