Page 38 of The Good Guy on My Porch

He shook his head, looking so sad and worried I almost dropped to my knees right there and told him the truth. “No. It’s not. I’m sorry, Dilly. I should have never assumed…Of course, Jerome is a good guy. You wouldn’t ever—”

“Thank you,” I said, because I needed to make him stop feeling bad about this. “Thank you for worrying about me.” And I meant it. My mother’s worry was suffocating, but Oscar’s worry wasn’t about locking me away in a room to keep me safe to make himself feel better. He genuinely seemed to be concerned for me.

He shuffled, looking even more confused, which was fair, since I must have sounded like a crazy person. “Sure,” he said. “Of course. I should get to work.”

I watched him go and ignored the bad feeling that something fragile in my friendship with Oscar had just broken. Bad feelings were just the first step on the journey to my mother’s life, and I always ignored them if I could.

***

I hurried up the walk, phone to my ear, and bag slipping from my shoulder. “I’m home. I’m safe,” I said to my mother for the sixth time. “I’ll talk to you in a couple hours.”

“Okay, Dilly. Don’t forget to turn the oven off after you make dinner.”

“I picked up some take-out on the way home, remember? That’s why I was late calling you.”

I stopped halfway down the walk. Oscar’s girlfriend, Molly, was sitting on the top step, Buddy next to her. It had been three days since Oscar had overheard my call to my mother and I’d only seen him long enough to give him the key to my half of the duplex, so he could let Buddy out when he was home and I wasn’t. Apparently, Oscar had shared the key with Molly.

“Oh, well, that’s good,” my mother said. “Just be sure—”

“Mom. I’ll call you later, okay. Someone’s at the door.”

“Oh, dear. Don’t answer it, Dilly. There’s no telling who it is.”

I felt like banging my head against the pavement. Molly was watching me now, curiosity obvious, and my mother was on the verge of a meltdown. “I’m not answering the door, okay? It was just the post woman dropping off a package. I’ll call you later.”

“Okay. Just don’t open the door until you’re sure she’s gone and…Are you expecting a package? Crazy people put bombs in packages these days. You can’t be too careful.”

Except, you could be too careful. So careful you forgot to enjoy life. “It’s a book I ordered. Totally safe. I’ve got it and the door is shut and locked. I’m safe, okay?”

She sighed. “I’ll talk to you before bed, dear.”

I hung up, slid the phone in my pocket, and waited for Molly to ask. She just smiled. “Mothers.” She shook her head. “They’re enough to drive us all crazy.”

My smile in return felt brittle. It had been a long week and it was only Friday. I still had to work one more day. Without Aunt Melly in town, I had to check in on my mother every other day myself, and she’d been having a particularly difficult week, demanding more phone calls and more visits. At work, I was starting a new project, something I’d been dreaming of doing for a while. It involved the elderly meeting up with high school students. The students would teach our older friends about technology and the older people would tell the kids stories from their lives that the kids would record and compile into a book for the library. Maybe no one would ever look at the book and maybe the elderly patrons would never use the technology they learned, but I was optimistic that bonds and friendships would be formed.

We’d had our first meeting that evening and it had been awkward at first, but everyone had been laughing by the end, so I counted it a success. I wished I had a moment to celebrate that success, to feel glad about it, but Betty had cornered me after the meeting and demanded to know how my mother was. I’d lied amazingly well, but I wasn’t entirely sure Betty was convinced. I was on edge, had been on edge all week. I felt like everything was on the verge of crumbling around me and there was nothing I could do about it.

“Right,” I said to Molly. “Mothers.” I couldn’t say anymore, didn’t trust myself to say anymore. “Thanks for getting Buddy out for his walk.”

“I didn’t. Oscar got him out before he left for his date. I figured I’d just hang out with him for a while. He’s such a sweet dog.”

I stared at her, my bag slipping from my shoulder once again. I took three steps toward her and stopped. “Date?”

She grinned. “Yeah, a second date. He told me not to wait up, so I think it might be serious.”

I sank down on the top step next to her, Buddy between us. “And you’re okay with that?”

She scrunched her nose. “Sure. Why wouldn’t I be? He seems happy, so I’m happy for him, you know?”

No. I didn’t know. I did not understand people and their open relationships. If I knew Molly better, I might ask her to explain it, but I doubted that would go over well. “That’s very understanding of you.”

She gave me a funny look. “You think? I figured he should get to have some fun. The first trimester is rough, and I’ve been sick every morning. Poor guy needs an excuse to get out of the house.”

Shock barreled through me. I thought I knew Oscar better. I didn’t think he was the kind of guy who would…”You’re pregnant?”

She grinned. “I am. Six weeks today.”

I just stared. How could she possibly be okay with her boyfriend, the father of her baby dating another woman? I couldn’t ask her that, obviously, but maybe…”Congratulations. You must be so happy.”

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