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“I’onna buy this place”

“For what?” she asks, looking around

“Kind of like a halfway home or women’s shelter Women with kids, to be exact Women—”

“Likeup

“No, like my momma”

She looks up at me

“My hope is to give theo until they can do it on their own, maybe find some people in similar situations You know, a brotherhood, or—”

“Sisterhood,” she corrects, and squeezes my hand

“Maybe, if they see others who have been there, done that, and escaped, they can, too At the very least, it’ll give theht without worrying that so to come in and beat the hell out of them, force them to—”

“I like it, but there is such a stigma attached to places like this So here”

“But soood”

“Hoill you afford it?”

“Sold my house in Atlantic City”

“You owned a house there, too?”

“Yep Didn’t go there as Now I knohy”

She looks away, her cheeks flushed

“The first floor will be a front office, living area, kitchen, and dining room Second and third floors can each house four sht units, and all of theh tiain soive them hope”

“You should consider six two-bedrooms Put in bunk beds, four to a room Moms would take a bunk Hell, they’d take a floor if it meant their kids were safe”

“Not all moms, Hailey”

“The ones who really want better” I take in her words “You’ll end up with a place full of squatters, ‘gih and lay down rules and expectations Soet out of their oay So the work it takes to break a cycle”

“My girl would be—”

“Your girl?”

“Okay, my little momma”

“Again, ‘yours’?”

“I need to reht I am in possession of my balls”

“I need to remind you that there is no label on this relationship”

“Will you be irlfriend, Hailey? Will you exclusively date me? Will you—”

“Shut up” She giggles and pushes at me “How old are we?”

“Okay, then be irl, and no one else’s”

“I haven’t been with anyone—”