Dev smiles. “It’s settled, then. Off to McDonald’s we go. I’ll drive.”
Everybody stands and moves toward the door, so I do the same. I probably shouldn’t be this excited about my near future being spent at a fast-food joint, but I am. Luckily, I have Sammy to focus on as we make our way out the door, so I don’t have time to act all goofy over Dev inviting himself along.
CHAPTER NINETEEN
It feels like there are two places between Dev and me, even though there’s only one. I’ve never been in a vehicle that has a bench seat in the front. “How old is this car, anyway?” I look over into the backseat at my son strapped into his car seat. He’s smiling while looking out the window, like he’s having a really great day. McDonald’s tends to have that effect on him, but I think Dev is part of the reason, too. When he held Sammy up above his seven-foot height on the way to the car, Sammy screamed with glee, like he was on a roller coaster.
“This gorgeous vehicle rolled off the manufacturing line in 1975.”
“It’s older than I am.” I laugh.
“Yes, but she drives like she just rolled off the line last year.” His car decides in that moment to let out a big, loud pop and a poof of black smoke billows from the tailpipe. I turn around and look out the rear windshield; the black haze is slowly dispersing over the street behind us.
Barely containing my mirth, I turn back to the front and press my hands together, lowering my head and half-closing my eyes. “I’m going to go ahead and pray for the environment, if you don’t mind.”
Dev reaches up and strokes the dashboard. “Don’t listen to her, Bessie. She’s just jealous because she drives around in a mom-mobile and not a well-oiled cruising machine.”
I could tease him more, but I just smile. It’s fun driving around the city with Dev at the wheel. I feel like we’re in a tank, and nothing could hurt us, not even a pack of raging black rhinos. Even without this giant car around us, I’d probably feel that way just being with Dev. He’s very intimidating to look at, but I know he’s soft inside, like an ooey-gooey chocolate truffle candy.
“What are you smiling at?” Dev asks.
I just shake my head. I don’t trust myself to open my mouth and let any words out. I’d probably start gushing about how cute he is and how much I like him and how much I want to go out on a date with him. And we’ve planned to do something later this week, but I’m not going to be the one to bring it up. I don’t want to seem overanxious. It’s not really a date, anyway. It’s just a bet that he won and I lost. He’ll probably just give me another one of those friendly, brotherly kisses on the cheek after it’s all over. The mere idea of it makes me happy. I can pretend it’s not brotherly, right?
“Oh, so we’re going to play coy, are we?” He taps his thumbs on the steering wheel as he nods. “Okay. I see how you are. I can handle it.”
I’m not going to read too much into that statement. He’s just being flirty and cute. It’s fun. I know we haven’t known each other for very long, but the way he teases and jokes around so easily, I feel like I’m with an old friend, like I can be myself.
Sammy starts chanting from the back seat. “McDonald’th, McDonald’th, McDonald’th.”
Dev glances up in his rearview mirror at our backseat passenger. “You’re not excited about eating at McDonald’s, are you?”
Sammy stretches his arms really high in the air, straining his whole body with his enthusiastic answer. “Yeth, I am!”
Dev play-frowns. “Nah. Maybe we should go somewhere else. Maybe we should go to a really fancy restaurant for your mommy.”
Sammy frowns, worried Dev is serious. “No! I don’t like fanthy rethtauranth. Fanthy rethtauranth don’t like kidth.”
Dev smiles. “How could anybody not like you? You’re awesome.”
Sammy smiles absently. “I’m awethome. I’m totally awethome.” He turns his head and looks out the window, swinging his legs so they bang into the seat. If it were in another car, I might worry about it, but this car is a piece of junk. I know Dev is in love with it, but the backseats have stuffing coming out of them, for God’s sake.
“Okay,” Dev says with a sigh of defeat, “I guess we’d better go to McDonald’s, then.”
Sammy doesn’t seem to hear Dev. He just keeps staring out the window, his face falling little by little.
Dev sees him in the rearview mirror and glances over at me. He whispers. “What’s up with that? Did I say something wrong?”
I shake my head, my concern for my son taking over my thoughts. “No, I don’t think so. He’s got something going on at daycare, I’m pretty sure. He had a ‘stomachache’ this morning.” I use air-quotes to emphasize my point.