“You don’t push a woman with a kid?” I asked.

“There’s more going on there,” he said as answer.

“I know, but she’s still a woman, even if she has a kid,” I said.

Axl had no reply.

Thus, I kept talking.

“I mean, yes, if something happened with them, he’d be getting both of them in his life. And I see that’d be daunting, because he doesn’t just have to win Pepper, he has to win Juno. But those are two different things. Because they’re two different people. And a man should approach them as two different things. But he can’t get either if he doesn’t start with one.”

There was a long pause before Axl inquired, “What’s her gig?”

“Trust,” I told him. “Her ex cheated on her and I don’t mean he strayed. I mean he was sleeping with another woman their entire relationship.”

“Jesus,” he muttered.

“Unh-hunh,” I agreed. “And that doesn’t get into her family, who are very, very Christian. Like, her mom and sister don’t wear pants, they wear skirts and dresses, because women should not only not wear men’s clothes, they shouldn’t highlight certain parts of their bodies. They go to revivals. And she told us that her father contends God spoke through him once. He was talking in tongues. She was there to see, said it was lunacy and scared the crap out of her. It happened when she was twelve or thirteen. That’s pretty crazy, but I still could go on.”

“So her family’s not in her life,” he deduced.

“She’d like that, them not being in her life. But every so often, they show up, intent to get her back into the fold. Once, she said she wouldn’t put it past them to kidnap her or Juno and try to brainwash them into compliance.”

Axl’s tone was different, brisk and commanding, when he asked, “Does she feel they pose a serious threat?”

God.

My guy.

Such a good guy and so protective.

“No, honey,” I assured. “She was joking. Or not joking, making a joke while complaining.”

“Right.”

“So…” I said, hoping he’d fill in the blanks.

“So?” he asked, not filling in the blanks.

Which meant I had to.

“Um, obviously, with all of this, Auggie needs to get a move on.”

“Babe.”

That word was dripping discouragement.

“She’s got no one in her corner, Axl.”

I heard a sigh and then, “I get that you’d want your friend to be happy, but maybe they weren’t meant to be.”

“Mag and Evie found a house, one they both love and even Gert likes. Evie showed us the pictures at the shower.”

Gert was Evie’s friend, a highly opinionated, very hilarious elderly lady, who for some reason, Mag and Evie took house hunting with them.