“Already?”
“Sad, but true.”
He emerges a minute later, shoving stuff into a messy backpack. “Uh, thanks for your help with everything. You made variable stuff easy.”
“So did you, dude. You got this.”
He gives me a faint smile.
When we emerge, Forest’s ex-wife is standing stiffly in the driveway, arms crossed. “Hi, Charlie. I hear congratulations are in order.”
“You heard right! Can we get Mexican?”
“Sure, honey,” she says.
I feel Forest’s flinch like a stab.
“Becker,” she says as her son throws his gear into the back of her car, “Thank you for your help today. Charlie really needed the support.”
“It was fun,” I say lightly.
She opens the driver’s door. “Charlie, thank your dad’s friend for helping you.”
“He did about sixty seconds ago,” I say. “Without any prompting from Forest, too.”
Oops. That last bit just slipped out, and I probably deserve the dark look I’m getting now.
Worth it, though, especially because Forest is trying not to smile.
Forest says goodbye to Charlie, and then the ex drives away. Finally.
Forest turns to me. “I’m sorry. She’s actually not a horrible person. I’m about to get a whole bunch of questions about you, though.”
“What does she want? Psychiatric workup? DNA sample on file? Criminal history?”
He flinches. “Something like that. I had a rough patch last year and now she has trust issues.”
Hmm. That’s not the first time he’s referenced some trouble, but whenever I ask, he clams up. “Don’t worry about it. I get it. Exes are hard.” Not that I have any.
And at this pace, I never will. Forest had made it clear that he’s not boyfriend material. Which is not something I want to think about right now. Or ever.
“So, what’s the buy-in for poker night?” I ask.
“Twenty bucks,” he says. “That is what divorced dads can afford.”
“Cool. Sounds fun. You’ll tell me when and where?”
“Seven o’clock. I’ll send you the address.”
I start to walk to my Jeep but then turn back. “Wait. I forgot something.”
“What? Mphff…” he says when I kiss him, right here in his driveway.
“Hang in there, tough guy. See you tomorrow.”
I drive home wondering what I can get Forest for his birthday that doesn’t look like I’m trying too hard.
Twenty-Seven
