Page 39 of My Single Dad Biker

This is harder than I thought it would be. "She's important to me. More than just your teacher. We're spending time together. You're going to see us together sometimes. I wanted to tell you directly instead of letting you figure it out."

He's quiet for a long moment. His spoon is halfway to his mouth but he's not moving. "Like dating?"

"Yeah. Like dating."

"Do you like her?"

"Yes."

"Does she like you?"

"Yes."

More silence. He puts his spoon down and looks at me with those eyes that are exactly like mine. "Is she going to be at our house?"

"Sometimes. If that's okay with you."

He thinks about this. I watch him process it. He's eight but he's not stupid. He knows what this means.

"She was nice when she was here," he says finally. "She listened when I showed her my airplane. And she made really good hot chocolate."

"So you're okay with this?"

"I guess. Can we have dinner with her again? The tacos were better when she was there."

"The tacos were exactly the same."

"They tasted better."

I don't argue with that. "Yeah, we can have dinner with her again."

"Okay." He picks up his spoon and goes back to eating like the conversation is over.

I watch him for another minute. "That's it? You don't have questions?"

"Not right now." He takes another bite. Then he looks up. "Dad?"

"Yeah?"

"Is Ms. Hayes going to leave?"

My chest goes tight. "Why would you ask that?"

"Mom left. Is Ms. Hayes going to leave too?"

I lean forward. "No."

"How do you know?"

"Because she's different from your mom. And because I'm different than I was when I was with your mom."

He looks at me like he's trying to decide if he believes me. "Okay."

"You sure you're okay with this?"

"Yeah. I like her. She's nice and she doesn't think my stuff is boring."

"Your stuff isn't boring."