And that marked the end of the jovial Luis who had performed all night. It was as if he suddenly felt compelled to rewrite our narrative. Throughout the evening, I caught him glancing at me, almost as if he relished this farcical portrayal of marriage. Thus, I continued the conversation—not out of interest, but because it seemed that by candidly discussing his lover, we acknowledged that we were nothing to each other. Absolutely nothing. And we never would be. I don't like him as a person, and even less so for how he has looked at me since this afternoon.

“You, girl? The blonde from the plane?” I ask, prompting...