She eyes me like she’s afraid to ask the question.
Thequestion. Theonlyquestion.
Are you mad because he’s a porn star?
I’m not, surprisingly enough. I want to knowwhy. I want to knowhow. But I deeply believe that he has a good reason.
A guy doesn’t get famous for having the internet’s most inspirational penis without having a story.
And I want to hear it. From him.
With an open mind.
No matter where he’s planning to go with his career from here.
“I’m mad at him because he didn’t have enough faith in himself or in me to fight for me,” I whisper to my mom.
She glances at the door as it opens again.
That’s Theo again. Carrying another bag of supplies.
Quietly belonging everywhere he goes, whether he’s causing chaos or setting up kittens with food and toys and litter.
Except I don’t think he realizes how right he looks no matter where he is. Especially here.
Is that why he’s quiet? I wouldn’t think he’d do anything quietly.
But he does.
And right now, he’s quietly hurting too.
I canfeelit.
He disappears into my kitchen, and I hear the sounds of food bowls being laid out.
So do the cats.
All six of them perk up their ears and swivel their heads toward the kitchen.
“You are all so adorable,” I whisper to them.
Cream Puff leaps off the couch first with a long jump that took an extra big butt wiggle for confidence, sniffing as he heads cautiously toward the kitchen, slinking like he knowsmeand the bubble around me is okay, but the rest of this house is suspicious.
Jellybean follows, then Widget, and then the other three all together as a group, tumbling over each other.
Theo pops his head out of his kitchen, spots the kittens, nods, and disappears again.
“He’s odder than I thought,” Mom murmurs.
He’s nervous.
She makes him nervous.
He should be smiling. Cracking a joke. Relaxed.
He doesn’t hide in the kitchen long. And when he returns after running the water in the sink a few times, he’s holding a small brown lunch sack and a hair dryer.
He shoots a look at my mom, then crosses the room and helps himself to the seat next to me, sitting close enough that I can feel his warmth but not close enough for our thighs to touch.
