Just as the lock clicked as I pushed through the door, my phone buzzed, and it flipped in my hands a few times before I caught it and answered. “Hello?”

“Hey,” Jenn said in full mom-voice mode. Her tone was soft; just the one word dripped with love and patience.

“How’d you know I needed to hear your voice?” I said, sitting on the bed just as the door slammed shut.

“I didn’t. Just wanted to hear yours. What’s up?”

“The girl. Naomi.”

“Oh?”

I fell onto the bed, flat on my back, staring up at the ceiling. The room had become a prison, Naomi’s house my escape. It was more than just weird that I’d retreated here. “It’s hard to explain, and her job is sort of secret, so there’s not a lot I can explain.”

“That’s … odd. What does she do?”

I chuckled. “I don’t know.”

“You don’t know, or won’t say?”

“Yes.”

Jenn laughed out loud, but quieted down quickly. “Zeke. You like this girl?”

I sighed, picking at my jeans. “Yeah.”

“Tell me.”

“I can’t, Jenn. It’s … complicated.”

She took a breath, preparing to mother me. “You know, when you and Becca split up, I worried about you. You were lost. She was a sort of lifeline for you, but I couldn’t figure out to what. You have a big family who loves you. You have a safe place to land, a job you love, and a crew of brothers who love you back. All of my children come to me searching for something, but you’re the only one I couldn’t help figure it out.” She paused. “What do you think it is?”

I thought a minute, remembering loving and then missing Becca, and now the way I felt about Naomi. “This is different.”

“How?”

“Becca … she was what I wanted. Naomi … she’s what I need.”

“How so?”

“She doesn’t put up with my shit, but she’s tough. She’s not going to run.”

“Is that a bad thing?”

“Everyone runs.”

“Not everyone,” Jenn reminded me without hesitation. “But you’ve always been a runner.”

I rubbed my face with my hand. “You’re right. I left her alone tonight, on Thanksgiving. Who does that?”

“Someone trying to see how far he can push until she leaves you too? And maybe even so you could say you knew she would all along.”

“No.” I sighed. “Yes.”

Jenn had a way of pulling the truth out of me that was buried so deep inside that I didn’t know it was even there until she dangled it in plain sight. “Are you serious about her, son?”