Page 69 of Full Throttle

“Great. We bought a new house, and we’re going to see it again. You can come with us.” I cleared my throat. “Choose which room you’d like. We can paint it, and you can pick out whatever furniture you want.”

“Cool.”

I glanced his way to see him staring at me.

“What?”

“Did you really walk away? When I was a baby?”

I drew in a deep breath. “That’s a complex question, Josh. But no, I didn’t walk away. I wanted to be part of your life.”

“But Mom wouldn’t let you.”

I lifted one shoulder.

“She doesn’t like other people much. She never lets me go to friends’ houses or do sleepovers.”

“That must suck.”

He nodded. “Sometimes. I can have friends over, but she sticks around, so it’s not much fun.”

“Sometimes, Josh, people…well, people like your mom have a hard time sharing.”

He laughed. “You’re a lot nicer when you talk about her than she is when she talks about you. But you know what?”

I pulled up in front of his house, putting the car in park and turning to face him. “What?”

“I’m gonna make up my own mind about you. And so far, I like you. You seem nice. And I really like Cherry.”

I smiled. “I know the feeling.”

“Can I come to your wedding? I’ve never been to a wedding.”

“Absolutely.”

The front door opened, and Roxanne stood on the steps. She looked pointedly at her watch, and I wanted to laugh. I was ten minutes early. But it had been a good day, and I didn’t want to ruin it fighting with her over a few moments.

“Your mom is waiting, Josh B’Gosh,” I said, the old nickname I used to call him slipping out.

He paused before opening the door. “You called me that when I was little.”

“Yeah, I did.”

“I remember that.”

He got out of the car, stopping before he shut the door.

“Dom?”

“Yeah?”

“Can I, um, call you in the week? Or text you? Like, just to say hi?”

“Anytime. Day or night.”

“Okay. Good. And I’ll see you Saturday, right? At nine?”

“I’ll be here.”