A Love That's So Demanding

Artist Hands

Frank had absolutely no idea where Gerard might be taking him. He felt a little nervous to be honest. This place must be pretty interesting since Gerard felt the need to drag him along as well.

        They stayed silent most of the walk there. It was definitely a longer walk than Frank had expected. They had to cut through the woods and Frank didn’t really like the woods. It sort of freaked him out. He blamed his fear from reading The Texas Chainsaw Massacre comics late at night. He always expected someone to jump out from behind a tree and slaughter him on the spot, but at least he wasn’t alone. Gerard was there with him. He felt oddly safe with him. Frank didn’t understand why he felt the way he did. He just knew that as long as Gerard was there, everything would somehow be okay.

        After their creepy trek through the forest next to their neighborhood, they emerged in the downtown area. Frank had definitely been here before. This is where his aunt and uncle would go to pick up their laundry. They did have a washer and dryer, but his aunt would always tell him. “If there’s an easier way to do something, don’t make it any harder than it should be.” Frank would always listen to his aunt’s advice. He figured there was a wise, sophisticated woman under all that saintliness.

        This part of town was a lot edgier and worn down. The street had more cracks in it and the buildings looked a bit more old fashioned. Trash littered the sidewalks and bums begged for money on the street corners. Frank had no idea why his aunt and uncle picked this particular part of town to do laundry. You’d think they would find a safer area to shop and do laundry, but Frank never understood their logic on things.

        Gerard clicked the button on the street lamp, waiting for the light to change so that they could get across. He had his hands shoved into the pockets of his blue slacks and he was chewing his bottom lip in concentration. Frank watched him carefully. If anyone could pull off a catholic school uniform, it was Gerard. He looked refined, yet he had that ‘don’t give a damn’ way about him. Frank figured that was one of the reasons he was so interested in him. They seemed so much alike.

        Gerard glanced over in Frank’s direction and gave him a small smile. He returned it, holding on to the strap of his black messenger bag. Another minute passed until the light changed, signaling their time to proceed. Frank followed him across the empty street and to the other side. They walked in unison, passing by the old drug store and around the corner onto South Market Drive. Frank had definitely been here before. Was Gerard leading him to where he thought he was?

        His thoughts were confirmed as a familiar green sign reading, Comic Warehouse, flashed before them. Gerard smiled over at Frank, putting his hand out in front of him, showing him that this was their destination. Frank nodded, smiling. He walked forward, opening the door for Gerard and walking in after him.

        Frank was greeted by the familiar smell of antique paper. He loved that smell more than anything in the world (besides vanilla). There were ceiling to floor shelves filled with limited edition comic books and a huge section to the left that held collectible action figures. Frank loved it here. He came here often, actually. This was one place that he could go to forget, to forget about his religious home environment. It was nice to escape sometimes.

        “So, this is it.” Gerard spoke up, turning around and facing Frank. Frank looked around, nodding.

        “Yeah, I come here a lot actually. It’s one of my favorite places.” He confessed, walking towards the newer comics that were displayed up front. Gerard followed suite, picking up one occasionally and commenting on it before replacing it. This went on for at least fifteen minutes, until they reached the back of the store where the older comics were stored. Frank picked up some X-Men and Gerard was leafing through an old first edition Batman comic. Frank noticed that it had been a while since Gerard had moved from his spot. He still held the Batman comic and his face was forlorn. Frank contemplated asking him what the matter was.