“How do you think I should tell her?” Tim asked.
I chuckled.
“Look, I said I’m good with it, but trust me, Tami doesn’t want me involved in her love life. Talk to Wolf about this one,” I suggested.
“He said I should just show her my junk,” Tim said.
I just blinked as my brain wrapped itself around that.
“Okay,
“Will he tell me the Dawson secrets to dating lots of girls?” he asked.
“Not if you plan to date Tami,” I said as my eyebrows shot up.
He held up his hands in defeat. I kicked him out of my apartment so I could finish getting ready. I wished I could be a fly on the wall when he finally got up the courage to talk to Tami.
◊◊◊
“David! Come help me with the boys,” Peggy called from downstairs as Duke bounded up the stairs to say hello.
I took Little David and the diaper bag while she parked the stroller and carried Coby upstairs. Peggy looked exhausted. The boys were ready for naps, so we put them down.
“They’re getting big, and my back is killing me,” she complained.
“I can fix that,” I offered.
“No funny stuff,” she warned.
I sighed.
“You say that now.”
I took her into my bedroom and had her strip down to her panties. As I gave her a massage, I found that her back was tight. I must have done my magic because she was soon asleep.
I stepped into the living room and found Coby was still awake, so I picked him up and held him. He was such a good baby. Just looking into his blue eyes made me melt. This was my son. I’d imagined what that would mean to me before we had him, but nothing prepared me for how he made me feel.
Having a child really does change you. I hated to be away from him while making movies or playing baseball. I felt selfish for letting my parents and Peggy take on the burden of raising him. Deep down, I realized it was for the best. He was safe and secure with them. But it made me feel like a part-time dad. I guess that was exactly what I would be until after college graduation. It reminded me that most young dads didn’t have that option, and that was why I loved my parents.
Coby drifted off, so I put him in his crib. Duke took advantage of my empty lap and jumped on the couch so he could lay his head on it. I rubbed his ears to assure him that I still loved him too.
◊◊◊
I was watching
“What are you doing?” she asked.
“Watching one of the movies Rita gave me. I never realized some of these old ones were so good. I would’ve loved to act with Katharine Hepburn. She really was bigger than life.”
“When do you leave?” she asked.
“Tomorrow. Moose, Coach Haskins, Coach Herndon, Paul, and I will leave first thing in the morning. I’ll be staying with a host family while I’m there.”
“You’d better be careful if they have daughters,” she teased.
“If I get lonely, I can just update my Tinder account.”
“Didn’t you take that down?”
“I could reactivate it.”
Peggy decided that idea had merit. I got my phone and let her look at the app.
“Where are you going?”
“I’m off to Cary, North Carolina. It’s in the area they call ‘the Triangle’ with Raleigh, Durham, and Chapel Hill. It’s close to Duke, the University of North Carolina, and North Carolina State University.”
I was amused that Peggy had the two-thumbs typing down. I struggled with one finger.
“Okay, how’s this? ‘Only in town for a week. Looking for NSA fun.’”
“What the heck is ‘NSA’?” I asked.
“No strings attached.”
“I don’t even want to know how you knew that.”
She hit enter. Matches began to pop up. It seems girls like picking out dates for you. Peggy started to reject most of them; I thought some of those she rejected looked to be exactly the right amount of slutty. I wondered if you could go back and change them from a ‘no’ to a ‘yes.’
Duke told me he wanted to go out. After he was done, I walked into the house to get something to eat. I found Tami there, talking to my mom.
“Is Peggy in your apartment?” Mom asked.
“She’s finding me a girl for when I go to baseball camp,” I said like it was no big deal.
That got their attention.
“Tinder,” I explained.
“Oh, I’ll go help her,” Mom said.
Tami laughed at me when she saw my expression. Of course, that wouldn’t stop my mom. She left us as I made myself some soup.
“What were you two up to?” Tami asked.
“Peggy needed a nap, so I watched the boys.”
“Did you figure out what Tim wanted?”
“He stopped by today, and we talked. I took care of it,” I said, unwilling to give her details.
“Well, I’m sorry about last night. I was in a mood.”
“Guess I didn’t notice. Do you feel better today? Tim said you seemed upset about something.”
“No, I’m fine.”
I just nodded.
“You’ll do great, by the way,” Tami said.
“What?”
“Baseball. You’ll do great.”
“Oh, yeah. I’m ready.”
We were silent for a few minutes while I ate.
“I wanted to thank you,” she said.
“For what?” I asked.
