Two months after Bonnie’s murder, Sydney is still angry that the police have made no arrest, and for a while she avoids dating entirely. As her thirty-fifth birthday approaches, Sydney decides she cannot keep hiding in grief and fear, so she reactivates her Cynch profile and agrees to meet a man named Travis for coffee.

The date goes surprisingly well. Sydney enjoys Travis’s looks, humor, and easy conversation, and the coffee date stretches into pastries and plans for dinner because neither of them wants it to end. During the date, Sydney notices the handsome “Mystery Man” from an earlier encounter enter the shop, but she tries to ignore him and focus on Travis.

Just as Travis suggests they continue the evening with dinner, Sydney suddenly gets a severe nosebleed. The sight of the blood horrifies Travis so badly that he faints, crashes to the floor, and becomes the center of attention in the coffee shop. Sydney is embarrassed and tries to contain the situation while still bleeding.

The Mystery Man steps in to help. He identifies himself as a physician, checks Travis for injuries, and explains that Travis likely had a vasovagal episode. Although Travis recovers physically, he is visibly shaken by Sydney’s nosebleed and quickly backs out of dinner, saying he will message her later before hurrying out and leaving Sydney with the bill.

After Travis leaves, the Mystery Man jokes that Sydney has probably avoided a bad match, especially since Travis fainted at a little blood and abandoned her with the check. He pays for the food, offers to buy Sydney a clean shirt from the souvenir shop next door, and then asks her to dinner himself. Sydney agrees, and when she finally introduces herself, he reveals his name: Tom Brown.