Local Hero

Zark, hero and saint, back off? Would Zark, defender of right and justice, bow out gracefully? Nope, Mitch decided. When it came to love, Zark was a patsy. Leilah kept kicking astrodust in his face, but he was still determined to win her back.
    At least Hester hadn’t tried to poison him with nerve gas. Leilah had pulled that and more, but Zark was still nuts about her.
    Mitch studied the poster of Zark he’d tacked to the wall for inspiration. We’re in the same boat, buddy, but I’m not going to pull out the oars and start rowing, either. And Hester’s going to find herself in some turbulent waters.
    He glanced at the clock on his desk, but remembered it had stopped two days before. He was pretty sure he’d sent his watch to the laundry along with his socks. Because he wanted to see how much time he had before Hester was due home, he walked into the living room. There, on the table, was an old mantel clock that Mitch was fond enough of to remember to wind. Just as he glanced at it, he heard Radley at the door.
    “Right on time,” Mitch said when he swung the door open. “How cold is it?” He grazed his knuckles down Radley’s cheek in a routine they’d developed. “Forty-three degrees.”
    “It’s sunny,” Radley said, dragging off his backpack.
    “Shooting for the park, are you?” Mitch waited until Radley had folded his coat neatly over the arm of the sofa. “Maybe I can handle it after I fortify myself. Mrs. Jablanski next door made cookies. She feels sorry for me because no one’s fixing me hot meals, so I copped a dozen.”
    “What kind?”
    “Peanut butter.”
    “All right!” Radley was already streaking into the kitchen. He liked the ebony wood and smoked glass table Mitch had set by the wall. Mostly because Mitch didn’t mind if the glass got smeared with fingerprints. He settled down, content with milk and cookies and Mitch’s company. “We have to do a dumb state project,” he said with his mouth full. “I got Rhode Island. It’s the smallest state. I wanted Texas.”
    “Rhode Island.” Mitch smiled and munched on a cookie. “Is that so bad?”
    “Nobody cares about Rhode Island. I mean, they’ve got the Alamo and stuff in Texas.”
    “Well, maybe I can give you a hand with it. I was born there.”
    “In Rhode Island? Honest?” The tiny state took on a new interest.
    “Yeah. How long do you have?”
    “Six weeks,” Radley said with a shrug as he reached for another cookie. “We’ve got to do illustrations, which is okay, but we’ve got to do junk like manufacturing and natural resources, too. How come you moved away?”
    He started to make some easy remark, then decided to honor Hester’s code of honesty. “I didn’t get along with my parents very well. We’re better friends now.”
    “Sometimes people go away and don’t come back.”
    The boy spoke so matter-of-factly that Mitch found himself responding the same way. “I know.”
    “I used to worry that Mom would go away. She didn’t.”
    “She loves you.” Mitch ran a hand along the boy’s hair.
    “Are you going to marry her?”
    Mitch paused in midstroke. “Well, I . . .” Just how did he handle this one? “I guess I’ve been thinking about it.” Feeling ridiculously nervous, he rose to heat up his coffee. “Actually, I’ve been thinking about it a lot. How would you feel if I did?”
    “Would you live with us all the time?”
    “That’s the idea.” He poured the coffee, then sat down beside Radley again. “Would that bother you?”
    Radley looked at him with dark and suddenly inscrutable eyes. “One of my friends’ moms got married again. Kevin says since they did his stepfather isn’t his friend anymore.”
    “Do you think if I married your mom I’d stop being your friend?” He caught Radley’s chin in his hand. “I’m not your friend because of your mom, but because of you. I can promise that won’t change when I’m your stepfather.”
    “You wouldn’t be my stepfather. I don’t want one of those.” Radley’s chin trembled in Mitch’s hand. “I want a real one. Real ones don’t go away.”
    Mitch slipped his hands under Radley’s arms and lifted him onto his lap. “You’re right. Real ones don’t.” Out of the mouth of babes, he thought, and nuzzled Radley against him. “You know, I haven’t had much practice being a father. Are you going to get mad at me if I mess up once in a while?”
    Radley shook his head and burrowed closer. “Can we tell