The first night sleeping at her new townhome, Ginger invites me over to break in her bed’s springs. Afterward, as the ceiling fan cools our sweaty bodies, she suggests we pick up the kids from school tomorrow and take them out for a fast food dinner. I’m so relieved at her showing interest in Alani and Makoa that I insist we enjoy another round as a thank you.

The next day, I pick up Ginger in my used silver SUV. We head to the school where the kids know to skip the bus and look for us instead. I keep glancing at her to see if she’s nervous. Ginger, though, focuses on her phone.

“Everything okay?” I ask.

Ginger nods. “Yep. The girls back in Little Memphis are getting the hang of calling the shots, but they still like me to give feedback.”

“You’re so badass,” I say, only half teasing.

Ginger grins and sets aside her phone. “I played dictator for a long time, so it makes sense for the girls, even Sage my former right-hand chick, to be uncertain.”

“I need to improve my dictator skill. I still think like I’m a member of the crew rather than the leader.”

“Your men aren’t smart enough to give you feedback.”

Frowning at the certainty in her voice, I mutter, “They’re not as dumb as you think.”

Ginger hears my tone and smirks. “Yeah, but they’re not as smart as you think. Camo is young and dumb. Blackjack is stubborn and dumb. Glitch is a follower and dumb. Devo is self-indulgent and dumb. Vile is weak and dumb. As their leader, you need to exploit their strengths and work around their weaknesses. I think you do well at that. It’s not like you send Camo to do things that involve a long attention span. Or send Vile to scare people.”

I’m impressed she picked up on the guys’ weaknesses after only dealing with them in passing over the last few weeks while they worked on the townhomes.

“Are you complimenting me?” I ask.

“Always,” she says and reaches over to caress my cheek. “You’re a good man, father, son, boyfriend, and leader.”

“But you still think you’re a better leader.”

“Of course, but I’ve been doing it longer.”

“Very true. You’re the Yoda to my Luke.”

“Nerd talk means nothing to me,” she says, withdrawing her hand from my cheek.

“Everyone likes Star Wars.”

Ginger rolls her eyes. “No, trust me that they don’t.”

“Alani does.”

“She’s eleven. Let’s not base everyone liking something on the opinion of a child.”

“Are we arguing just to argue again?”

“Probably, but we can’t have sex for hours, so let’s stick that shit into neutral until we’re able to enjoy the fun payoff.”

“I agree.”

Ginger smiles brightly, and I think she’s excited to hang out with my kids. I doubt I can love her more than I do in this moment.

After we wait in the pick-up line for ten minutes, Alani and Makoa finally climb into the SUV, already talking about ice cream. Ginger turns around to say hello and hands them each a Starburst. They glow under her gaze, already thinking she’s the cool girlfriend rather than a usurper in our family.

“I wanted to talk to you guys about a girl that lives in our townhome community,” Ginger says as we sit at a light. “Her name is Duffy, and she’s seven. She’ll start going to your school next week. Duffy’s brain works differently than ours. She hears things louder than we do. She feels things different too,” she says and then pauses as if having trouble explaining.

“Guys, you know how you get freaked out when Uncle Camo comes over with his souped-up Harley because it’s so loud?”

The kids nod in unison.

“That’s how Duffy hears a lot of stuff,” I say and then glance at Ginger. “Right?”

“Yes,” Ginger says. “And when she touches certain things, they can feel really weird to her even if they don’t feel weird to us at all.”

“Alani, you know how you get really creeped out by the fish we catch at the pond? Well, that’s how Duffy feels about a lot of things.”

The kids nod in unison again, and I’ve never realized before how often they pull that move. Maybe they really do need to spend more time apart.

“Duffy is like you in a lot of ways too,” Ginger says. “She likes to watch cartoons, swim, and listen to music. On Saturday, when you come over for the party, you’ll meet her, and I wanted to make sure you understand why she acts the way she does.”

“Should we talk to her?” Alani asks.

“If you want to but don’t be upset if she doesn’t talk to you. She’s shy, and new people scare her. Once you’re around a lot, she won’t be afraid of you.”

“Then we can be her friend,” Makoa says, and I can’t help my proud father grin.

“Yep,” Ginger says, sharing my smile.

After the tough topic of Duffy, we spend the rest of dinner talking about swimming, Silver Swan, and our favorite junk food. The kids even pull out their homework, and Ginger helps them with the problems. When she can’t figure out one math problem, she searches Google before calling Cayenne, who knows the answer off the top of her head.

“She’s a good chick to have around,” Ginger says, giving me a wink.

The kids are crazy about Ginger by the time we drop her off at the townhomes. They wave at her through the back window while I drive away. Ginger waves too until I turn a corner, and they can’t see each other any longer. The kids settle into silence, and I wonder if they’re thinking about Ginger. Do they hope she’ll be their mother one day? Or are their thoughts as simple as liking the lady with the Starbursts and a pool?

Whatever they’re thinking, I know they’ll open their hearts to Ginger. Until tonight, I worried she might not be able to do the same with them. Then I noticed how she kept an eye on them, wanted to take Alani to the bathroom rather than let her go alone, and instigated the homework routine so they’d have more time to play later. Ginger made the kids her responsibility rather than just mine. For a woman with such a guarded heart, Ginger took a big step tonight.