Page 28 of In Your Dreams

POPPY: Do you want to do something with us?

Whoa. I hesitate for a moment. Not because I don’t want to. I definitely do want to hang out with them. But I have questions.

ME: Um, is that ok?

POPPY: What do you mean? Lol

ME: I mean does he expect us to be hanging out as friends or…?

POPPY: Ohhhh, got it. Well, I told him the other day we were going on a date. I don’t hide anything from him and we have frequent talks about life in general, his dad, and the future. Maybe I should have told you that before.

ME: No, I think that’s great. Aiden is mature and it seems odd to shield kids from certain things.

POPPY: That’s exactly how I feel about it

ME: Well in that case, I would love to hang out with you guys

POPPY: Great! How about you come over in like an hour? We can start with brunch

After confirming with her, I jump in the shower, letting the hot water wake me the rest of the way up. I didn’t expect to be able to see Poppy today, so I’ll admit I’m a-kid-in-a-candy-store level excited. I’m also a little nervous. Aiden is a good kid and I love being his coach. I would never want to do anything that would cause him to be upset with me or his mom. Divorce can be tough on kids. There are a lot of emotions to consider. But I’ve known from the start that if I wanted to date Poppy, it was apackage deal. I can be patient while we figure out the dynamics and what he’s comfortable with.

Aiden will be entering fifth grade when the school year starts. Gosh, sometimes it’s hard to believe Poppy is the mother of a kid that old. I wonder why they never had another kid after him. Usually you see a couple of kiddos in succession from young, married couples. I can’t seem to remember Theo ever commenting on the topic.

Shit, what if she doesn’t want more kids? The thought never really occurred to me until now. And I know it’s too early to be thinking about any of this, but I’ve always seen marriage and kids in my future. God, what if she doesn’t want to get married again? Holy fuck, why didn’t I think about any of this before? It’s a common thing I see. People coming out of a divorce and vowing never to get married again.

I want to get married. And I want to have at least one kid of my own. Being a stepdad is wonderful and I would totally embrace that to the fullest. But Aiden has a dad and as far as I know, he’s still going to be in the picture. And it will just be different in a few ways. That’s okay, of course. I want Aiden to have his dad. Just because a marriage doesn’t work doesn’t mean he’s a bad dad.

We probably should have talked about these things before going on a date. Now I’m a whole new kind of nervous. What if my dream girl is standing right here in front of me and I could have a future with her but it’s not the one I pictured for myself?

An hour after we texted, I’m knocking on her door and reminding myself not to freak out and ask her those things as soon as I see her. That would be weird even for me.

Aiden swings the door open, a wide smile on his face.

“Hey, coach, come on in,” he says. “Is it still okay if I call you coach?”

“What else would you call me?” I ask, laughing.

Aiden drums his finger on his chin, giving it some thought as I step inside.

“I don’t know,” he says. “What do kids normally call their mom’s boyfriends?”

Boyfriend, huh? I don’t think he’s old enough to understand the nuances of dating and the evolution from friend to dating to titles like boyfriend and girlfriend and past that. I mean I’m not going to correct him either. That’s totally fine with me.

You can still call me coach, if you want,” I say, laughing. “Or Parker is fine too.”

“Cool,” he says. “I’ll go get my mom.”

Aiden’s feet hit the stairs at a speed only young boys seem to have. He bounces up them and out of sight before I can say anything else.

A few seconds later, Parker’s dad appears from the kitchen. I’ve been here a few times with Theo and met both of their parents but it’s just not the same when you’re dating their daughter.

“Hello, son,” he says. “Good to see you.”

Mr. Jameson offers me his outstretched hand, which I take without hesitation. “Hello there, Mr. Jameson. Good to see you.”

His head turns slowly toward the stairs as if he’s checking that the coast is clear before turning back to me.

“Between you, me, and the wall, I’m rooting for you, son,” he says, then shuffles off past me toward the back den.

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