“What kind?”
“Usually something healthy. Or as healthy as I can find.”
He frowned but didn’t say anything.
“I’ll eat just toast at home or a protein shake,” I continued.
“That does not sound fun,” he complained.
“Actually, it is.”
“How do you figure?”
“Because when I was growing up, my mother would expect me to stretch a box of cereal for an entire week, and she bought generic sugar stuff to get me through. I grew to hate that type of cereal.”
I didn’t think it was possible for Brody to frown any harder, but he did. “Don’t take this the wrong way.” He was clearly choosing his words carefully. “Your mother is a monster.”
I didn’t take the comment personally. “She’s limited. She honestly doesn’t have bad intentions, which is why I still allow her to stay with me when she pops up. She should’ve never been a mother, but she did the best she could.”
Brody looked as if he wanted to argue further, but he didn’t.
“It really is fine,” I assured him. “She pops in every other year or so, stays a few weeks, then takes off for greener pastures. I know the routine.”
“You deserve so much more.”
I lifted one shoulder. “You don’t always get what you deserve in life.”
He opened his mouth, likely to say something dark about my mother, then veered off in a different direction. “Tell me about this breakfast.” He pointed toward my plate. “How did you land on this?”
“It was the first breakfast I ever ordered for myself in a restaurant. I saved money for two weeks, and I bought my own breakfast so I wouldn’t have to have the cereal. It was so good that I’ve always ordered the same thing ever since.”
I swear it looked as if he was going to cry. “And what is it again?” he asked in a low voice.
“Eggs over medium so the whites are cooked, whole wheat toast to dunk in the yolks, hash browns, and bacon.”
“And how many times a week do you get that?”
“No more than once, but it’s always a treat when I do.”
“And you never want to get anything different?” he asked.
“Why? I already know what I like.”
He pressed his lips together. I stared back.
“We’re going to try some new breakfasts,” he said finally. “You can still get this one.” He tapped the side of my plate. “You’re going to start tasting the breakfasts I get, though.”
Brody made it sound like we were going to be eating breakfast together often. I didn’t hate the idea.
He grinned. “Wait until I introduce you to the banana pancakes at Collins Quarter. You’re going to love them.”
“I guess we’ll just have to wait to see.”
WE HANDLED THE SCOOTER NEXT. WE HADit towed to a garage Brody was familiar with. The cost of new tires wasn’t as bad as I’d been expecting. Rather than picking it up at the endof the day, which had been the original plan, Brody arranged for it to be dropped off at my house the following day.
“We don’t know how late we’ll be, and I don’t want to cut the fun short,” he said.
“How do you know we’re going to have fun?”
