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“Oh yeah,” Mia responds. “That was the night Brianna—” She breaks off when Leo smashes the entire snow cone on her forehead, then slides it down to her shocked, wide-open mouth.
“Oh my god,” I whisper, laughing.
“Cock block,” Leo murmurs, his eyes finding Holden sitting across from him. “I got you, bro,” he tells him, and they chuckle, fist-bump likebros.
Mia’s shaking her head, wiping her face with napkins, and Benny sings, “Cock block!”
“See what you did?” Mia hisses, backhanding her husband’s shoulder.
For a minute or two, we eat in silence, and every time I glance up, I catch light brown eyes watching me, smiling at me.
I smile back.
Benny says, leaning his forearms on the table, “My uncle Holden said you live in a car.”
I nod, dropping my fork on my paper plate. “I used to live in an RV, which is a tiny house on wheels, so yeah. I guess I did live in a car.”
“You live there all the time?” Benny asks.
“I did. I’m staying with your uncle Holden now.” Beneath the table, Holden squeezes my leg.
Benny asks, “How long did you live there?”
“The past few years.”
“So, you just travel around?” Leo asks.
I nod again. “Yeah. I can work remotely, so I just kind of went wherever my heart took me.”
“So, you wake up somewhere new whenever you want?” Benny asks.
“It’s not as amazing as it sounds,” I admit. Then add, “There are many mornings I woke up in a Walmart parking lot.”
“Maybe we should get an RV,” Leo ponders.
Holdens scoffs. “You have a private jet.”
“No,” Mia’s quick to say. “My dadhas a private jet for business.Wedo not.”
“An RV would be cool,” Leo murmurs, more to himself than anyone else. “We could take Benny around the country.”
“And Princess,” Benny shouts.
“Princess could come,” Leo agrees.
I look between them. “Princess is your… dog?”
“No,” Leo laughs. “Princess is Katie, my niece. The first time Benny saw her was Halloween, and she was dressed as a princess, so…”
“Right.”
“Which reminds me…” Leo’s on his feet, tapping his pockets. “I’ll be back.”
None of us question where he’s going or what he’s doing; we just watch him leave.
“Don’t you miss your mama when you’re gone?” Benny asks, and my eyes snap to his.
I look between Mia and him, wondering how much a five-year-old should know. Or how much Mia knows. After pushing down the sudden ache in my chest, I say, “My mom’s not around anymore. But I have other people I’m close with, and I make sure to visit them often.”
