When Marshall dropped by Kim’s that evening to pick up some clean clothes for Hailie, he asked Kim if they could talk seriously for a moment.

He stayed at the door and refused to sit down, as he only wanted the conversation to last a few minutes. Once he got the record strait about not letting Hailie see the tabloids, Kim launched into questions about Regina.

“So, what’s her name, what’s she like,” Kim acted like she was his friend or something, and it was confusing the hell out of him.

“Her name is Regina, but,” Marshall replied but Kim cut him off.

“How long you been seeing her?”

“About five weeks, why are you,” again Kim interrupted.

“Oh that’s great. Hailie was so worried about you. She sulked for an entire week after your last visit. She felt so bad that you were so miserable,” Kim replied, touching his arm gently. He fought the reaction to yank his arm away. He was willing to believe that she might have been being sincere.

“Everyone thought I was miserable?” he asked surprised.

“I’ve been worried. After the last girl, you just haven’t been the same.” Kim replied. Marshall was floored, Kim had never even considered being this nice to him while they were married. He didn’t know what to say so he didn’t say anything.

“So really, what’s she like? I mean, it must say something, you look so much better from the last time.” Kim said, sensing that he was uncomfortable with her being so nice. He never could take a compliment.

“She’s nice. Comes from a big family, half-Spanish, half-Italian. She’s also Dre’s new project. Amazing at rapping, really, she’s gonna hit it big.” Marshall rattled off a few details but found it hard to describe Regina in a way that would make people actually see what she was like.

“How’s she treat you?” Kim asked.

“Well, once we agreed on giving the exclusive thing a try, she warmed up. But she’s got major trust issues. Not a very good past. Father beat the crap out of her, husband threw her out the house,” Marshall replied.

“Trust is a big thing with you too Marshall, you can’t blame the girl,” Kim replied sympathetically.

“She doesn’t take my shit either,” he said with a laugh.

“Good, maybe she’ll give you a run for your money,” Kim laughed.

“Daddy! I’m ready!” Hailie called as she bounded into the hall with her bag of clothes.

“Okay, I guess we’ll get going then, uh, thanks Kim, you know,” Marshall said awkwardly as he took Hailie’s bag from her

“Oh don’t worry about it. Hey, you come back here, you’re last night, we’ll have dinner together, just the three of us,” Kim added when she saw him wrinkle his nose at the prospect of having to share the table with Erik.

“Um, okay, sounds good. Come on Hailie, hop aboard the daddy train,” Marshall said as he crouched down to pick her up on his back. She rolled her eyes at him.

“Daddy, I’m too old for piggy back rides,” she said as if this were obvious.

“Too old for piggy back rides? Since when did you get too old for piggy back rides?” Marshall asked with a furrowed brow.

“Since I was eight! Jeez dad,” Hailie said shaking her head.

“You sure you ain’t feeding her something overnight, cause I think she might hit twelve before I leave,” Marshall said to Kim as he stood up.

“She gets that from you,” Kim replied smiling. There was a moment while they all stood still and wondered at the tenderness in the moment. Marshall finally shook himself and said goodbye, toting Hailie and her things out to the car.

That evening, Marshall didn’t want to wait until Hailie was in bed to call Regina. He figured that Hailie would hear everything any way, so he might as well call her when he wanted. While he watched her in the shallow end of the pool he sat at the pool table and dialed Regina’s apartment. When Ernelle answered he asked that she pass the phone along to Regina, but was greeted with,

“Actually, Marshall, she’s not here right now. She’s down at the college working on the debate, she’s practicing. The entire association is having a run through to help her out.”

“Then why aren’t you there?” he snapped. He wanted to talk to her, and now she wasn’t there. He was annoyed. After his talk with Kim it made him miss Regina even more. Talking about her had been a sure-fire way to make him miss her.

“I’m on my way now. I had to pick up my stuff, I left it home this morning. What are you jumping down my neck for anyway?” Ernelle asked.

“Sorry,” he said gruffly, not aware of the bad taste it left in his mouth, “I just wanted to talk to her is all.”

“Look, if you’re that desperate to talk to her, wait a few minutes, I’ll be over at the school, and call my cell phone. Then you can talk to her, okay?” Ernelle asked.

“I guess. But why the hell doesn’t that girl have a cell phone, it’s the twenty-first century for cripes sake?” Marshall asked. Regina never had a cell phone. It was another bill that she had to pay for every month.

“Cost too much, but I’m sure she’ll get one soon.” Ernelle replied.

Once he had hung up, he waited twenty minutes before dialing Ernelle’s phone.

“Hello?”

“Yo, where you been?”

“Marshall! Hey baby boy! I was wondering why Ernelle gave me her phone, how are you?” she was happy to hear from him, he smiled at that thought.

“All right.”

“To what do I owe the honor of an early call?”

“I was thinking about you, that’s all. And, Hailie found out about you.”

“What? How?” Regina asked, wondering how the hell a nine-year-old would know if her father was dating someone.

“Well let’s just say I have a big mouth, she’s heard me talking to you at night, she says I talk too loud. Plus Kim saw something in the tabloids.”

“The tabloids?”

“Yeah, there was a small thing, nothing really, but enough for Kim to find out and tell my daughter, which if anyone should have been telling her, I wanted to.”

“Marshall, don’t worry about it too much. The tabloids I mean. How’s Hailie taking it?” Regina knew that Marshall probably wouldn’t give a rat’s ass about the tabloids telling the world, but he would concerned about Hailie knowing before he told her.

“That was the oddest part. My nine-year-old was asking me if you were nice, and if I liked you. She said that she hoped you were nice to me.”

“She wasn’t upset?”

“No, in fact she said she was happy, because it wasn’t fair that her mother got to be happy and I didn’t.”

“Now that is cute,” Regina laughed.

“Yeah, that’s my girl for ya. How’s the debate going?”

“Oh pretty good, I think I may scrape out with only a few wounds. Four days to the debate and three till you get back here.”

“And are you looking forward to that?”

“Possibly. Hold on a second. Yeah, what? Look, I’ll be done in a minute. Sorry baby, I got to get going.”

“All right, if you have to. Call you later?”

“Of course, I’ll be waiting by the phone. Bye baby.”

After he hung up he couldn’t help smiling. She was literally counting down the days until he came home.