"Fuzzy Rabbit had been with the family for as long as he could remember. His dungarees were faded. He had a hole in the elbow of his sweater, and his buttons were all odd ones of different sizes. One of the stitches of his mouth had come undone, and he couldn't even smile."

Showing the picture around, Justin smiled slightly as the little children made oooh-ed and ahhh-ed.

Justin continued with the story, telling about Fuzzy and how he used to be his little girl Ellen's most favorite toy, but he'd become worn and tattered, and she didn't play with him as much.

One little girl, holding a stuffed teddy bear in her lap, raised her hand. "Mr. Story Man, how come Ellen wont take her bunny to school anymore? Doesn't she love him?"

"Well... sometimes we grow out of our toys," Justin told her.

Looking slightly horrified, the little girl clutched her teddy bear to her chest. "But I love Wilkins," she said.

Justin smiled at her. "I said sometimes. I doubt it will happen to you."

The little girl looked relieved and Justin, still smiling, continued reading. "On her birthday, for the first time, Ellen forgot to take Fuzzy downstairs for her birthday party." Pausing as the kids gasped and some put their hand over their 'o' shaped mouths, Justin let them react like little kids would before continuing.

"He could hear the children in the front room, dancing to music and playing games. He sighed. He felt a bit left out. He decided to go and have a little peek, so he climbed off the bed and tiptoed to the landing."

"He-" Looking up at the sound of someone walking in, Justin smiled as he saw it was Wade. Wade walked over to the little circle and sat down next to the little girl with the teddy bear.

"Well hello," Justin said, trying to keep the smile out of his voice.

"Hi," Wade replied, grinning.

Not able to hold back his smile any longer, Justin held up the book and kept reading. "He lowered himself down the stairs and pushed his head between the banister rails. He could see Ellen-"

"Um... question," Wade said, raising his hand.

"Yes?" Justin asked, trying not to laugh.

"Well, I just got here, so... I'm not really sure what's going on."

Before Justin could answer, the little girl with the teddy bear turned to him. "Fuzzy is a bunny. He's old, so Ellen doesn't play with him anymore. She's having a birthday party and he's going down there, because she forgot him."

“Um… thanks,” Wade said, slightly surprised.

"That answer your question?" Justin asked with a slight laugh.

"Yeah, pretty much."

Justin smiled and kept reading. He read to the kids (and Wade) about how Ellen got all these new, exciting presents, including a doll and a stuffed owl.

"Stuffed owl? Who gives a little girl a stuffed owl?" Wade asked.

A couple of the little kids turned around to look at Wade. "Shhhh!"

"Sorry," Wade whispered, and Justin found himself fighting back more laughter.

Continuing, Justin read about how that night Ellen brought her new doll and owl to bed, and there wasn't any room for Fuzzy, so he fell off the bed and rolled under it. There were more gasps from the kids and Wade looked around.

"Should I gasp too?" he asked Justin.

Laughing, Justin said, "Nah, the moment has passed."

Wade nodded and Justin, smiling, kept going. "It was very cold on the floor all night but, what was worse, nobody noticed that he was missing the next morning. He lay there sadly all day, sneezing in the dust. Nobody heard him. Fuzzy wondered if Ellen would remember him when she came home from school. Would she think of looking under the bed?"

Looking upset, a little boy looked up at Justin. "Is this story going to have a happy ending?"

Justin smiled at the little boy. Leaning in, he tapped the little boy's nose, smile widening as the boy giggled. "I promise you, the ending is so happy you'll just... not know what to do with all the joy."

The little boy smiled happily and Wade watched, looking at Justin with complete adoration. "God I love him," he said to himself.

The little girl with the teddy bear gasped. "He said a bad word!" she exclaimed, pointing to Wade.

Looking surprised, Wade said, "What? No I didn't."

"You did too. You said the 'G' word!"

"You heard that?" Wade asked incredulously, before realizing what he'd just said. "Uh... I mean... no I didn't!"

"Did too."

Wade was about to reply when Justin jumped in. "Ok, ok. Why don't we just agree to disagree?"

The little girl stuck her nose up in the air and turned back to face Justin.

"Well then," Wade muttered.

She turned back to him. "We can't hear the story if you keep talking."

All the other kids voiced their agreement and Justin laughed. "Maybe you better come sit up here by me," he said, smiling at Wade.

Returning the smile, Wade got up and sat on the floor next to Justin's chair.

Continuing, Justin read about Ellen and her friend Mary coming over to play doctor at Ellen's house. Ellen finally noticed that Fuzzy was gone, and she looked all over the room for him. After a while, she found him under the bed and finally noticed that he looked worn, ragged, and sad. Since she was playing nurse, she decided to fix him up, still claiming that he was her best friend.

The little kids clapped and cheered happily, and Justin smiled. Wade looked at Justin, seeing the expression on his face, and he was filled with an indescribably warm feeling.

"Just then," Justin read, "the door opened and Ellen and Mary came back. They sat all the toys down in a circle and set out the dolls' tea service. Mary poured the orange juice and Ellen sliced the birthday cake. Sha gave Fuzzy the biggest piece because he'd been so brave. "It's nice to have friends," thought Fuzzy, smiling."

Justin put the book down and the little kids cheered again. Laughing, Justin stood up, still smiling. Wade stood up next to him, leaning in close. "I love you, beautiful." Justin blushed slightly and Wade's own smile grew.

The little girl with the teddy bear made her way over to Justin and Wade. "Mr. Story Man? Will you come read us stories again?" she asked, looking up at Justin with her big eyes.

Justin knelt down and smiled at her. "I would love to."

She looked gleeful. "Yay!" Then, looking over at Wade, she said, "You can come too, if you want. Just make sure your Mommy tells you to be good!"

Laughing, Wade nodded. "Ok, it's a deal."

Waving, she bounded off, teddy bear still in her arms.

Wade slid an arm around Justin's waist. "You're so good with them, you know that?"

Justin smiled slightly, leaning in close to Wade. "Well... I love kids, they're just so..."

"Obnoxious?" Wade offered, grinning.

Justin laughed. "I was going to say cute. Adorable. Fun. Something along those lines."

"Well… yeah, ok, that too.”

Smiling at Wade, Justin said, "Maybe next time you can read the story."

"And you'll be my adoring audience?"

Justin grinned at him as they made their way out of the library. "When am I ever not?"

Fuzzy Rabbit by Rosemary Billam, illustrated by Vanessa Julian-Ottie. Copyright 1982, Random House Publishing
Graphic made by the amazing and talented Jai