Chapter 9 #2
A knock pulled him out of his work. He opened the door and then checked the clock.
“You’ve been in here all afternoon,” Evelyn said as she stepped inside. She set a box on his desk. “This arrived for you, so I brought it up from the break room.”
“What is it?” He only had a few more exams to grade, and he really wanted them done so he wouldn’t have to finish them over the weekend. He looked at the box and pulled the note attached. “Is it from Kevin?” It certainly hadn’t been sent through the mail.
“He asked me to deliver it when I saw you, but you’ve been sequestered in here all day, so I figured I’d better bring it to you.”
Willy opened the box and immediately smelled a little smoke. He pulled off the tissue paper and gasped. “Where did he get this…?” He gently pulled out the small bronze dog. He checked it over, realizing it was his.
“This week, Kevin was able to get into your old building, and he found this in the basement in a pile of ash and debris. When Kevin told me, I said I expected it was yours. You had shown me a picture of it.”
“Yeah. My grandmother used this as a doorstop.” He stared in disbelief. The dog had been on a shelf in his living room, and he never thought he’d see it again. “And Kevin found it.”
“Yeah. He wasn’t sure how to go about cleaning it or anything, so apparently he brushed off the soot and pretty much left it. They’ve had him working long hours, so he asked me to bring it in for you.” She smiled.
“I appreciate it so much.” It was hard to describe how it felt to have this back.
With everything else gone, it meant a great deal to have something of his past restored to him.
Willy picked up his phone and sent Kevin a text with plenty of smiley faces.
Kevin messaged right back with how happy he was.
“But why didn’t he give it to me himself?
” He could feel the weight of doubt pressing on him.
“Well, they changed his schedule. One of the guys got injured on a call, and he’s out for a few days. Kevin took one of his shifts to help cover, so he has to work tomorrow and Sunday, and he didn’t want you to have to wait to get it.” Even she sounded disappointed. “I know this is difficult.”
“Yeah, it is. But it’s the life of a firefighter. He helped us a lot, and there are other people who need him now.” Willy shrugged as though he were making light of it, but he had been looking forward to seeing him all week, and between their schedules, they hadn’t been able to manage anything.
“Hey, none of that. It’s just part of the job and has nothing to do with how he thinks about you.” She rolled her eyes. “Now I’m going to leave you to get back to work so you can pick up the kids.” She patted his shoulder and then left the office.
Willy put the dog back in the box and set it aside. He figured he could clean it when he got home. He set about finishing the last of the exams and then grabbed the box and hurried out of the building to pick up April and Grant.
“WHAT DID you do today?” Willy asked once he had the kids buckled in their seats.
“Played dolls,” April said, but Grant was unusually quiet.
“Grant,” Willy prompted, “what did you learn?”
“That Tawan is a poopoo head and I don’t want to talk to him no more.
” He crossed his arms over his chest. “He said I took his truck and I didn’t and I told Miss Mary that I didn’t and he said I did.
But I didn’t, and then Miss Mary found his truck in his bag and Tawan said I put it there so I wouldn’t get in trouble after I took it, but I never took it. ” He sounded ready to cry.
“What did Miss Mary say?”
“That Tawan forgot his truck was in his bag and that it wasn’t nice to call me a stealer.
Tawan said sorry, but I know he didn’t mean it.
” Grant and Tawan had an on-and-off friendship of sorts.
Willy would be glad when Grant moved on next year.
He’d be in preschool and Tawan would be staying in daycare because of a few happy months’ age difference. A separation would do Grant good.
“Okay. Well at least he said sorry, and you can play with other kids, right?” Willy asked gently. He knew this was most likely a momentary blip and that by Monday the boys would be playing together again.
Grant said that he did and then told him all about the pictures he drew and that he played with a girl named Val and that apparently she was nice for a girl.
“I’m a girl,” April said, to which Grant had no answer.
When they arrived home, Willy made them a snack of apples and peanut butter before checking his work email for the last time before the weekend. Then he sent Kevin a message, but he didn’t receive an answer, so he pretty much knew he was on a call.
“Can we visit Kevin?” Grant asked. “I wanna play with the dogs.”
