June 207 AC
Kataryna Peacecraft carefully laid the piece of felt down over the board. "That's a very good job, Kit," the daycare attendant told the 6-year old.
"Thank you, Miss Pearlman. Will you please make a bow for me?"
"Of course!"
That day when her daddy came to pick her and her baby brother up from daycare, she shyly handed him something wrapped in tissue paper.
"What's this?" Zechs asked while trying to keep a grasp on his wiggly 3-year old son.
"A present!" the girl told him, latching onto his leg and hiding her face in his thigh. "For you."
He carefully picked apart the many pieces of tape until he could unfold the tissue paper and see the scrape of felt inside. "What's this?" he asked again, flipping the felt heart around until he could see the words "Happy Father's Day" scrolled around an oval opening in the center.
"A picture frame!" the girl announced.
"For me?" She nodded.
A bright smile beamed across his face as he snatched the giggling child up in his arms and covered her with kisses. "Thank you thank you thank you thank you!" he managed through her delighted squeals.
The glue-gummy heart-shaped felt picture frame was pinned to the wall near Zechs Merquise's desk the next day with a picture of his 5-year old daughter and 3-year old son in the oval shaped center. It remained there for 35 years; its impression lasted longer.
End Part 2
Andrea Readwolf
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