I chuckle. “No hugs, got it.”
“Alyssa, did you fart again?”
She giggles from the back seat.
“Ugh.” Avery pinches his nose and opens the passenger window. “What the heck did you even eat at that sleepover?”
“Pizza, ice cream, and Cheetos.”
I glare at her in the rearview mirror as I crack my own window. “All three of those things have cheese in them. You made an atomic bomb of dairy in your poor belly.”
“You think this is bad?” Her eyes widen. “You should’ve smelled what I did in Sheena’s bathroom last night.”
Avery gags. “You’re lactose intolerant, you little gremlin. You’re not supposed to eat that much dairy.”
Alyssa shrugs like it’s no big deal. “I guess Milk Duds are out of the question at the movie theatre, huh?”
“Yes,” both Avery and I exclaim.
I chuckle to myself. “Your mom had the worst gas. I remember when we were kids, our mother made her hang her ass out the window on the ride home from dinner.”
The kids crack up with laughter. “She was lactose intolerant too, right?” Avery asks.
“She sure was, but that didn’t stop her.” My eyes flick to Alyssa’s in the mirror again. “You remind me so much of her sometimes.”
The car fills with silence, each of us thinking about our own memories with their mother. As painful as it is to talk about her, I don’t want her to be a taboo subject. The kids should think and talk about their mother often, and feel comfortable asking questions. It helps keep her memory alive for them, especially Alyssa since she was young when my sister died.
“Aunt Pres, can I ask you a question?”
“Of course, ‘Lyss.” I slow to a stop at a red light and glance over my shoulder at her. “What’s on your mind?”
“How come all of your friends are married, but you’re not?”
“Jesus, Alyssa.” Avery pinches the bridge of his nose. “You can’t ask things like that.”
“Why not?” Her eyes dart from her brother to me. “That wasn’t rude, was it? I didn’t mean it to be rude.”
I pat Avery on his shoulder to settle him down. “It’s okay. I know you didn’t mean it like that.”
She shrugs. “I couldn’t help but notice it when I looked around the table the other day when the team came over, and they all had wives with them. It got me thinking, and even Dominique is married, so, how come you’re not?”
“Real talk, kid, I haven’t had time to date anyone to even have the possibility of getting married.”
“Because you’ve been taking care of us,” she says.
“Well, I’ve just been busy, you know? When your mom died, I had to get a job and take online courses to finish my degree at the same time. It was a lot to juggle. And now, we’re so busy with work and school and sports, I don’t really have the energy to goout and date.” The light turns green, so I glance at Alyssa in the mirror. “How come this is on your mind?”
“Well, I was thinking that Stephen isn’t married either. So, if you were lonely, maybe you guys could date each other.”
“Chance is single too,” Avery mumbles.
I can’t help but laugh. “You saying you want me to date one of those guys?”
“Or both.” Alyssa pauses. “Stephen’s friend has two wives, right? So, that means you could technically have two husbands.”
Avery turns his head to look at me. “Is that possible? Can you really have two spouses at the same time?”
I heave a sigh, totally not ready for this conversation. But they’re asking, and I want them to get the correct information from me instead of their friends or whatever the media portrays. “In the eyes of the law, no, you can’t marry two people at the same time. Jason is married officially to Kourtney, but they bought a ring for Celeste, and they act as if they’re married. They’re in a polyamorous relationship.Polymeans more than one.”
