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Colleen hums. “I’m surprised you didn’t want to live with him after the divorce. The judge let you decide.”

Alex closes his eyes, and I can tell this conversation is about to go downhill fast. “I didn’t choose him, though, did I?”

Colleen harrumphs like that’s still somehow not good enough. I hardly know the woman, but I can tell she isn’t being fair to Alex. “It’s never easy making that kind of decision,” I reason with her. “I may not be close with my father, but he’s still my dad. Half of his DNA runs through my veins. I’m sure Alex feels the same way. Picking between parents is hard when they both gave you life.”

He looks at me and mouths “thank you” before looking at his mother, who’s staring at the tabletop. “It is hard, Ma. I never wanted to have to choose. I love you both.”

“Everybody has a choice, Alexander.”

There’s the full name again.

“And youlovedhim. Past tense,” she murmurs. “He’s dead.”

“That doesn’t change the fact I love him.”

She’s quiet.

I clear my throat. “Family can be tough sometimes. Things happen that make us see people differently. But I’ve known Alex for a while, Mrs. O’Conner, and I know he doesn’t make his choices lightly. He’s a good person with a heart that he rarely shows people. And I can tell he’s shown you his time and time again. The rest of us can only be so lucky.”

When his mother looks at me, there’s a shine to her eyes. “My Alex has always been that way. So caring.Toocaring. Even to people who don’t deserve it.”

My brows pinch.

She frowns, turning to Alex. “I’m sorry that I’m here, baby boy. I just missed you and was worried when Pam told me you’d gotten hurt. I want to be your mother for once. I wanted to care for you, notbetaken care of.”

He shakes his head, wetting his lips. “I appreciate that you care. I do. You don’t need to apologize. But we do need to get you back. You know why, Ma. For me?”

Her eyes go down to her lap. “Fine.”

Alex lets out a long breath. “Thank you.”

I’m not sure what’s happening, but it seems serious enough that I don’t feel the need to talk.

When our food arrives at the table, the conversation doesn’t flow as well. Colleen is quiet, barely hounding me with any questions. Alex doesn’t try saying much, besides asking us how our food is. And, suddenly, I feel awkward for coming.

It isn’t until an hour and a half later when we get back to Alex’s apartment that he pulls me aside to talk. “I need to drive my mom somewhere, so I’ll be gone for a few hours. You can stay here and watch TV or whatever you want to do.”

He’s leaving? “You’re taking her back to Lindon? I can come with you.”

“No,” he says too quickly. He tugs on the collar of his T-shirt. “No, I’m not taking her to Lindon.”

So where is she going? Their house is still in town. It’s why he was there before, he’d said. I guess the hitchhiking thing makes more sense now if she came from somewhere closer, but she doesn’t have a purse or anything with her.

“I can’t come with you?” I question.

His eyes dim. “It’s better if you stay here.”

“Why?”

“Olive, come on.” He sounds exasperated. Or tired. Maybe both? Rubbing the back of his neck, he drops his head back. “It’s complicated, okay? I can try to explain when I get back.”

What’s new? “Everything about us seems to be complicated, Alex. So how about I save you the trouble of coming up with an excuse on your drive home to not tell me what’s going on and let me see for myself?”

He’s speechless, his lips parting and closing in shock. Maybe because he knows I’m right. He’ll figure out some reason why he can’t tell me the truth on his way back, and then we won’t get anywhere.

“I came here to spend time with you,” I remind him. “You told me you wanted me here. You told me you shouldn’t have let go of what we had before. So let me be here for you.”

His expression flickers. I don’t know what the break is, but I’m grateful for it. He swallows, his throat bobbing as he looks toward the other room where his mother disappeared to use the bathroom. “I’ll tell my mom that we’re ready then.”