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I made Theo a plate while he ran back down the hall to his bedroom. He popped right back out with his backpack in his hand.

“That was two weeks ago. This time, I’m for real.”

“You better be.”

Theo picked a seat at the table, and I placed his plate in front of him. As I walked over to the refrigerator to get him a drink, he spoke up.

“Did you know Victor had a mom?” he quizzed.

“Yes, I did. Everyone has a mom.”

“She came to pickup and to get pizza with us today.”

“That’s nice. I’m glad Victor is getting to spend more time with her.”

“Yeah, but I thought his daddy liked you.”

“Just because his mother is around doesn’t mean me and him aren’t friends anymore.”

“I guess.” Theo shrugged as he took a bite of his pizza.

“How do you feel about spending more time with Quinton and Victor?”

“I like them. Mr. Quinton is cool, and Victor, too, now that we’re friends. Are they coming back?”

“Maybe another time. I was just wondering. What if we moved in with them?” I asked.

“Can we?” he asked with wide eyes.

“I’m not sure yet. It’s just something I’m thinking about.”

“But what about Victor’s mom? Is she going to live with us too?” Theo questioned.

“No, baby.” I shook my head.

“OK, I don’t care then,” he said nonchalantly as he continued to eat.

“It’s just something I’m thinking about. I wanted to see how you feel first.”

“Can I have some juice?”

“Drink some water first.”

“What you about to do? Feed Trey Trey fat self?” he asked, cupping his chest and falling over giggling.

“Stop calling my baby fat. I used to feed your pea head the same way.”

“That’s why I’m so healthy and strong, right?”

“That’s right.”

“When we get done, can we go to the playground for a while?”

“Give me time to eat and get your brother cleaned up, and we can.”

“OK.”

Having a man as attentive as Quinton was new territory for me. I didn’t think I would have been as comfortable with the mother of my man’s child staying with him if he wasn’t on my bumper every hour on the hour.