After we leave the aquarium, we head to a car show and stroll around checking out different cars ranging from the sixties to the present. Different brightly colored cars are lined up in a row. The place is flooded with men and boys.

I even see a car that I want to buy. It’s a white Volkswagen, a Beetle, and it’s decked out with cream leather seats and a colorful dashboard with a sunroof. I’ve been wanting a new car for some time now.

“You like this car?” Gunner asks, checking out the engine.

“Yeah, it’s cute. I’m going to buy a used one,” I admit. I picture myself driving it on the highways. “I’m going to get it in apple red, decorate it with polka dots on the roof, and attach lashes to the headlights, so it can look like a ladybug.”

Gunner shakes his head. “You’re weird.”

After we check out a few more cars, he stops in front of an updated version of his white Audi. It’s sleeker and smoother than his current car.

“Get in the passenger seat,” he orders. I slide in as I drink in the sight of the colorful dashboard blinking lights at me. The black leather smells like fresh lemons.

“You love cars,” I say while he smiles like a schoolboy who received his first kiss from his crush.

“I worked as a mechanic in college”—he grips the steering wheel—“to help my ma to pay off bills. This baby is an Audi R8, with a V10 engine and six hundred and thirty-two horsepower.”

“I have no idea what you said.”

“It’s a fast sports car costing over a hundred grand.” He smirks. “I’ve been waiting on this baby to come out for the longest time.”

People gather around the car, snapping pictures, and a little boy with the purest blue eyes I’ve ever seen waltzes up to the car with a magazine in his hand. His dad is right behind him, and he does a double-take when he sees Gunner but doesn’t say anything. He takes a picture of his son and the car and walks away. I lay my head on the back of the seat as two more little boys with their father take pictures of the car.

“I need to let you in on a little secret,” Gunner tells me. I turn my view to look at him. Sadness flickers in his eyes as he uses his thumb to rub his bottom lip.

“Okay.” I rest my hands on his while his eyes move back and forth as if he’s thinking hard.

“My dad used to use me and my ma as a punching bag.”