What's in is Despair (frerard)

Chapter 19

Sorry this is a little short, it's pretty cute tho

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Gee and I walked around the busy streets of Brooklyn. I held onto his hand as we went to yet another apartment that we were scheduled to view. The realtor walked a bit in front of us as Gee looked around in amazement.

"Look it!" He said excitedly, pointing to a person who was singing on the street with a hat in front of her.

"Wanna give her some money?" I asked.

He nodded and I smiled, handing him five dollars. Gee hurried over and put the money into the hat. He came back and held onto my hand. I smiled, kissing his cheek. The lady stopped in front of an apartment building.

"This one is five minutes from the high school and only about ten minutes from Pratt," she said. "It's up on the fourth floor."

We went inside and to the elevator. She talked to us about the prices and I smiled.

"It's not that bad," I said.

Gee has been so happy and excited all day. The idea of going and living with me in New York makes him so happy. He seems to have forgotten about everything else momentarily.

We stepped out and went down the hall. She used a key to open a door and we stepped inside. The place wasn't much bigger than our apartment now. It had dark hardwood floors and off-white walls. There was no furniture, but there was a kitchen with full appliances and an island with a breakfast bar attached. The kitchen was straight open to the family room. There was a door to a bathroom and another to a bedroom. The bedroom had another door and Gee gasped.

"It has a balcony!" He exclaimed.

I chuckled as we stepped out onto it. We could see the view of the city and Gee smiled. I wrapped an arm around his waist and he rested his head on my shoulder.

"I like this place," he said quietly.

"Yeah?" I asked.

He nodded, looking up at me. "I can imagine us living here."

"It's definitely better than some of the other places we've seen," I agreed.

"Is this the one?" He asked.

I smiled down at him. "We'll have to talk about it, beautiful."

We went back over and talked with the realtor. She walked out with us and I smiled, holding his hand.

"How about we get some lunch then go to an art museum here?" I suggested.

Gee gasped and nodded. I held his hand as we went to a little shop. We ordered some sandwiches and we ate happily. Gee was looking out the window, watching everyone pass by in interest. I smiled at him as he chewed contentedly.

"How's the food?" I asked.

"It's good," he said, taking a sip of his milkshake.

"You really like that last place?" I asked.

He bit his lip and nodded.

"Well, it's at a safe place, mostly adults so we don't have to worry about college students throwing parties and being loud," I said and he nodded. "It's got a good security deposit, it's in good shape and the monthly pay isn't bad."

Gee smiled and nodded.

"There's also that one a few blocks down," I added. "That one was pretty good. It came with furniture too."

Gee giggled quietly and I smiled at how nice it sounded.

"The couch was green," he said.

"True, we'd have to get a different couch, it looked like vomit," I agreed and he giggled quietly. "There was that one other place that was really nice."

"It was too far, though, daddy," he said.

I nodded and he finished eating. We got up and left, going down the street to the big museum. Gee dragged me up the big stairs to the big doors. I paid the admission fee while Gee tugged on my shirt excitedly.

"Okay, okay, I'm coming," I said as I chuckled.

"Don't forget your stamps," the man at the desk said. "The admission is for all day so you can come back later without paying again."

Gee held out his hand and he got a purple stamp on it. I did the same and Gee dragged me into the museum. We walked across the marble floors to the paintings. Gee looked around with wide eyes happily.

"Look at this!" He exclaimed, making sure his voice didn't get too loud.

He pulled me over to a piece. There were life sized marionette dolls hanging from the ceiling. They all wore pretty dresses and suits and were arranged like they were ballroom dancing in the big hall. Gee smiled as he looked at them.

"Did I ever tell you about the marionette dolls my mom had?" Gee asked.

"No," I replied, looking over at him curiously.

Gee smiled softly. "She had these beautiful marionette dolls that my grandma gave her before she passed away when I was little. I loved them so much. There was two of them, a boy and a girl. One of them was this beautiful princess with curly blonde hair and a pretty crown and pink dress. The other was a prince that had a sword and dark hair. I loved playing with them so much. They were my favorite things ever. I would sneak into my mom's room and play with them. I would make up cute little stories for them."

Gee's face got a little sad. "One day when I was seven my mom caught me playing with them. She got so mad. She said I wasn't allowed to go into her room and touch her stuff. Sh-she grabbed me and wrapped the strings of the marionette dolls around my neck. Mikey was only five, h-he was crying and begging my mom to stop. I-I couldn't breathe, I-I was so scared."

"Oh, beautiful, I'm sorry," I mumbled.

I wrapped my arms around him, and he sniffled quietly. I held him close to me, kissing the top of his head.

"You're safe with me," I whispered. "No one's gonna lay a finger on you."

He nodded softly and I smiled.

"I heard they have some Picasso here," I said. "Let's go check it out."

The two of us walked around for a while, looking at all sorts of things. I held his hand the entire time as we walked up and down flights of stairs, looking at all different pieces of artwork. The museum eventually closed and he frowned slightly. We walked down the street to where I parked my car and we got in.

"What was your favorite thing, baby?" I asked.

"I liked the one by Monet," he said.

"That was good," I agreed.

Gee yawned quietly as we drove with the traffic.

"Busy day, you should get some rest, sweetheart," I said.

He nodded, resting his head against the window as he closed his head.

"I love you, daddy," he whispered.

"I love you too, baby," I repeated, reaching over to hold his hand.

It was quiet for a moment, the only sound was of the music coming quietly through the speakers. I looked over and saw Gee falling asleep. I drove quietly while he slept, crossing back over to New Jersey, making my way down to Belleville. I heard Gee stirring quietly as we were twenty minutes from home.

"Everything's gonna be okay, right?" He asked, his voice quiet, eyes not even open. I almost thought I imagined it because it looked like he was still asleep.

"That's right," I confirmed, squeezing his hand. "Everything's gonna be just fine, beautiful."