“Okay, okay,” I said, rolling out of bed. I dressed quickly, then opened my bedroom door. Sam took off like a shot.

“Good morning, boy,” Desmond said. “Want to go out?”

I heard the kitchen door close behind Sam and smiled. It was a good sign that Sam liked Mom’s new husband. Walking into the bright kitchen, I secretly prayed my relationship with Desmond was just as friendly.

“I’m really sorry,” I said, wasting no time. “I had no right to take your car. I’ll pay you back for whatever gas I used, and I won’t do it again.”

Desmond was silent for a long moment. He squinted, his eyes poking for holes in my speech. When he broke into a grin, I realized stern expressions wouldn’t keep a permanent home on his face. He leaned toward me, his eyes twinkling. “You know, I did the very same thing once. Well, pretty much the same thing.”

I smiled, appreciating the care he took in diffusing the situation. I understood at once why Mom had married him. Desmond had a very large heart.

“Oh, really?” I asked.

“Yep. Took my uncle’s truck one time. Only I didn’t stop at that. I took his boat, too. He caught me before I left the neighborhood. And he was on foot.”

I laughed at the image of someone driving a getaway car so slowly.

“Yeah, I was only twelve and I didn’t know how to drive a stick.” He chuckled. “Or hitch a boat. That thing slipped off the hitch, then crashed into my uncle’s house. When he ran outside, he realized I was stuck in first gear. He walked over to me, reached into the cab, and turned the engine off.”

“And what happened to you?” my mother asked as she joined us.

Desmond’s expression changed at once from the ghost of a mischievous preteen to a man who was deeply in love. He smiled at mom, mesmerized by her, and seeming to have forgotten about his story altogether.

She kissed him on the cheek, and I suddenly felt uncomfortable. My father was the only man I’d ever seen her kiss. Everything felt wrong until I reminded myself that at some point in this realty, my mom had dated Desmond. They had fallen in love. And I knew if I hadn’t approved, she never would have married him.

This was all new to me, but for all I knew, they’d been married for years in this reality. The way Desmond looked at my mother, as if she were the only person in the whole world, and the way she beamed back, I could tell they were in love. I hoped theirs was a love that would never change. That no matter what else happened when I left my mom and Desmond, they would stay this way for the rest of their lives.

“Well?” Mom asked.