“Me too,” April echoed.
“Kevin is working right now, so he isn’t home. But I can put on a movie for you. Which one would you like?”
“Encanto,” Grant said as he got up from the chair, doing some kind of butt-wiggling dance.
“Belle,” April said. “I want Belle.” She began to sniffle.
“How about we watch Beauty and the Beast today and Encanto tomorrow?”
Grant sighed dramatically. “Fine. We can watch Belle.”
“I love Belle.”
Grant grinned. “I like Beast.” He made roaring noises and continued his dance, which had changed to some sort of Beast dance, or at least that was what Grant said.
Eventually Willy got the kids to finish their snacks and then put on the movie.
While they watched, he cleaned the bathroom and straightened up in the kids’ rooms. There was so little in the apartment, yet they managed to spread what there was everywhere.
Once that was done, he went to get the box and brought it inside.
Everything smelled like smoke and ash, so he took the box outside and followed the directions on an art restoration website to clean the piece with a little gentle soap and water. Then he placed the dog on one of the largely empty built-in living room shelves.
“Is that our doggie?” Grant asked, running over to look at it. “Kevin’s doggies are better. You know why? Because they’re real and they can play and sleep with you and everything.”
“Do you remember it?” Willy asked. “They found it after the fire.” It was a little worse for wear, but the dog was in one piece.
Grant nodded and then went back to watching the movie, which was great.
Willy made a simple dinner and got everyone fed, pausing the movie so they’d eat.
Then they wanted to finish it as soon as they were done.
“Once the movie is over, you both need to have a bath and then get ready for bed.” Both kids ignored him. “Did you hear me?”
He finally got two nods and went to check out front.
Since that guy had shown up, Willy had been watching, but he hadn’t seen anyone.
Maybe it was because he hadn’t been asking around or inquiring into the fire.
He had been pretty vocal for a while, but maybe whoever had sent that guy thought they had gotten to him.
Who knew? All that counted was that they were leaving him alone and the kids were safe.
Maybe he should have called the police, but he didn’t have much to tell them.
Willy closed the door and locked it before returning to the kids just in time for Belle to tell the Beast that she loved him just as the last petal of the rose fell. The kids were fascinated as the Beast rose into the air and transformed into the handsome prince.
“Okay, both of you. It’s bath time and then bedtime.
” He ignored the chorus of protests and shooed Grant into his room and got April in the tub.
She was not a play-in-the-water girl. April wanted to get in and get out, so he got her washed, rinsed, and wrapped in a towel to dry.
Then he dressed her and put her to bed before getting Grant in for his bath.
He swore that kid would do anything to not go to bed, but eventually he got him bathed and in his PJs before putting him to bed with a story. “Now go to sleep. Nothing is going to happen, I promise. You aren’t going to miss anything. Go to sleep and we’ll do something fun in the morning.”
“Like what?”
“I don’t know, but it’s Saturday. We can go to the park and feed the ducks, and you and April can play on the playground, okay?
So the sooner you go to sleep, the faster you get to do that.
” He gently rubbed Grant’s back, and Grant settled under the covers.
Finally he closed his eyes, and Willy left the room, closing the door most of the way.
Then he quietly returned to the living room, shut off the light, and put on a murder mystery series from PBS.
Willy fell asleep during the second episode. When he woke, he was about to go to bed when someone knocked on the door. It was nearly midnight, but he checked through the window before opening the door to Kevin and the dogs, who raced inside. “I thought I’d take a chance that you would still be up.”
Willy pulled Kevin inside, closed the door, and then kissed him as though the world were coming to an end.
“God, I missed you. The kids keep asking when they can come over to see you,” Willy said as he broke the kiss, but Kevin held him tight.
“I missed you too, and I probably should have gone home to bed, but I wanted to see you, so I risked it.” Kevin kissed him again. “I have to be back at seven in the morning, so I only have a few hours and then I have to be up again.” He slowly placed Willy back on his feet.
“Then let me put down some water for the dogs,” he said before heading to the kitchen, where he got a couple of plastic bowls and placed them on the mat near the back door.
Then he took Kevin’s hand and led him to the bedroom.
