Dani waited on a bench along the Bund, while I wandered a little farther down the river with my camera.

Across the Huangpu, Pudong’s towers glowed against the evening sky.

I’d set my tripod up and was adjusting the exposure when someone stepped beside me.

“Hi. My name is Jane.”

“Caleb.”

She smiled.

“Where are you from?”

“California.”

I paused.

“…America.”

She laughed.

“Are you here by yourself?”

I looked back toward Dani. She sat on a bench a hundred meters away, sipping a milkshake while watching the river.

She didn’t need to be a part of this.

“No. I’m with the group over there.”

I nodded toward a crowd farther down the promenade.

Jane followed my gesture.

“They left you all alone? Those aren’t very good friends.”

She stepped closer.

“Come have a drink with me.”

I turned back to my camera and adjusted the shutter speed.

She tried again.

“We could go dancing.”

Another exposure.

“Or get a massage.”

I kept looking through the viewfinder.

After a few more attempts, she sighed and walked away.

~

I watched her continue down the promenade until she found another man standing by himself with a camera.

She smiled.

“Hi.”

“My name is Jane.”