“I’m sorry.”
She shakes her head quickly. “Don’t be. We’re better off without Crew’s father in our lives.”
I stay silent, hoping she’ll continue.
“He’s not a good person,” she finishes simply.
My fists clench around the burger wrapper in my hand.
“Does he come around much?” I hope I don’t regret asking such a personal question, but everything in me needs to know that she and Crew are safe.
“No. He’s in prison.” She nibbles on a french fry.
“Hmm.” I sit back in the booth, relief flooding my veins. But the worry rears up again. Did he hurt her? Or do something to Crew to end up there?
I realize I’m gripping the table and forcibly relax my fingers, massaging them on my lap.
“Crew has never met him, and I hope to keep it that way.”
“I get it.” I nod, telling myself to calm down. Lyndi is an adult and perfectly capable of calling 9-1-1. I guess if she can’t, Crew sure can.
I discovered the real reason Lyndi has been cleaning the fire station a few days ago and have felt bad since. I egged her on and she played the game, even though her reasons for being there weren’t of her own free will. She’s a good mom.
“Mom! Mom!” Crew comes running to the table. “Guess what?”
Lyndi’s eyes widen, and her smile doubles in size as she looks adoringly at her son. The smile on her face is always the biggest for him. It’s pure and magnetic, pulling me in when I should be racing away. I wonder what it would be like to have that smile aimed in my direction.
“What?”
Crew bounces up and down, trying to contain his excitement. “I saw a bug on the slide.”
Lyndi’s smile disappears.
She really does hate insects.
“It’s okay buddy, it won’t hurt you.” I step in for her, willing to go take care of the bug, like a true gentleman.
Crew looks at me, a big grin splitting his face. “I know. I killed him.”
I reach my hand up for a high five. “Good job, buddy.”
He hits my hand with surprising force, his little smile full of pride. “Mom told me I can only pee on bugs when we are outside. And slides are outside.”
I choke on the air in my lungs, fighting the laughter and horror rising inside of me. Lyndi drops her head into her palms with a look of pure defeat.
“Youpeedon the slide?” I ask, just to clarify.
“Yep!” He grins.
Then I hear the kid from a few tables over. “Daddy, it’s a water slide!”
Lyndi gasps and runs into the restaurant.
One of my dates has peed on the slide, and the other has run away.
It’s been a while since I’ve gone on a date not planned out for me. It’s safe to say this isn’t quite how I imagined the night going, but I don’t ever recall enjoying myself quite so much on a date.
Nineteen
