“I like spaghetti.”
“I thought you might.” Thatch stood and gave me a warm smile. “I brought dinner.”
“I see that.”
Celeste leaned over to me and whispered, “Not bad, kiddo.”
“Celeste.”
“What? I’m just saying.” She motioned her head towards Thatch as she whispered, “You said he was hot, but damn, he’s the kind of hot that makes me question my life choices.”
“You do realize he’s standing right here and can hear everything you’re saying.”
“Yeah, well.” Celeste glanced over at Thatch and gave him a playful smile. “I’m not saying anything he doesn’t already know.”
“Is there something you needed?”
She placed her hand on the top of Cat’s head. “I just wanted to see how our girl was doing. Clearly, she’s just fine.”
“Yeah, she’s doing great.” I handed Cat my keys as I told her, “Why don’t you go on inside and put your school things away?”
“Okay, Momma.”
As soon as she headed up the steps, Celeste reached over and gave my arm a quick squeeze. “I’m gonna get going. You guys have a nice dinner.”
“I’ll call you tomorrow.”
“You better.” As she turned and started back to her place, she shouted, “Good meetin’ ya, Thatch. Be nice to my girl.”
“I’ll do my best.” Once she was gone, he turned his attention to me. “Hey.”
“Hey.” I smiled as I looked down at the bags of food in his hand. “I didn’t know you were coming by with dinner.”
“I didn’t either, but here I am.”
“Well, come on in, and we’ll get everything warmed up.”
He nodded, then followed me inside. When we walked into the kitchen, I was surprised to find that Cat had already started setting the table. Thatch placed the bags of food on the counter, then started removing his cut as he asked Cat, “You need a hand with that?”
“We need drinks.”
Thatch glanced over at me, and I immediately pointed at the cabinet where I kept the glasses. He nodded, then said, “On it.”
While he made our drinks, I started taking all the food he’d brought out of the bags. I watched Cat as she interacted with Thatch while I placed the containers in the microwave. She looked over to him as she put the fork down on the table and asked, “Do you do this at your house?”
“Set the table?”
“Mm-hmm.” Cat nodded.
“Don’t usually have the need to.” He gave her a nonchalant shrug of his shoulders. “Usually just me at my place.”
“I’m sorry.”
“Nothing to be sorry about, kid. It’s all good. I’ve got a clubhouse full of brothers, their wives, and even a kid or two.” Thatch chuckled as he said, “My house is the only place I can get any peace.”
“I wanna see your house.”
“I’m sure we can make that happen.” Thatch glanced over to me as he added, “As long as it’s okay with your mom.”
“Can I, Momma?” Cat asked excitedly.
“We’ll see.” I brought the food over and placed it all on the table. “Let’s just try and enjoy our dinner first.”
“Okay, Momma.” Cat picked up her fork and took a bite of spaghetti. After chewing for a moment, she turned to Thatch with furrowed brows. “Is Momma your girlfriend now?”
“Come again?”
“Before, you said she wasn’t your girlfriend,” she stated as a matter-of-fact. “But you brought dinner for us, and that’s what boyfriends do.”
“Is that right?”
“Mm-hmm.” Cat gave him a minute, but when he didn’t respond, she gave him a little push. “So, is she your girlfriend?”
“Yeah,” Thatch’s eyes skirted over to me. “I reckon she is.”
“What?” I gasped, then giggled with surprise. “When did that happen?”
Before he could answer, Cat announced, “I’m gonna need a new Ken doll.”
“Umm ...” Still reeling from Thatch’s response, I stammered, “W-what? Why do you need a new Ken doll?”
“My Ken has a beard.”
“And?”
Her eyes skirted over to Thatch. “I need one with no beard.”
“Well, you shouldn’t have drawn on your dolls, then you wouldn’t have this problem.”
“But Momma.”
“Maybe for your birthday.”
“But I wanna motorcycle for my birthday.”
“A motorcycle?” I gasped. “You want a motorcycle?”
“Hm-hmm. For Ken... Like the one Thatch has.”
“I don’t think they make motorcycles for Barbies, sweetheart.”
“I seen ’em, and I want one. Just like Thatch’s. Ken can take Darby for a ride.”
“Darby?”
Cat gave me a look, then replied, “Darby is his girlfriend.”
“Oh, well, I guess his girlfriend is going to have to wait until your birthday.”
“But Momma ...”
“It’s only a few more days, Cat.” I turned and gave Thatch a scolding look. “You see what you’ve started here?”
“I do.” Clearly amused by our exchange, Thatch chuckled. “I guess you should be thankful that she didn’t say anything about wantin’ a tattoo.”
“Don’t give her any ideas!” I fussed.
“I want one! A butterfly one.” Cat pointed to her shoulder as she explained, “On my arm with pink and blue—”
“No,” I cut her off. “Don’t even think about it. Now, finish your spaghetti and no more talk about riding motorcycles or getting tattoos.”