Page 31 of Heart of a Hero

“That’s what you want, though” Conrad said.

“I do. But it’s not a requirement and you don’t have to. It’s not like I’m going to leave and never see you if….” Forrest seemed to have trouble with the words.

“If we don’t have butt sex?”

“I was trying to be more romantic than that,” Forrest said, and Conrad laughed.

“Sometimes you’ve just got to say it and get it out there. Besides, there are plenty of ways to be romantic, and there are times when you just have to be direct. I’m not adverse to the butt sex, if that’s what you want. But that sort of things has to go both ways, and I’m not sure I’m up for what you got packing… if you know what I mean.”

Forrest looked sheepish and nodded slowly. Conrad sat up and stroked his cheek. “Hey, I like all of you. Understand that. There is nothing that I’d change. But I’m going to need a little time. I hope you can understand that.”

“Of course I do. I don’t want to hurt you. It’s just that….” He seemed to run out of words, and Conrad understood. He deserved the same happiness as everyone else, and Conrad wanted that for him.

“Let’s just take it easy for now,” he told Forrest and then kissed him, hoping he had put at least some of his worries to rest. The whole exchange made him wonder just what Forrest had been told in the past. Whatever it was seemed to have left a mark on him that Conrad wished he could wipe away.

Conrad woke the following morning in Forrest’s bed, smiling as he rolled over to where Forrest slept on his side. He nestled close and put an arm around Forrest’s waist. “What do you want to do today?” Forrest asked.

“I don’t know. It’s cold outside, that’s for sure. There’s always early Christmas shopping. It’s not raining, so we could bundle up and wander downtown. I have a bunch of things that Lizzie wants.”

“She already made her list?” Forrest asked.

“Oh yes. She wrote her letter to Santa Claus and mailed it two days ago because she wanted to make sure Santa actually read it and didn’t pass it off on an elf or something.” He chuckled. “She actually said that, and I nearly doubled over when she told me. Still, I helped her mail it.”

“Where did you send it?” Forrest asked.

“Well, she put it in an envelope that said North Pole. So I put it in a separate envelope and addressed it to Mom. She said she would take it from there, and that way I could keep the letter, which is pretty amazing. I don’t want to lose it. Anyway, there’s a doll that she wants and some other toys. She also wants a specific pair of shoes that I ordered already.”

“Shoes at her age?” Forrest mumbled.

“Yeah. And Mom is getting her a play kitchen. I got her an easel, paints, and paper. I really want her to have basic toys that will encourage her imagination rather than the toys you get today or a video game. I know she wants one, but not yet. She’s too young to have her imagination co-opted by what others think.” He rolled over, and Forrest did too, taking his hand.

“I think that’s a great idea. And I also think you need to give her some of the Legos you have in the basement. Let her build some of the things in her head.”

Conrad rolled to look at him. “I already have a small tub of basic blocks in all colors packed up and set aside. She can build all she wants, and as she gets older, if she likes it, I can get her interesting pieces. If she doesn’t connect with them, then the blocks will eventually rejoin the others.” He shrugged. “I really hope she loves them, though.” Part of him could see the three of them going to Lego events together, being fascinated by everything that was being created. “I want her imagination to fly. It was one of the things that Mom always encouraged with me. And I threw it into my Lego, but I want her to have all the chances possible.”

“That’s really cool, but it doesn’t get us any closer to figuring out what to do today.” Forrest smiled. “We could just stay in bed.”

“Yeah, and that would burn, what? Three or four hours? What will we do the rest of the time?”

“We could just go to your place and work on the model. I know there’s no hurry, but we have a lot of work to do.”

“We could.” Conrad had hoped that they might find something else to do together. He was fine with working on the model, but he was thinking of coming up with something special. “How about an antique mall? There’s one out on Harrisburg Pike. There are a few dealers there that I’ve worked with in the past, and there’s all kinds of quirky stuff there.”

“We could do that,” Forrest agreed, and Conrad got out of bed and began dressing. “Why are you in such a hurry?”

“Well, I figured we could go to the store, maybe have a little lunch, work on the model, and then we could spend the evening having even more adult fun time.”

“Okay,” Forrest said hesitantly, like he didn’t quite understand.

“Anticipation can be amazing. Besides, after last night, I think things need a chance to rest.” He quirked his lips, and Forrest got out of bed as well.

“Okay. Let’s go to this store and see what they have. And I really want Asian for lunch.”

“Cool. Because Chen’s is right up the road.” He finished getting dressed from the overnight bag he’d brought with him and folded the costume and put it in the bag. Once Forrest was ready, they left the house and went to the old antique place.

The mall had once been something, but it had been years since it was in its prime. Conrad still felt that if he looked hard or deep enough, there were gems in the place.

They wandered up the aisles and checked out the booths. They were mostly filled with stuff that grandmothers threw away and never wanted to see again. “Look at this,” Forrest said when he came out of the booth holding a bird sculpture. It was caked with dust and looked like it had been through a war.