James nodded. “When I was younger. I always made Scott play the invading army. I won, of course.”
Jacob’s chuckle was warm. “Did you have superheroes on your team?” He pointed toward an entire plastic container of action figures.
He started to shake his head before gasping. “Kane!”
“Kane? Who’s Kane?” Jacob froze from where he’d been reaching for the container.
“Kane. My action figure buddy. He’s in my backpack.”
Jacob picked up the container. “Would you like me to get him for you?”
James rolled his eyes. Of course he did. He snatched the container from Jacob’s hand then the one with the little green men. “Duh.”
“Careful, boy. Corner time wouldn’t be fun.”
That was a worry for another time. James was already remembering how much he used to love playing invading armies with his brother. He really had made Scott be the bad guy. Or in charge of the bad army was more accurate. And James’s army was always the winner. Until Scott had wised up and started to add wizards to his army. That hadn’t been fair. They’d only had one wizard and Scott hadn’t shared.
Did Jacob have any wizards?
James carried his two containers over to where there was a plush rug in the middle of the room. He set the containers down then went back to see what else he could find.
Ha! Dragons. That would be better than wizards. And he could protect his city from the air as well as land.
Hmm, what about…there! A ship and…yes! Mermaids!
James cackled as he collected everything he needed. It was like being in his very own toy store. Anything that James could want was just there. And he didn’t have to worry about sharing. This was awesome.
He jumped as something touched his shoulders.
“Shh, just me.” Jacob finished slipping the cape around his shoulders. “Have to get your commander’s cape around you. How will you lead the troops if they don’t know who you are?”
James grinned up at Jacob. That was a good point.
Jacob frowned down at James’s full hands. “Do you really need all those toys?”
“Yes!” James hissed. He turned to walk back to the rug where he’d left the other toys. His new action figure sat beside the container in his red cape. “Lieutenant Kane. You’re late!”
Lowering himself to his knees, James shook his head at his lieutenant. Very bad form to be late in front of the other recruits. James would let it go this time but if it happened again, Kane would need a talking-to. Maybe Kane needed corner time.
James dumped out the containers. The rug was almost the perfect size to be the land that needed to be protected.
Lining up his army men on two sides, he put them in neat rows. The dragons were on the side closest to the door. They had the best eyesight. The superheroes ended up with the largest area to protect but that was okay because they could fly.
Going back and forth from the shelves to the rug, James added more protection for his country. It was definitely a country instead of a city.
“Holy shit!” James grabbed the large red engine fire truck.
Immediately lights and sirens blared from the toy.
“Language, boy.”
James jumped. He’d forgotten he wasn’t alone in the room. Turning, he spotted Jacob sitting in a rocking chair that had been pushed into one corner. He had a thick blue blanket on his lap. It looked soft. What had he been doing? Oh, he’d said a bad word. “Sorry…Daddy.” Was that okay?
Jacob smiled back at him. “It’s okay. I know you’re excited about all your new toys, but no naughty words, okay?”
“Okay.” James turned back to where he’d found the fire engine. There was an ambulance, cop car, and a tow truck. So many vehicles. He tried to grab them all.
From across the room, Jacob sighed.
