Page 35 of From the Flames
“Cool.” Willy’s smile came through in the brightness in his voice. “I’ll see you then.” He ended the call.
A few minutes later Kevin pulled up in front of his house and went inside. The rooms felt empty and almost too quiet. No dogs rushed up to meet him. They were still at Willy’s, probably sprawled out on the sofa, taking a nap, waiting for April and Grant to come home. His dogs adored those kids. Kevin trudged upstairs and to his room and grabbed a bag out of the closet. He packed a few changes of clothes and then descended the stairs. This was his home, but right now it felt lifeless and empty. The thing was that Willy’s place, even though it was bare and sparsely furnished, felt vibrant and full, humming with life all the time.
Without thinking about it too much more, he left. He thought about going right back to Willy’s but detoured to the grocery store, where he walked the aisles, getting some things he knew Willy needed. By the time he reached the checkout, he was tired, winded, and coughing. Damn it all. A simple trip to the store should not feel like running a race. Still, he checked out and put the groceries into the truck before returning to Willy’s, where he put things away and lay down on the sofa to rest, the dogs all taking places nearby.
“UNCLE KEVIN,”Grant said as Kevin popped his eyes open, startling awake. The dogs raced excitedly to April, Willy, and Grant for attention. “Look what I made in school.” He thrust a drawing forward, and Kevin took it, looking over the blobs of color, trying to see something in it. “I made a picture of you and Daddy.” He was so proud, and Kevin smiled.
“It’s really good,” he told Grant. “Can I keep it and put it on my refrigerator at home?”
“Yes!” He punched the air and jumped like he had just won the big game. “Refrigerator. I go make more.” And he was off to his room.
Kevin turned to Willy for some sort of explanation. “At school the other kids talk about having their art on the fridge. It’s like an honor. And since we lost our fridge… let’s just say that you made him very happy.” Willy placed his hand on his shoulder. “I’m glad you were resting.”
Kevin got to his feet. “I went to the store and got some things.” He followed Willy into the kitchen, where he opened the fridge and gaped.
“What did you do, buy out the store?”
“I got things that you all eat. You’ve been feeding me for days, so I thought I should help out.” He had gotten some of everything he could think of that Willy and the kids ate. He also got some special things for him and Willy.
Willy closed the door and hugged him tightly. “That was very nice. Thank you.” He kissed him hard. “And maybe if you’re up to it, I can say thank you properly once the kids have gone to bed.
“Daddy, can I have juice?” Grant asked.
“Yes.” He got out a juice box and handed one to him and one to April, getting them both seated at the table. He got out some cheesy crackers, and the kids had a snack before going to play.
“They don’t ever stop,” Kevin said.
“Nope. Not until they fall asleep. April napped at daycare. They tried to get Grant to rest, but he refuses.” He sat down with two mugs of coffee, one for each of them.
“How were classes?” Kevin asked, wondering about Willy’s day.
“Interesting. The one class that I have is pretty typical. I’m going at the pace I usually do. The other is racing ahead of where I usually am. Their questions are so advanced.” He grinned, and Kevin saw the delight in his eyes. “I love it when the concepts just click. It doesn’t happen with every class, but it definitely is with this one.” He sipped from his mug. “I really love what I do, but sometimes the college politics get to be too much. There are curriculum meetings and faculty committee meetings where things get discussed until all the air is sucked out of the room, yet nothing happens. They don’t make a decision because they want everything to be unanimous, but it never is. I’d like to teach some newer economic theory, but I can’t get the committee to agree. Most do and think it’s no big deal, but one of the members was on the committee that developed the current curriculum, so he doesn’t want anything to change.” Willy shook his head. “So I decided to offer a seminar class in the spring that will focus on those theories. If I get enough students, then it’s a no-brainer, and if I don’t… then I have to keep fighting for what I want and what I think is best for the students.”
“But how can you know you’re right?” Kevin asked.
Willy shrugged. “The kids will tell me. If they are interested in the class, then they’ll sign up because it has value for them. And if they don’t, then I know that I need to look at things differently. It is economics, after all. I’ll consider the seminar a win if I get ten students.” He grinned. “And some of my colleagues will eat crow.”
“Is one seminar going to help your students get better jobs?”
Willy shrugged. “I doubt it, but we’re a liberal arts institution. Many of our students go on to other schools for postgraduate work. What we do is teach these kids to think for themselves and to reason critically. So I give them tools, and they run with them. There isn’t a great deal of me standing up in front of the class talking and then giving them tests to seehow much they can spew back. Their grades are based on exams, essays, and papers meant to demonstrate taking a position and defending it either by using other sources or logic.” He sipped from his mug. “Before the fire, I was working on a paper, as well as the outline for a book. The paper is meant for publication in a journal, but the book is meant to explain economic principles to real people.”
“Like how to understand all those numbers you hear on the news?” Kevin asked, and Willy nodded. “I hear them all the time, but they don’t really mean much.”
“Exactly. That’s what I’m working to put together. A simple guide to what all that means. Like what does unemployment mean? Last month it was 4.1 percent. So would it surprise you if I was to say that we consider that very close to full employment? People are always leaving one job to move to another, getting fired, being hired, and so on, and at any one time, that’s about 4 percent. That’s what I want people to understand. But it’s been hard since the fire. I try to work in my office, but I don’t get a lot of time, and when I get home, the kids need me. I think I just need a chance for things to quiet down. The semester will be over in a month, and then during the summer I hope I’ll be able to get drafts of both the article and my outline completed.”
“You don’t let anything stop you, do you?” Kevin asked.
“Not if I can help it. You’re the same way.” They finished their coffee, and then Willy went in to play with the kids for a while. Kevin cleaned up the kitchen and then sat on the sofa, doing his best to get comfortable as April laughed while Willy flew her around the room.
“HOW DIDyou get him to go to bed so easily?” Willy asked as Kevin returned from Grant’s bedroom. “He never goes to bed that easily.”
Kevin sat next to Willy and put his arm around his shoulder. “I told him that Elsa was really tired but that she wasn’t going to go to bed unless he did. So maybe he could go to bed so that she could.” He grinned. “Worked like a charm. Elsa jumped right onto the bed and curled up next to him. Grant was so tired, he closed his eyes and was out in a few minutes. Is April asleep?”
“Yeah. She was out almost as soon as her head hit the pillow. I honestly don’t know what we’re going to do when you get better. Those dogs have fallen in love with the kids and vice versa. The other week, Grant kept asking me if we could go over to your house to see the dogs.”
Kevin gently tilted Willy’s head up to meet his gaze. “We’ll figure it out.” Then he kissed him, tasting those sweet lips. He wanted to press Willy back against the sofa cushions, and without even thinking, he deepened the kiss. He pulled away and turned his head before coughing.
“Hey. It’s okay. You’ll heal up, and then I can show you just how pleased I am that you’re feeling better.” His eyes danced with mischief that Kevin wished he could explore in all the best ways.
