No Fault of Mine

Chapter Thirty

 Stan dropped me off at my car. He opened the door for me and supported me by holding my arm as I stepped to the ground. He walked me to my car, holding my hand. It was parked only several spaces away, but still...

"When you said that you liked me, I was at a loss for words. I was tempted to say the same word back to you, but my feelings for you are more than the word 'like' contains. I'm a man who has one word for all that I feel positive about: I like my dog, like my mom, like being with you last night. But those experiences aren't the same, are they?"

He touched my jaw with his fingertip and guided me toward his lips. His arms encircled me and tightened as he pulled my body against his chest. His lips touched mine, and I melted into him. I could feel his heart, breathing, and passion, which paralleled mine.

When I felt him beginning to move away, I held him tightly. I didn't want this moment to end. With my head against his shoulder, he said, "I hope that communicates how I feel about you."

I thought about that moment as I drove back to my office. He may not have a broad emotional vocabulary, but his body sure communicates. I shuddered as I thought about how it felt to be held and kissed by this man.

I spent the rest of the day completing the three contracts and returning calls. I then handed the contracts to SueAnn for processing. Ann had already ended her work day and gone home.

I returned to my office and searched the Internet for Art or Arthur within one hundred miles of our town. It's surprising that free information is available online, and it's staggering to see what else can be purchased for a few dollars. I found six Arthurs with addresses, phone numbers, and criminal histories, as well as family members and their addresses and phone numbers.

I had a few minutes before getting my son, so I looked up Stan's family business webpage. The company's homepage had all the luster of a bowl of tomato soup with the usual unimaginative tabs of a generic illustration in a web design college textbook. It didn't have the luster and ingenuity I thought I saw in Stan.

I rang Aunt Bea's doorbell and heard the footfalls as Brant rushed to the door. He always met me with outstretched arms. I treasure this time of life because I know his behavior will change in a few years, if not before.

"Did the day go well," I asked Bea.

"He was fine," she said.

"Mom, we found a neat track layout online and drew it on plywood. Tomorrow, we're going to begin building the landscape. We'll have a tunnel, mountains, a river with a bridge, and a town."

"That sounds fun," I said, pushing my son's hair out of his eyes. "I can hardly wait to see it." Aunt Bea handed me a list of supplies for building mountains, valleys, and railway beds.

Once underway, I asked, "Remember the man who told you to help yourself to food the store?"

"The guy who fixed our brake light?"

"He's the one," I said. "He's in town on company business, and I saw him at Ricket's Cafe. I asked if he'd have supper with us tonight."

"Awesome," he said. "Do you think he knows anything about model railroads?"

"I don't know, but you can ask him."

"What are we having?" he asked.

"Do you want to help?" I asked.

"Can I be the sous chef?"

"Certainly, you can pick out some of the menu items at the store," I said.