Page 4 of Heart of a Hero

Forrest truly enjoyed teaching. This was his second year, and he was finding it easier this time around. He knew what he wanted, and his classes were organized and orderly. The kids were good, and they seemed to enjoy themselves. That was one of the things that warmed his heart. At this age, for the most part they were without guile. They smiled when they were happy and cried when they were sad. He liked that. There was no duplicity, and he had experienced more than enough of that in his life already. He could do without as much of it as possible.

Forrest finished the story, and the kids clapped and smiled as he closed the book. He got them all back in their seats and started a lesson on reading and writing. Most of the kids already knew their ABCs and could write them, but he needed all of them to practice before he could move the class on to other topics. So he gave them an assignment and the time to get it finished.

AT THE end of the day, Forrest said good-bye to his kids as they hurried out the door for their buses or to where their parents waited for them. He kept an eye out, making sure they all got to where they were supposed to be. He waved as Lizzie turned before getting in the car with her grandmother, waving to him with a wide smile. That little girl was a ray of sunshine, with a fast jab. He sighed and closed the door, returning to his desk to get his planning done for the following day.

“Any more incidents?” Harlon asked after knocking on the doorframe.

“No. Billy stays away from Lizzie like she has the plague, and I think that’s good. He had to swallow a healthy dose of respect today. It seems Billy has been misbehaving to all the girls and they closed ranks to shut him out.” He set down his pen where he’d been making notes before updating his plans on the classroom system. “Did you get in touch with Billy’s caregiver?”

“No. We left a message and didn’t get a call back or anything. We’ll try again tomorrow.” Harlon leaned on the desk. “Conrad Langdon sure came on strong.”

“Well, I’d rather have a room full of people like him than the absent ones. He knew what was going on and stood up for his daughter. I can’t blame him for that. And he’s going to be a room parent for my class. So he’s willing to get involved.” He still didn’t quite understand the fear he’d seen in his eyes when they met at the grocery store or the way he seemed about ready to run away at any second when they spoke that one morning before class. In Harlon’s office he had been a lion protecting his cub, though, and he didn’t hold back. Still, at the end it seemed like he was forcing himself to shake hands before getting out of there as quickly as he could.

“I have to agree with you there. I’d rather have involved parents than absent ones. Keep an eye on Billy, and I’ll keep trying to get in touch with his family.” He looked around the room and smiled. “I don’t know how you do it.”

“Excuse me,” Forrest said. “Do what?”

“I don’t know why the kids aren’t scared of you. I mean, I was when I first saw you.” Forrest seemed confused. “You have this real biker vibe about you. I see that a lot of the parents are standoffish at first. I even had a few requests not to put their child in your class. But the kids love you. All of them. I mean, the older ones gravitate around you when you have playground duty. And then there’s this classroom.”

“Well, I wanted it to be a place that would be fun for them to learn,” Forrest explained. “And I didn’t use characters the kids were familiar with. I created my own.” It had taken him a lot of hours, but he’d created an alphabet of animals, with each carrying one of the letters. But he didn’t use the normal ones. Instead of C for cat, he did C for condor, and F was for ferret. Some of the letters were hard, but he figured it out, like Z was for zokor, a burrowing furry rodent. “And I wanted the kids to think and ask questions.”

Harlon left the room, and Forrest settled back into his work. He had a few hours of things to do before he could leave, and he had more to do before he got home.

So once he was done, he found himself back at the grocery store to pick up the juice he forgot the last time. Then he rushed home to his apartment above a bakery downtown. He loved the scent of the building. After dropping off his groceries, he grabbed his gym bag and hurried over to the Y where, after changing, he managed to snag the last treadmill for his warm-up.

He walked for twenty minutes to get his heart rate up before hitting the weights. It was chest day, which meant a lot of weight. By the time he had completed his routine, he was ready for the steam room and sauna to relax and let his muscles unwind. He wished there was a hot tub, but the sauna was good enough. The room was empty when he pulled open the door, and Forrest went inside and sat back, closing his eyes, letting the heat seep into his aching muscles. He paid little attention to what was around him, so when the door opened and closed, he cracked his eyes open and then shut them again.

What he wanted more than anything was quiet, so when music began through the other guy’s ear buds, he opened his eyes, glaring for a few seconds. The man turned down the volume, and Forrest returned to his quiet contemplation until he left and someone else came in.

