Page 52 of Heroes for Ghosts
Stanley popped a piece into his own mouth, the familiar gritty taste of the chocolate melting on his tongue. When he swallowed, he fed Devon the last piece, taking no refusal, and watched with all of his concentration as Devon devoured it.
“It’s not as sweet as I’d thought it would be,” said Devon, then he shook his head as though dissatisfied with his explanation. “It was more like dark chocolate than I expected. You know, like you would use making a cake from scratch.”
“Scratch?” asked Stanley, completely confused. “Do you buy it in a store?”
“No, no,” said Devon with a little laugh. There was a smear of chocolate on the corner of his mouth, so Stanley leaned in and licked it off and stayed close while Devon explained. “It means—well, you make it from the ingredients, rather than a boxed mix, which is what we have nowadays.”
Devon’s world was filled with amazing things, like cake ingredients that came premixed in a box, and oranges in the middle of winter, and radiators that made chilly rooms warm. But the best thing was Devon himself, who was looking at Stanley with hopeful eyes. He seemed to need reassurance, and giving it to him would help Stanley feel more steady, which he was with every passing moment. Nothing was impossible now, and there was nothing to fear.
“You’ll take me back to the States with you, right?” asked Stanley, doing his best to give Devon something to focus on besides the fading taste of World War I chocolate in his mouth. “You won’t leave me here, right?”
“I will take you anywhere you want to go,” said Devon. “And we’ll be together for the rest of our lives.”
Stanley tucked his face in Devon’s neck and reached out to clasp the fist that Devon had made around Stanley’s ID tag. He clenched tight and let go. Devon placed the tag on the table next to the waxed paper that, oddly, looked as new as it ever had, and hugged Stanley very tightly.
“I love you,” said Devon, his voice a hushed whisper across Stanley’s temple.
“And I love you,” said Stanley, equally low, lifting his chin to kiss Devon’s jaw. “I think I always have. I think I’ve loved you since forever began.”
He was trying to say something about time, and how time had gifted them each with the other, but he wasn’t making any sense, not even to himself.
As Devon had so often understood him, he seemed to do so now,for he pulled his hand back and cupped his palm against Stanley’s cheek.
“Forever begins now,” said Devon, solemnly, like a vow. “Forever begins with you and me, right now.”