Chapter 20

CHAPTER

TWENTY

ALEXANDER

The restaurant is loud and chaotic, the colors bold and overwhelming. When I said Dani calls the shots, I meant it. That includes her choice of restaurants. My feet stick to the floor and surprisingly, I don’t even grimace, because the smile on their faces is worth it. I have a fleeting thought that I’d walk across this sticky floor barefoot for them.

Most of the dinner options are fried, but they’re still edible. But the company? Intoxicating. Tyler talks a mile a minute, sometimes with his mouth full of chicken fingers. His enthusiasm is award-winning. He peppers me with questions about baseball, my experiences when I was a kid, and my opinion of his budding career. The most surprising realization is I never think about the million other things that need to get done at the office. Because the best part of the dinner? Watching Dani’s eyes light up as I answer Tyler’s questions like the media are interviewing me after a game. I give him my most heartfelt, age-appropriate answers .

“Mom says I have to do good in school to play baseball. Did you like school?”

“Your mom’s very smart. You should listen to her. I did well in school. You need good grades to play sports, but when I got older, I was distracted by pretty girls. They can make it hard to concentrate.” I look at Dani and challenge her to jump in. Her eyes sparkle with humor. What’s she thinking?

“Mom says I’m too young for girls, and they’re bad news. Besides, Katie Parker is pretty, but she drew a purple dog, and I told her dogs weren’t purple, and she called me a bad name, and I don’t think I like Katie Parker or girls.” Tyler seems to think about that for a half a second before his next question comes flying.

“They can make you question things, that’s for sure.” Dani giggles and focuses on her French fries. Questioning is the best way to describe what’s going on with me right now.

“Are you going to marry my mom?” He stops and stares at me, the most still he’s been this entire meal.

Dani was drinking her tea and chokes at his question. I want to help her, but I can’t help but chuckle at her reaction.

“You ok there?” My tone is laced with a little humor and a whole lot of seriousness.

“Went down wrong,” she manages to say. She takes a small sip of water and starts searching for something in her purse. “I think my phone’s ringing.”

I hand her the non-ringing phone laying on the table, a grin on my face. Watching her squirm is enjoyable, and I want to do it again and again. But I need to answer Tyler’s question. Marry Dani? I don’t know. I’ve never thought about marriage. Or a family. But I won’t deny it’s crossed my mind a few times lately. But we haven’t even had a proper date. How can I make this kind of decision? I need information to make decisions. I don’t have enough data at this point. My father once told me he knew he was going to marry my mom the first time he saw her at his cousin’s w edding. I always thought that was just a story he told, but now I’m not so sure.

“Tyler, your mother is very special, wouldn’t you agree?” He nods his head and looks me in the eye. This is a man-to-man conversation. “I would like to get to know her better. Maybe take her on a date. Is that okay with you?”

He screws up his mouth while he thinks. I appreciate that he’s not a rash decision maker. My eyes shift a little to Dani to see her reaction. She’s acting like she’s looking at something on her phone, but I’m willing to bet she’s staring at her home screen.

He takes another bite of his chicken tender and keeps looking at me. I’m squirming under the scrutiny of a six-year-old because I desperately want him to say yes. His opinion matters to Dani. And it matters to me.

After what feels like an eternity, he finally responds. “I’m okay with it, but mom decides what we do all the time, so you’ll have to ask her, I guess.” I appreciate his honest answer, and now hope she says yes.

“That’s a very wise answer, young man. Now, can I ask you a secret question?” His eyes bug out, and he leans across the table.

In my best secret-whisper voice, I ask him a very important question. “What are her favorite flowers?” Dani rolls her eyes at my inquiry. She needs to understand, when I want to know something, I’ll use all my resources to get the information.

“Um, I dunno.” He gives a shrug that uses his entire body. “She gets all happy when those yellow flowers are in the yard when the Easter Bunny comes.”

“Good to know.” I google something and show it to Tyler. “These?” He nods yes, and I’m doing a mental happy dance with this information.

I send a quick text to Dani since she’s still looking at her phone.

Daffodils, huh ?

She puts her head in her hand, clearly amused, but defeated.

“You win,” she mumbles.

“Not yet, sunshine. But I will.” I’m awarded another Dani smile.

I hate to admit it, but now that I’ve gotten more, I’m not satisfied with a little bit of Dani. I want all of her.