Of all the kids he knew, Tess was the wisest. She was the perfect person to talk to about this situation. He was hoping she told him not to worry at all. Maybe they would break up soon. He felt guilty thinking this way, but he couldn’t help himself. He was uneasy.
“So, how do you like your dad’s new girlfriend?” Tess asked before biting into an Oreo.
“She seems nice.” Miles shrugged. “But he hasn’t called her his girlfriend.”
“Yet,” Tess said, smirking. “It’s only a matter of time.”
His heart sank.So Tess saw it too.His dad was smitten with Harlow. He wasn’t really sure what the word meant, but Tess always used it when she talked about her sisters falling for their husbands.
“She really does seem nice,” Tess said with a smile. “And she’s good friends with Stella.” She grinned. “Then maybe they’ll get married. And you’ll have a mom again.”
He bit his lip. A new mom? Doc Harlow married to his dad? This was all so confusing. A part of him was fine with his dad dating Harlow, while something inside his gut twisted just thinking about such a big change in his life.
“I’m just worried,” Miles admitted. Tess was his friend and he wanted to be honest with her, but he didn’t want to sound like a hater. In his heart, he wanted his dad to be happy, but the thought of not being his number-one person in the whole wide world made Miles feel sad. They were the dynamic duo. Two peas in a pod. Batman and Robin.
Tess frowned. “What are you frowning about? Isn’t this what you wanted?”
Harlow seemed cool, but that didn’t mean he wanted her to replace his mom. He didn’t like how he was beginning to forget things about his mother. She’d been the most special mom in the entire world.
“I thought I did,” he said, biting his lip. “But that was before—”
“Before you had to see it in action, right?” Tess asked. “Like all the hand holding and kissy faces. Trust me, I’ve seen it all.” Tess rolled her eyes. “Between Lucy and Stella, I could write a romance novel at this point.”
“Yeah, Doc Harlow was at our house the other night. My dad made this special dinner for her. And we all watched the game, which was fun, but they flirted the whole time, which was so annoying.”
“Been there, done that,” Tess quipped. “And Lucy married Mr. Hollywood, so there’s been lots of PDA.”
“What’s PDA?” Miles asked.
“Public displays of affection. Kissing. Hand holding. Making out.” Tess shrugged. “The usual.”
Miles scrunched up his face.Yuck.It was all gross to him. There wasn’t a single girl on the planet he wanted to hold hands with or kiss. And he couldn’t imagine that ever changing. “What can I do?” he asked with a groan. “It’s all happening too fast.” He held his face in his hands.
“You do have options.” Tess wiggled her eyebrows.
“I do?” Miles asked. Leave it to Tess to have all the answers. It had been smart of him to have this conversation with her.
“Yep. If your dad thinks you don’t like Harlow, then he won’t date her,” Tess said. “Easy-peasy.”
She made it sound so simple, but Doc Harlow was nice. He would have to pretend, and he hated being fake.
“But I do like her,” Miles protested. All of a sudden he felt guilty talking badly about Doc Harlow. She’d always been nice to him and she was taking care of Zeus’s tumor. Plus, she’d answered a million of his questions about Zeus. But he hated this feeling that his dad was slipping away from him. He liked being with his dad, just the two of them.
“Technically, yes, but you don’t like her being with your dad. Right?” Tess pressed. “Or did I read your situation wrong?”
Miles bowed his head. “No, you didn’t. I just…can’t lose my dad. And if he gets married, he might have a whole new family. I like being his only kid.”
Tess rubbed her hands together. “Say no more, Miles. If you want to put a wrench in their relationship I’ve got a few ideas. Nothing too shady, but it’ll get the job done.”
For a moment Miles hesitated. Maybe he should just wait and see if they broke up on their own. Sometimes Tess came up with twisted plans. She’d really gotten him in trouble when she had involved him in the dognapping of her sister’s dog, Coco Chanel. They had gotten busted by Uncle Luke at Miles’s house. As punishment, he’d gotten grounded for a week. This was different though. He wasn’t going to do anything to get in trouble.
“I’m listening,” Miles said to Tess, who scooted closer to him and began to talk to him in a low voice as they put their heads together.
***
The ding of a text message woke up Harlow from a deep sleep a few minutes before her alarm was set to go off.
Happy Kiss a Pet Day!
