"Go ahead, take whatever you want!" Dr. Caleb Brooks said.
Victoria didn't stand on ceremony with Caleb. She pulled the photo album off the shelf, walked back to the sofa, and flipped through it with Evelyn.
"Is this Caleb as a child?" Evelyn pointed to a picture of a little boy and asked with a smile.
"He was adorable back then. Look at those features—he's still handsome now!" Victoria said.
"You look great now too, Caleb!"
"He's so good-looking, it's almost sinful!" Victoria replied flatly.
Evelyn turned to look at her sister and smiled.
"Sis, don't you like this type of man?"
"How could I? I prefer a manly man, someone with muscles!" Victoria rolled her eyes.
"Aiden isn't that type at all!" Evelyn said with a grin.
"Evelyn, can you just not mention that guy?" Victoria glared at her angrily.
Evelyn quickly tried to calm her down.
"I'm sorry, sis. I won't mention him. Don't be mad. Let's keep looking at the photos!"
They continued browsing the album, commenting on the pictures.
Suddenly, Victoria spotted a group photo and gasped.
"Oh my god, we were classmates!"
"This is from our sixth-grade spring outing. That's me, and next to me is that guy Caleb!" Victoria pointed at the photo.
Evelyn studied it carefully.
"Sis, you two seemed close!"
"Not at all. I didn't even know his name back then!"
"Maybe it's fate," Evelyn sighed.
Victoria just rolled her eyes.
As they flipped to the back, Evelyn stopped and stared at a photo.
"What's so interesting?" Victoria asked.
"Sis, I know this woman!" Evelyn pointed to Grace O'Sullivan, who was photographed with Caleb.
"Probably Caleb's ex-girlfriend," Victoria replied.
"What girlfriend?" Caleb walked out of the kitchen just then.
"Your girlfriend is pretty," Victoria said, holding up the album.
"Oh, you mean Grace. She's not my girlfriend. She's my cousin!"
"Cousin? I never knew you had a cousin that beautiful."
"She's my aunt's daughter. Their family immigrated," Caleb explained.
Evelyn looked at Caleb in surprise.
"Grace is your cousin?"
"Yes, do you know her too?" Caleb was shocked.
"Yeah, we're friends," Evelyn said.
"What a coincidence! Have you heard from her lately?"
"We had dinner together just two weeks ago," Evelyn said.
"Then you must be close. Do you know how she's doing? My aunt called asking about her, but I barely know anything. I can hardly reach her anymore." Caleb set the placemats on the coffee table, then brought out the fish soup noodles from the kitchen.
"It's okay. I heard her say she's planning to go back," Evelyn hesitated for a moment before answering.
She thought about Grace's illness. Hadn't she told her family?
"Back? Back to America?"
"Yeah, that's what she said," Evelyn nodded.
"Isn't she still with her boyfriend?" Caleb asked suspiciously.
"You mean Owen?" As soon as Evelyn said it, she realized she was wrong. Grace's boyfriend's last name was Cheng, and they seemed to have broken up.
"No, not Owen. I think it's Gu. Wait, it's Alexander Sterling!" Caleb said.
"What did you say?" Victoria asked in shock, then turned to look at Evelyn.
The atmosphere grew awkward.
"I don't remember clearly. I think it's Alexander. They were childhood sweethearts, very close. They were together for years. We all thought they'd get married. Later, they broke up over some misunderstanding. My cousin came back to China last year. My aunt said she came back for him," Caleb explained.
He handed Evelyn a bowl of noodles.
"Eat it while it's hot. It'll get salty if it sits too long."
"This can't be a coincidence. It has to be the same person," Victoria whispered.
"What did you say?" Caleb didn't hear clearly.
"Evelyn's husband is also named Alexander Sterling," Victoria said, looking at Caleb.
The room fell silent.
Evelyn felt embarrassed. She pretended not to hear and focused on eating her noodles.
"Lots of people share the same name. It's normal," Caleb said with a smile.
"That's true," Victoria nodded, dropping the topic.
Caleb handed Victoria her noodles.
She took them and frowned.
"Why is it all soup?"
"Don't you like soup?" Caleb smiled.
Victoria said nothing.
She took a sip of the fish soup and looked up in surprise.
"It's so fresh. Delicious!"
"It's been raised in the stream out back for over two months. Of course it's fresh," Caleb said.
"Over two months?" Victoria asked while eating.
"No, it was in the pond first, then moved to the stream for a few months," Caleb explained.
"You merchants always say it's all natural," Victoria teased.
Caleb just smiled and didn't explain further.
Evelyn's mind was elsewhere. She didn't pay attention to their conversation.
After finishing the fish head noodles, Caleb took them for a walk by the stream. It was dusk, and the scenery was beautiful.
Victoria seemed to cheer up. She smiled more and chatted and laughed with Caleb the whole way.
They didn't return to the city until it was dark.
Caleb wanted them to stay for dinner, but Victoria said it was too late to take a pregnant woman home. They'd come back another day.
Caleb didn't insist. He packed a lot of vegetables and fruits for them and put them in the trunk. He told Victoria to drive carefully and invited Evelyn to visit anytime.
Evelyn thanked him, while Victoria waved and got in the car.
Caleb watched until their car disappeared from sight. He stood there for a long time before going back inside.
Victoria drove very slowly because of Evelyn.
Evelyn wasn't used to her sister's slow driving, but it was better than her usual speed.
"Sis, you and Caleb are really close," Evelyn said.
"He's a friend in need," Victoria said. "Not long after he came back, his wallet was stolen. I helped him pay for his ride home. Later, I found out he was my elementary school classmate."
"What a small world," Evelyn sighed.