“Where are you going?” He is incredulous that I’d bolt now. I’m a little incredulous myself, but there’s nothing I can do here, and I’m mere hours away from reclaiming my dog. If I miss this chance, I may never have another one. It’s colossally bad timing, I know, but I can’t help it. There’s no way I’m not going to try to catch Artie.

I don’t answer Paul’s understandable question; it would be too hard to explain. “Please, it’s important.”

Finally, he nods, and I run out the door. As soon as I get to the car, I feel like the weight of darkness in my life is beginning to lighten. I am suddenly free, and if this wasn’t Adele’s car, I am not certain that I would turn around and come back once I find Artie and, God willing, Mack.

Chapter 35

35

“Is Andy going to be my father?” Tony is leaning into the doorway of my bedroom. He’s ten years old but has the world-weary look of a thirty-year-old whose plans haven’t panned out. Andy has left, dragging himself out of bed to get to work on time. He’s a framer, and his day on the job starts early. We’ve been together for a few months, maybe half a year, and Tony likes him. He likes it when Andy pays attention to him. Maybe because Andy is still a boy himself. He’s younger than I am, by a couple of years, and his sense of play hasn’t been squashed entirely. Andy hooked up a PlayStation to my TV and he and Tony play for at least an hour every time Andy comes, which is getting to be more and more often. The sleeping-over part has commenced and the next step will be to move some of his stuff into my house.

I don’t know how to answer Tony. This isn’t the first time that he’s asked that question. He asked it about Mark, and about Teddy, two guys I dated fairly seriously when Tony was much younger. Since then, he hasn’t paid much attention to my boyfriends, so asking about Andy is a big deal to me. I like Andy and have a good feeling about this one. Still, Andy hasn’t been making any sounds of commitment.

“I don’t know, honey.”