Page 116 of Buy Back My Love

“What happened?”

“We wanted different things.”

“That could mean anything.”

“Mostly kids.” He reached for his drink. “I wanted some. She didn’t.”

That caught my attention.

“At all?”

“At all.”

“Damn. Did you know that before y’all got married?”

“Not really. We talked about having them, but it was always later. Then later came and she realized she didn’t want them. I thought maybe she’d change her mind.”

“And she thought maybe you would?”

“Pretty much.”

“Neither one of y’all did.”

“Nah.”

I looked down at the burger in my lap, suddenly wishing I had picked literally any other subject to ask about. Of all the things for me to stumble into while sitting there carrying a baby he didn’t even know about.

“You still want kids?” I asked.

“Yeah.”

“How many?”

He smiled. “You really interviewing me.”

“You want your social back?”

“Nah. Keep going.”

I laughed. “How many?”

“Two. Maybe three.”

“Three?”

“What’s wrong with three?”

“Nothing. That’s just a lot of kids.”

“You asked.”

“And I’m judging your answer.”

Van shook his head, smiling, while I picked at the edge of my wrapper.

“So how dating been since the divorce?”

“It’s been dating.”