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“Yeah. Yes.”

He types again.

I wonder if he can tell that I don’t know what the hell I’m doing.

The officer stamps my passport, the sound small and final, and hands it back.

“Enjoy your stay.”

I take it too fast. “Thanks.”

And I’m through.

Feels like buying my first six-pack of beer all over again. Or cerveza, I guess.

I follow signs for baggage claim even though I only have the carry-on dragging behind me. The wheels stick once on the edge of a floor mat, and for a second I nearly trip over my own feet. Very smooth. So international.

I keep moving. That’s the whole plan. Follow the crowd until I hit daylight. I’ll figure the rest out after.

Down a hallway. Past glass doors. Past a money exchange booth and advertisements for tequila and boat tours and smiling people whose shirts are much cleaner than mine.

Finally, an exit.

People keep moving. Behind me. Around me. Past me. Everyone with somewhere to be.

My phone buzzes. Kev again.

SERIOUSLY PROOF OF LIFE.

I lift the phone, flip the camera to selfie, and angle to catch at least some Spanish signage in the background. Flash my pearlies, throw my deuces, and snap.

YOU CAN’T BE AS CONFIDENT AS YOU LOOK

He’s not wrong.

The doors slide open. The heat hits first. Then voices, traffic, wheels over pavement. A low-hanging wave of cigarette smoke drapes along the sidewalk as anxious arrivals take their first big draws.

Puerto Vallarta in daylight.

The cab situation is less a system than a feeding frenzy. I pick the person wearing a shirt with a logo because that feels like a choice Mom would approve of.

“Zona Romántica?” he asks.

It takes me a second.

“Si. Yeah. I mean—I think so.”

I show him the address on my phone. He nods and passes me toward another man, who passes me toward a driver, who takes my suitcase before I can decide whether I’ve just been helped or robbed.

“Señor?”

The driver is already at the trunk.

Right. Helped. Probably.

I get into the back seat.

The cab smells better than it looks, like an abundance of air freshener amplified by heat. The air conditioning makes an enthusiastic noise but produces only a vague coolness.