Chapter 11 #3
“That means you’re going to need the time and quiet to review them.
” Forrest understood, though it would be nice for them to have a few hours together that weren’t being interrupted.
Especially since it was Sunday. But he wasn’t going to cause trouble for Conrad.
“I should go on home. Lizzie will be back in a little while, and you’re going to need time to get this done. ”
Conrad shook his head. “Let’s go downstairs and work on our Egyptian god for a bit.
It’s going to take them a while to get the logs together and send them over.
They’re going to be of some size. So I can take a look this afternoon and this evening.
It isn’t like anything is going to change in a few hours.
” He finished dressing and they went to the basement, where he and Conrad designed the rest of the figure, how it would be built, and what pieces they could work on now.
“I NEVER thought I’d be working on a loincloth,” Forrest said as he continued building the colorful cloth piece that would go around the figure’s waist. They had left shelves of upright bricks that he could attach the loin cloth to over the body.
It allowed it to be close to the figure and yet attached at multiple points so it would be strong and not just fall off.
Then, going downward, away from the body, he used single-width pieces to add a lot of detail and reduce weight.
“It looks great. Once you’re done there, I think you could make the torque to go around his neck.
It should be intricate, made of gold, and heavily jeweled.
That piece alone is going to take hours, and it’s going to need to look and flow like fine jewelry. ”
Forrest nodded. “I can do that. I have some ideas, but I don’t know if you have the bricks.” He brought up the Lego site on his phone and showed the kind of pieces he had in mind.
“You know, I thought I had everything, but I don’t have those in gold.
But not to worry. I have enough Lego points to choke a horse.
They were part of a prize package a while back.
I’ll go ahead and order the bricks so you have enough to build what you need.
I can also check for jewels and transparent pieces that you can use.
Go ahead and design what you want to do.
The hole will need to be large enough to fit around his neck, and you should build it in two pieces that we can fit together on him.
It won’t be attached, so it has to be strong enough to hold itself together once it’s draped. ”
That was the coolest thing of all. It would act like actual jewelry and add authentic detail and feel.
Forrest was really excited that Conrad was letting him make what would be a really important feature.
But he noticed that Conrad seemed to be all about making sure everyone got a chance to do the fun things.
Forrest finished the loincloth and got it placed in the model.
It fit perfectly, but he set the piece aside on another table.
There was no use placing it now when they had so much work yet to do.
So he got to work designing the torque. It needed to be gold.
Not just yellow, but a deep shade of gold, so he tried to find it in the colors Conrad had and was able to locate a few pieces. “Obviously this isn’t a common color.”
“No, it’s not. But go ahead and use it anyway.” He pushed over his tablet. “This is the master list of colors and shapes. See what you think you’re going to need. That way I can order what I don’t have.”
Forrest got to work and found the pieces he thought he’d need.
Then he roughly calculated the number he’d need to complete the torque.
Conrad took back the tablet and did some work.
“Okay. I ordered the base pieces and doubled the quantity because we’re going to want the same style for the rest of the body jewelry.
I also ordered a number of jewels in many colors.
It will take a little while for them to get here because some of the pieces will need to be shipped directly from Lego.
I’m also sending a note to a contact there so he knows about the order and why we need it. ”
“Cool.” Forrest checked the time and began cleaning up. “I think I need to be going. Lizzie will be back soon, and you have things you need to do.” He put the loose bricks away and helped Conrad clean up his work. Then they went upstairs, and Conrad wound his arms around his neck.
“Thank you for sticking with me.” Conrad kissed him.
“I like being stuck with you,” Forrest teased and kissed Conrad again, holding him tightly.
Then he said good-bye and left, going right out to his car and heading down the street.
He always hated leaving Conrad behind. It felt like he was skulking away, and it wasn’t right.
But he needed to play it safe, and that meant taking things with Conrad slowly and being deliberate in what they did together and the places they were seen.
Besides, they both owed it to Lizzie to allow her to have as normal a kindergarten experience as anyone else, and that did not include her daddy dating her teacher.
When he got home, Forrest sat down at this table and spent hours catching up on things for tomorrow morning.
He had papers to look at and get ready to hand back.
He also had lesson plans and learning aids to make.
People thought that teaching kindergarten was all games and fun, but his goal was for his kids to learn the basics so they could thrive in first grade.
THE FOLLOWING afternoon, while the kids were outside with the other kindergarten teacher, Helen Wood, a visitor knocked on his door. “Can you come to my office a minute?” the principal asked. “It won’t take long.”
“Of course,” Forrest said and followed Harlon to the office, where a man in a suit practically charged them as soon as they walked in.
“I want to see my daughter, and you can’t stop me,’” he said. “I want to see Bethany.”
Forrest did his best not to register any recognition, but this must be Lester Drovers.
“I’m sorry, but we have a note in our files that you are not to see her unless we contact her mother.
We have left a message for her, but since she is the parent of record, we cannot allow you to see her.
” The office manager was trying to explain it calmly.
Forrest crossed his arms over his chest and glared at Lester without saying a word.
“Those are the rules we must follow for your daughter’s safety.
I’m sure you understand that. What if a grandparent or uncle came in here and wanted to see her?
We can’t allow any of it.” Harlon’s phone rang, and he answered it.
Forrest continued watching Lester while Harlan spoke quietly to the other person on the line.
“I’m sorry, but we can’t let you see Bethany.
It appears that there is a restraining order. ”
“That has lapsed, and there is no way I’m leaving without seeing my daughter.
” Lester was becoming more and more agitated.
“My witch of an ex-wife has made my life miserable for the last two years. She falsely claimed that I threatened her, and I never did. Then she lied and was able to get a restraining order. I haven’t seen my own child in all that time, and now that there is no order, she refuses to let me see her. ”
“I’m sorry, but this isn’t something the school can get in the middle of.
You need to work things out with your ex-wife or use the courts.
I have to do what is safest for Bethany, and right now, it’s the orders that I have in my files.
” Harlon shrugged as Lester turned to him.
Forrest tried to look as intimidating as possible.
“I think the best thing for you to do is to call your lawyer and get this straightened out officially. Once you bring us some paperwork that details what the status truly is, then we can make changes for who is allowed to drop off and pick up your daughter.” Harlon was very patient, and Forrest could feel for Lester even if he had slimy used-car salesperson vibes.
Finally, once he realized he wasn’t going to get anywhere, Lester left the building, and Forrest returned to his room just ahead of his students returning from recess.