“Hey,” I answered.
“Hey back. Havin’ a good day?”
“I think so, although I’m a little concerned about what appears to be evidence that suggests my kids have a serious television habit.”
“They’re there again?”
I made it to my room, silently shut the door and went to my bed to sit on it, saying, “Yes. It’s Sunday but they texted this morning around ten, were here within the hour. We had lunch. We took the Rover out for a spin. And we’re having dinner.”
“This is good, Amy.”
“It is, Mickey. So good. Amazingly good. But a little freaky.”
“Kids watch TV, babe.”
“I know. But something about this isn’t right.”
“How’s that?”
“One minute they’re barely speaking to me. And it wasn’t like the next minute they were. We worked up to it, got over the hump, skidded down the other side.” I crossed my legs under me on my bed. “But now we’re speeding. They’re here a lot and I want them here a lot. I want them here for good. I’d take them here forever. But there’s something about this change that makes me think that either they’re escaping their dad’s or Martine is perpetuating cruel and unusual punishment by not allowing two teenage kids to DVR anything.”
“Maybe they saw they were bein’ hard on you and they’re tryin’ to make up for it,” he suggested.
“Maybe,” I mumbled.
“Go with it. Build on it. And just have this good without makin’ it dark when you don’t know if there’s anything to worry about.”
That was good advice.
“I’ll do that.”
“Good,” he said. “Now, speaking of kids.”
“Oh boy,” I muttered.
“Yeah. Ash and Cill know their friend and next door neighbor, Amy, is Dad’s girlfriend.”
The girlfriend again.
It felt nice again.
But I was still braced.
“And?” I prompted.
“Cill’s cool with it. Not straight up, he looks after his mom, had questions about what this means for me and his mom and it wasn’t real fun to share that there was not ever gonna be a me and his mom again. He came to terms with it without throwin’ a shit fit, which was a surprise but it was good. Ash didn’t have much of a reaction except to say, ‘No kidding, Dad?’ which started to set Cill off because he thought she knew something he didn’t know and he isn’t big on that.”
“But it’s all okay now?”
“Woulda had you over for dinner tonight, but don’t think spendin’ the day with you yesterday then havin’ you back tonight would be good. But I do think, if we keep easin’ them into it, they’ll get there.”
I smiled at the phone. “That’s good.”
“So, tomorrow and Tuesday, I’m at the firehouse. That means phone on your nightstand.”
“Right,” I agreed, still smiling.
“Wednesday, your kids aren’t with you, I’m takin’ you to dinner and a movie.”
Me and Mickey in a dark movie theater.
That sounded fantastic.
“I’d love that, Mickey,” I told him. “But we’re taking my Land Rover.”
“Fine. I drive.”
“You drive?” I asked. “But it’s mine.”
“I strike you as a man who rides?”
“Jimbo drives the fire truck,” I pointed out.
“Jimbo doesn’t have a vagina.”
My back shot straight. “Really?”
“Your ass is in my Expedition in the passenger seat or in the same place in your Rover,” he declared.
“It’s a new car, Mickey. I love it. It took everything I had to allow Auden to take it for a spin today. I wanna drive.”
“Drive around the next coupla days. Wednesday night, you know your choice.”
He was lucky he was so fabulous for the times when he was so annoying.
“You need to get checked,” I snapped. “You clearly have an overabundance of testosterone in a way it’s harmful to your health.”
“Not sure that can even happen,” he replied smoothly.
“The harmful to your health part is me murdering you.”
“You take me out, it’s back to that toy in your nightstand and I’m thinkin’ you don’t want that.”
My head twitched as I asked, “Have you been snooping?”
“Single woman who goes hot quick, babe, took a guess, I was right and I don’t consider it snooping. More like investigating just in case I’m in the mood to shake things up. Any man has gotta have the tools he needs to get the job done.”
That gave me a shiver along with the premonition of an aneurysm.