“We’ll leave y’all alone,” Jordan says mischievously. “Call you tomorrow. Tell us when you’re gonna disappear next time. I know you’re going through some things, but don’t get us worried either. Know what I’m saying?”

The call ends. Chase grimaces. “Sorry you had to hear all that.”

“I’m not offended.”

“You sure? Those two are the worst flirts, and they like to meddle. I’m not—you don’t have a girlfriend or a boyfriend, right? Or any, uh, significant other? Rory always tells me to ask before I assume—you know, for gender—but I always mess up.”

I smile slightly. “I don’t really look at myself as either male or female.”

Chase nods sagely. “Nonbinary. I’ve got a bunch of friends who are nonbinary. That’s cool. No significant other?”

“No. Never had time.”

“Because your dad’s sick?”

“It’s one of the reasons.”

Chase looks down at his phone again and groans. “Ah, shit. Now she’s back on social media yelling about how I’m lying. I mean, I did, but…”

“That bad?”

“I just want her to shut up. But her friends are amplifying her, making it worse. You don’t have social media?”

“It’s not really for me.” I pause. “Will it help if we take another pic?”

He frowns. “You don’t know what you’re getting into.”

“Why not?”

“Do you know how many followers I have?”

I do not. He clicks on his profile to show me, and my mouth drops. “Five million? You have five million people following you?” For tap dancing while wearing a horse’s head?

“I’m like, an influencer? Sometimes companies will send me awesome stuff like clothes and sunglasses, and I talk about it. Like an advertisement. But mostly I post pictures of myself in fun places. The videos made me famous. My mom tap danced, and she got me into it when I was a kid. It’s not common for people to do nowadays, I guess. So people follow me for that, and then for other stuff.”

I think about my father, a teacher who had much to impart to the world yet fell into obscurity. “But why?”

He shrugs. “I really don’t know. Maybe because I make people laugh? Maybe because of my dad, too. He’s a Hollywood big shot, so I’ve got an advantage. But that’s why you shouldn’t get involved. People may not know who you are, but they’ll find out if they want to.”

He’s very serious. Very earnest. I try not to laugh.

“I’m hoping you don’t mind if I borrow Askal, though,” he goes on. “Everyone likes pictures of dogs, and he’s extra cute.”

The flattery works on Askal. He wags his tail and poses for the picture he takes of them. I watch as Chase uploads it onto his social media, this time with a longer caption. On an undisclosed location in the Philippines with my dad today, watching them film a new show. You’re gonna have to wait to find out what that is. In the meantime, I’m already in love. Look at this perfect mug. Sometimes we travel to far-off places so we can remember to find pleasure in the familiar things.