Page 38 of Heart of a Hero

Mom rolled her eyes. “When are you going to admit that you have feelings for him that go pretty deeply? Just talking about the fact that he’s going to be gone makes your eyes dull and you sort of get frowny and all face-pinchy. Those are Lizzie’s words. She asked about it, though she doesn’t know why it’s happening.” She frowned at him and then called Lizzie in.

“Mom, what are you doing?”

“Something you should have done weeks ago.” She smiled and held out her arms as Lizzie came in and went right into them. “Your daddy has something he wants to ask you.”

Conrad wanted to growl, but he didn’t want to do it in front of Lizzie. Instead, he lifted her onto his lap. “I have a question for you. Do you like Mrs. Wood?”

“She’s nice,” Lizzie said but without much enthusiasm.

“I was wondering if you would be mad if you changed to her class from Mr. Scoville’s.” God, he hated this, and still thought it best that he leave Lizzie out of things between him and Forrest. But it was also becoming clear that things had to change one way or another. “You would still see the kids in the other class at recess and everything.”

Lizzie looked at him with her huge eyes. “Why? Was I bad? Does Mr. Scoville not like me anymore?” She seemed about on the verge of crying.

“No, honey. Mr. Scoville likes you, and you did nothing wrong.” Mom looked him square in the eyes. It was a challenge, one Conrad wasn’t sure how to handle. Part of him wanted to tell her about them, and the other felt like that was something he and Forrest should do together, because this affected him.

“Then why?” Lizzie asked.

“Honey,” Mom began. “Do you know how two people meet and fall in love.”

“Like a mommy and a daddy?” Lizzie asked.

“Yes, like that. Well…,” Mom began and then she seemed to founder as well. “Gosh.”

He just wasn’t quite ready to tell her he was in love with Forrest, especially since he hadn’t told Forrest yet. It was up to Conrad. “I was wondering if you would be willing to go to Mrs. Wood’s class after Christmas. She would be your teacher from then on. Is that okay, or would you be very sad?”

She thought for a few seconds. “Would I still get to see my friends?” Lizzie asked.

“Of course. And you would still get to see Mr. Scoville too. You just wouldn’t be in his class any longer. I just want to know if that happened, if you would be okay.”

“Yes, Daddy. I like Mrs. Wood. She does fun stuff in her class.” She squirmed and got down.

Conrad shook his head. “Could it actually be that easy?” he asked. “I mean….”

“Nothing is ever that easy. There will be issues, but from here, you and Forrest need to figure out what you’re going to do and what each of you wants, and you need to do it pretty soon. You can’t let this drag out. Lizzie needs to know what is going to happen so it isn’t a surprise to her.”

“I agree. Forrest is supposed to leave for his parents’ tomorrow morning.”

“Text him and find out when he’s going to be back so the two of you can talk.” She got up and went to the stove. “I made some soup for dinner.”

“Thanks, Mom,” he said and sent a text to Forrest, getting a response and then a call. “What’s happening?”

“Well, it seems that my father surprised my mother for Christmas. He’s taking her on a cruise for the week, and they leave in two days. It was a big surprise. Dad said that he could get me a room on the ship if I wanted to go, but….” He sighed. “I don’t want to crash my parents’ vacation. I wish he had told me so I didn’t make plans to visit them. He says he thought he clued me in, but he must have forgotten.”

“Then spend the holiday with us,” he told Forrest while he was watching his mother. She pursed her lips and then nodded. They needed to talk about some things, and this would give them a chance.

“Are you sure?” Forrest asked. “I have an aunt and uncle in New York. Mom said she would call them if I wanted to spend the holiday with them.”

“No. Spend the day here. I want you to.” His heart did a little skip at the idea.

“If you’re sure. But I have to ask about Lizzie.”

“Well, Mom and I had a little talk with her, and I think things are going to work out on that front. I need to have a talk with the school… and you… before we do anything.” It was a lot of change, and he was still worried about putting too much of that on Lizzie’s shoulders. Though maybe things would work out. “But I think it’s okay.”

“All right then.” He sounded relieved and happy. “I’ll tell my mom and dad to have a good time on their cruise and that I’m all set.”

“Good.” Lizzie came in the room, and Conrad said good-bye and hung up the phone. “Is it okay if Mr. Scoville joins us for Christmas? He’s going to be all alone.”

“Yes.” Lizzie jumped up and down, so there was no doubt about how she felt. That was one of the things he loved about her: she was so open and so caring.