Page 54 of Perfect Mess

We continued walking down the trail at a leisurely pace, much less “picked up” than before. Kyle didn’t seem to be in any hurry, so I followed his lead. Turns out he was formulating questions. After a long spell of more silence, he asked, “Are you my dad’s girlfriend?”

I had just taken a sip of water and sprayed it all out in front of me.

“Oh no, no way,” I answered. “Absolutely not.”

“So you’re just his friend, that’s a girl.”

“I’m not entirely sure about that either.”

“You’re not sure if you’re a girl?”

“I’m definitely a girl. A woman technically.”

“So you’re not his friend?” Kyle frowned.

“No. I mean yes. Sort of. We’re friendly-ish. It’s complicated.”

“Weird.”

We kept walking. Then I had an idea. Perhaps this was my opportunity to get a little more background info on Gary. Info I could use to help me with my plan to set him up with Janet.

“So your dad, does he have another girlfriend?”

“No.”

“Does he ever have a girlfriend?”

“I don’t think so.”

“What about your mom?”

“She’s not here anymore.”

“So you just live with your dad?”

Kyle nodded.

“Do you ever visit your mom?”

Kyle shrugged. “Some times. My dad takes me to see her.”

“I see.”

“How long have they been div…,” I remembered to choose my words wisely. The kid was only eight, and he seemed a bit sensitive. Especially after the whole girlfriend thing. “How long has your mom been gone?”

“Since I was a baby.”

“Sorry. That sucks. My mom went away when I was twelve.” It’s never easy on a kid when their parents split, no matter how young or old.

We continued walking in silence for a long time after that. Eventually, I could see the green roof of the nature center just ahead, over the tops of the trees.

Before we reached the end of our journey, Kyle stopped. He clearly had something else he wanted to say.

“What is it?” I asked.

“I think my dad needs a girlfriend,” he said.

I had thought he was going to ask how many points we were going to get on the scavenger hunt quiz or ask me to change the brown water answer back to beaver poop. I wasn’t expecting that at all. “How come you think that?”

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