“I know. I know. But remember, that’s a bad word and you can’t say it in front of people.”

“Like I’m not allowed to say crap?”

“Exactly like that.”

“Why can’t I say bitch?” he asked again.

“Because it’s considered offensive.”

“A bitch is a female dog.”

“I know. But it can also mean something else. And the other thing is a bad word.”

He was quiet and thoughtful for a while before speaking again. “I don’t think they should allow words to mean two things, it’s too confusing.”

I smiled at him. “You’re right. There should be a rule about that.”

“There should.”

I looked at him for a while as he shuffled in his seat. “So, how do you feel about Dad marrying Maddy?” I asked.

He shrugged. I think this complicated emotional concept was probably beyond his grasp, but I felt like I needed to ask it anyway.

“He doesn’t love Mom anymore,” he stated matter of factly.

“Well, not in that way.”

“What way?”

“He doesn’t love her in a romantic way anymore,” I explained.

“How many ways can you love someone?” he asked.

“A lot. Romantically, or in a friendship way, a brother-sister way, like I love you, or the way you love Miss Hiss,” I explained. There was a pause and he looked out the window thoughtfully.

And then he spoke and my heart felt like it wanted to explode. “I love Lisa. She’s my best friend.”

I reached out and was just about to put my hand on his shoulder but pulled away. “It’s good to have a best friend,” I said as we pulled up to Jake’s house.

“Do you love Jake?”

“Wh-what? No . . . what? No.” I spluttered. Hearing those words out loud made me feel all strange and tingly. “Pfft! Nooooo!”

“So, he’s not your friend, then?” he asked.

“Uh . . .” I was stumped by my blunt brother. “It’s complicated.”

“How?” he pressed.

“It just is.”

“How?” He kept going.

“It’s more complicated when you’re older.”

“How does being older make it more complicated?” He just wasn’t letting this go, and I knew I needed to end it now, or else these questions would follow us into Jake’s house.

“Hey, did you see there’s a new documentary about the universe on Netflix? We should watch it tonight!” I jumped out of the car, hoping to change the subject.

“Really? What about the universe? Because if it’s about nebulae, I don’t need to watch it. I already know everything about nebulae.”

“I’m not sure. We’ll have to find out. Come, let’s go!”

“But if it’s about black holes, that would be cool. Did you know that gravity in a black hole is so strong that it sucks everything in?”

I tried to hide my smile. My distraction had worked.