“Oh.” Forrest knew that voice. He opened his eyes as Conrad took a place about as far away from him as possible. He seemed to be trying to disappear into the wall. Okay, so he wasn’t an idiot and knew Conrad was at the very least nervous around him, though the truth be told, if he pressed against the wall any harder, something was going to break. He took a deep breath, not sure what he should do, if anything.

Forrest was aware that he was a big guy—always had been. He also knew that his bald head didn’t help, but there was nothing he could do about that. As a teenager he had developed alopecia, which meant that his body couldn’t grow hair of any type. He had long ago accepted that reality, but it often meant that others saw him in a way that he wasn’t exactly happy with. He had also realized that the best way for him to get past all that was to be himself.

“How’s Lizzie?” he asked, because she was the one commonality between them.

Conrad shifted and sat a little straighter. “She’s good. At home with my mom at the moment.” He was slim with sleek muscles and not much definition, but still as handsome as ever. “Mom messaged to tell me that she was singing this song over and over about a platypus.”

“Yeah. We had music today, and we learned a song about Gus the Duckbilled Platypus. It’s a cute song, and I like the kids to learn about animals that you don’t usually hear about. So if it becomes an earworm, I’m sorry.”

Conrad chuckled. “Nope. Don’t be sorry. It’s Mom who has to live with it. Tonight is my one evening a week that she watches her so I get a night off. The rest of the week, I get Lizzie as soon as I get home, but Mondays are the one day where she will feed her dinner and get her ready for bed. That way I can do something for myself. I like to come here, unwind, and eventually eat a dinner that isn’t kid food. But usually I find a place for beer and just take it easy. I have to be back by nine, though, because I need to say good night to Lizzie before she goes to sleep.”

Forrest understood. “So she lost her mother a little while ago,” he prompted.

“My sister. Yeah. Lizzie’s father isn’t in the picture. He took off before Lizzie was born and hasn’t ever made a reappearance. Unfortunately I can’t find him to get him to sign away his parental rights, but I have permanent custody of her, and that’s enough. Lizzie was very clear about what she wanted. Thank goodness.” They both grew quiet as the door opened and another guy joined them. Forrest figured he had been in the sauna long enough, so he left and sat on the bench outside for a few minutes to cool off. Then he hit the steam room.

He inhaled the moist air as his body sweated to beat the band. He drank from his water bottle and let the steam pull the toxins out of his body. Forrest lifted his gaze as Conrad joined him, sitting on the bench at the far end.

“I’m sorry about your sister,” Forrest said softly.

“Yeah. Me too. Lizzie still asks about her, and I just say she’s an angel watching over her because I don’t know what else to tell her. I mean, she’s gone and she isn’t coming back.”

Forrest nodded. “I never had brothers or sisters. But I can try to imagine what it must be like.” He still had both his parents. They lived in Mt. Holly Springs, about ten minutes south of town. Forrest stretched, and out of the corner of his eyes saw Conrad watching him without appearing to watch him. That told him something about Conrad, not that Forrest minded at all. “My mother wasn’t able to have more children after me.”

“After me, since I was so perfect, Mom and Dad decided not to press their luck.” Conrad smirked and then laughed a little nervously. “Can I ask why you became a teacher?”

“Because I’m huge and look like Mr. Clean?” Forrest asked, and Conrad paled. “It’s all right. I know I’m not what people think of when you mention ‘kindergarten teacher.’ It was hell getting the job, I can tell you that. But the truth is that I found I had a knack for it. And kids, they don’t care what you look like. They instinctively know if you’re a good person or not. So what I look like isn’t so important to them. That’s part of why I love teaching the kids that I do, but it’s more than that.” He leaned forward, his arms resting on his knees. “I found that I was good at it, and I can tell when a kid is understanding what I’m saying or when it’s not sinking in. They show it in subtle ways sometimes. And there is nothing more satisfying or amazing than when they just understand it. They smile and they get all excited because it’s new and fun.”

Conrad nodded as he stared at the door. “I know that feeling. During the summer, I took Lizzie to the pool and taught her how to swim. I used to be a lifeguard when I was in college, and I really want her to enjoy the water. So I brought her to the pool her once a week all summer long, and she struggled for weeks. At first she didn’t want to put her face in the water, and then she just didn’t want to take her feet off the bottom. I helped her and stuck with it, and then all of a sudden, she took off as I was teaching her and that was it. Everything clicked and she was swimming. I will never forget that look on her face or that feeling.”