“What happened to your face? Did you fall? When I fell off the trampoline, I had to get stitches on my head. I was six. That’s how I ended up in the wheelchair. Do you have stitches?”

Diesel’s heart broke for the boy every time he talked so matter-of-factly about how he landed in that wheelchair, and from the look in Tracey’s eyes, he could tell she was just as affected.

“No, just a few cuts, but I’m okay,” she reassured him. “So, you like to read?”

“Boy, do I ever. Diesel got me hooked on The Hobbit. He’s read it, and all the Lord of the Rings books, and he said after I read them, we can watch the movies together. Have you read them? They’re so good…” Adrian went on about the stories, and Tracey smiled and chatted about the book she had never read.

When Adrian took a breath, Diesel handed him the new book. “Here you go, buddy. The next in the series.”

His face lit up. “Awesome. Thank you!”

The ordering window opened, and Adrian’s father, Paolo, a dark-haired, olive-skinned man in his midforties, stuck his head out. “Hey, Diesel. Good to see you. Adrian, I thought you were heading over to see Marnie?”

“I am,” Adrian hollered. “I just stopped to talk to Diesel and Tracey. She’s not his girlfriend.”

Diesel gritted his teeth.

Tracey laughed, turning a sweet smile to Adrian. “Is Marnie your girlfriend?”

“No. She’s my best friend. Her mom works over there.” Adrian pointed across the parking lot to the craft shop. “I want her to be my girlfriend, but Diesel says that’s a big responsibility and I need to make sure I’m ready for it. So I’m working through my list.”

“Your list?” she asked.

“Yeah. Diesel came up with a bunch of things I need to think about before I can have a girlfriend. Like, am I ready to be there if she needs me? Am I sure I won’t accidentally hurt her feelings by saying something stupid? He says girls take everything different than boys, so I have to think before I talk. And other stuff, like do I want to be interrupted by her texts when I’m reading? Diesel said you have to answer girls’ texts or they get mad. Is that true?”

“I think that depends on the girl.” She looked at Diesel with a glimmer of amusement and something new in her eyes, as if hearing about that list made her see him differently. “But it sounds like Diesel gave you some pretty good advice. You should pick flowers for her, too. Is that on your list?”

“Flowers? No.” Adrian looked at Diesel. “You didn’t say anything about flowers.”