“Go ahead and get into bed. I need to check on the kids and I’ll be right back. ”
As he expected, Elsa was in her place at the foot of Grant’s bed, and Benjamin with April, both of them already on guard.
He smiled and returned to his room. Kevin had undressed and lay partially under the covers, his eyes closed.
Willy turned out the light and got cleaned up before joining Kevin in bed.
He pulled up the covers and rolled over toward him.
But other than the rise and fall of the bedding, Kevin didn’t move. He was already asleep.
Thumper jumped onto the foot of the bed and took his place as Willy got settled. He knew he needed to sleep, but having Kevin there made him stay awake just because he didn’t want to miss anything. He took Kevin’s hand, and without waking, he held Willy’s back, and that was how Willy fell asleep.
WHEN WILLY woke the following morning, Kevin was gone and there was a note on the pillow next to him.
Sorry. I had to go, and I didn’t want to wake you or the kids.
I hope it’s okay, but I left the dogs here for the day.
They have been spending so much time alone, and I thought the kids would like the time with them.
If that’s a problem, I can swing by sometime and take them home.
Hopefully I’ll get off shift earlier tonight and we can make a little magic.
Kevin.
“Daddy, the doggies,” April called as she came in the room and jumped up on the bed with Benjamin right behind her.
“Yes. Kevin brought them over, and they’re going to stay with us today.” She slipped under the covers and cuddled up against him. “Are you still sleepy?”
“No. Cartoons,” she said, and Willy groaned. He wasn’t ready to get up, but it looked like his day was starting now, whether he was ready or not.
“Okay. Go out and I’ll be there in a minute to find some for you.
” There were days when he wished morning came just a few hours later.
“But be quiet so you don’t wake Grant, and I’ll make pancakes for breakfast,” he added in a whisper, and she jumped up and down before hurrying out of the bedroom.
He supposed he was lucky she didn’t forget and scream for joy.
Once Willy was dressed, he found April sitting on her floor pillow, staring at the blank television screen.
He turned it on, found some cartoons, and kept the volume low.
Then he went into the kitchen to mix pancake batter and put some bacon in the oven.
He knew what the kids liked, and sure enough, as soon as the bacon scent escaped the kitchen, Grant hurried in, rubbing his eyes.
“Bacons?” he asked.
“Yes.” He picked him up and swung him around. “Now go get dressed. I set out the clothes for you last night. Then when you get back I’ll make the pancakes.” That would be one dressed and up. He got April changed into Pull-Ups and dressed at just about the time the bacon finished cooking.
The dogs crowded into the kitchen when he got the kids in their chairs and started the pancakes.
The entire place smelled amazing. He made up plates with a pancake each, along with two half pieces of bacon and a glass of juice.
“You need to eat that. Don’t feed it to the dogs.
” April was already breaking off a piece of her pancake with a gleam in her eyes.
Grant dug in, and Willy cut up April’s pancake so she could eat it easily.
Everything was such a production. He finally managed to get his own pancakes and sat at the table to eat.
Just as he took the first bite, his phone rang.
Willy didn’t recognize the number and almost didn’t answer it, but after a couple of rings, he picked it up.
“Willy, it’s Chase.”
“Is Kevin all right?” he asked, intuiting a calamity.
Chase hesitated. “He will be. But we were at a house fire and Kevin was inside to bring out the last person when the ceiling collapsed on top of him. He managed to get out, but he’s been taken to the hospital. I thought you would want to know.”
“I do. Thank you. Does he have his phone?”
“No. It’s at the station. When we’re done here, I can bring it over to him.”
Willy ate more quickly. “Thank you. I’ll get the kids in the car and we’ll head over to check on him.” His stomach clenched, and he pushed the plate away.
“Okay. We’re still at the scene here. They took him by ambulance about ten minutes ago.”
“I’ll call you when I get there and find out how he is.” Willy ended the call. “Kids, you need to finish up and we need to go. Kevin has been hurt, and we need to go to the hospital and make him feel better.”
“’Kay,” Grant said and stuffed the last of his breakfast in his mouth, holding some of it in his cheeks like a chipmunk. Once he swallowed and April was done, they got in the car and Willy drove as quickly as he dared through town.