Page 35 of Heart of a Hero

“I just wanted to see my daughter,” he said, low enough that Forrest could barely hear him. At that point, he tuned out and watched the other kids, making sure they got where they were supposed to be. By the time he looked again, Lester was gone, and Bethany and her mother were on their way to their car.

Forrest went back inside and closed the door before getting to work. He finished his lesson plans, packed up for the day, and headed home. As he drove, his phone rang, and he answered it through the car speaker.

“Hey, Conrad. How was your day?”

“Interesting so far. There are rumblings that an announcement is going to be made soon, and that has the entire office buzzing. Mr. Maxwell keeps poking his head out of his office like he’s looking for something or someone.”

“Could it be Lester? I just saw him here at the school. He tried to see his daughter and got an earful from his ex-wife. I sort of feel sorry for him. Could you imagine how he must feel to not be able to see his child? It seems to be all he wants. There has to be something pretty bad in his past if the courts don’t let him see his daughter.”

“I guess so. Did Mom pick up Lizzie?”

“Yeah, just like she usually does.” He pulled into his parking space and turned off the car. “I just got home, and I should finish up with my papers and things before dinner. But call me if anything happens. Okay?”

“Of course,” Conrad said and hung up. Forrest went inside and got out his papers, going right to work. He really wanted everything done. His phone sat beside him, and he kept glancing at it every few minutes. God, he was so jumpy he could barely concentrate on what he was doing.

Finally his phone rang, and he snatched it up. “I got the promotion. Mr. Maxwell just called me into his office and told me. They’re going to be making an announcement to the entire firm in a few minutes.” Conrad sounded like he was about to burst at any moment.

“What made them change their minds?” Forrest asked.

“I was asked about some incidents, so I provided the information I compiled on the cause of the issues. Apparently the email had been wiped from our system. I don’t know what else is happening, but Lester was just called in. so I’m assuming they’re giving him the bad news.”

“Good for you. You deserve it.” Forrest said. “I’ll let you go because I’m sure you’re going to be needed very soon. But maybe we can go out to dinner soon to celebrate.”

“That would be awesome. I’ll talk to you soon.” He ended the call, and Forrest smiled to himself as he returned to his lessons and plans for the following day. He loved when he could do craft projects with the kids, but they always took planning, especially when it came to twenty-two kids, glue, paint, and plenty of opportunity for mess. Still, the kids were so much fun, and they loved art so much. He went through all the supplies that he’d managed to amass, making sure he had everything so the kids could have an amazing time making something special for home.

Then he loaded everything into the trunk of his car before making some dinner and eating it in front of the television. He couldn’t help wonder what Conrad was doing at that moment. Hopefully his mother was as excited for him as Forrest was.

About halfway through his reheated dinner, he set his fork down because this really sucked. He wanted to be with Conrad right now to share in his happiness and good fortune, but he couldn’t. He was too worried about his job and what the people at work would think. All he kept thinking was that there had to be a way out of this predicament. He had spent enough of his life in the closet to know that this was not the way to be.

“WHAT HAPPENED to you?” Conrad asked chuckling as he opened the door. “Did you get caught in a paint storm?”

“Very funny,” Forrest grumbled. It had been a very messy day, with spilled paint, tears, and then one of the kids ran through the spill because they were upset, which only spread the mess. “The next time I decide on an art project that includes painting, just shoot me.”

Conrad tugged him inside and closed the door. Then he kissed him hard, with energy and need before backing away. “Come on into the kitchen and I’ll clean you up.”

“I didn’t have time to shower, so I washed myself up as best I could.” Forrest sat down and let Conrad fuss over him.

“You still have speckles in your hair and a few places….” He rubbed lightly behind his ears. “You must have had some paint on your hands and it got all over.” He wiped the back of his neck and then turned him around. Forrest closed his eyes as Conrad finished.

“At least the project is done and I was able to put all the paints away for now. Tomorrow I have to finish cleaning up the room before the kids get in. I spoke to the custodial staff, and they were going to go in and do what they could. It really isn’t that bad, since I cleaned up the worst of it.”

“But did the projects turn out?” Conrad asked.

“Yes, they did. The kids had a ball, and they got to showcase some of their own art for Christmas. I’m not going to tell you what they did because they’re drying and Lizzie will bring hers home in a few days, but they are really cute.” He sat back and kept his eyes closed. “But dang, I’m tired… and I still have two weeks until Christmas vacation.” He wanted to sleep and just rest for that entire time.

“Lizzie and Mom are at dinner, and then they’ll go to their art class.” He stood and helped Forrest up and into the living room. “Go ahead and sit for a while. I’ve got pasta on for dinner.

“Thanks,” Forrest said, sitting on the sofa with a soft sigh. He closed his eyes and just listened as Conrad moved through the kitchen. He didn’t want to go to sleep as he had plenty of other things he was way more interested in, but his body seemed to have other ideas, and before he knew it, Conrad kissed him awake.

“Dinner is ready,” he said.

Forrest blinked away the haze of sleep and went to the table. “I’m sorry. I guess I didn’t realize how run down I’ve been feeling,” He sat at the table, the scent of tomato, spices and lots of garlic helping to bring him back to life. “Wow, this smells so good.” His stomach rumbled as severe hunger kicked in. The dinner seemed like a gift from the gods, and he groaned after the first bite.

“Forrest, it’s only jarred sauce that I doctored up,” Conrad told him.

“Then you’re a good doctor, because it’s yummy.” His appetite kicked in and he ate more quickly that he should have, but it tasted good. The bread was buttery, with enough garlic to be really interesting.

“There’s more if you want it,” Conrad told him, and Forrest finished what was in his bowl, along with a second piece of garlic bread. Then he sat back and let the food settle.