Father? (Frerard)

One - welcome to my house

"That was the last one," Toni said after she carried a box into her new bedroom. We all let out a deep breath and smiled. Jamia clapped her hands together and invited us all downstairs to have a lunch. It was about time, I was starving and after the move, I was sure I lost like 5 pounds.

We walked to the kitchen and Toni helped Jamia set the table while I and Toni's boyfriend prepared glasses and something to pour into them. We sat at the table while the girls got the food ready and he took a sip of his beer and smiled at me across the table.

"Mr. Iero, I want to thank you once again, for letting me live here." He told me seriously.

"I'm not doing it for you. I'm doing it so my girl can be happy." I told him only half meaning it, it would be nice to have a manly company in this house because for the past ten years it's just been me and my two ladies. "And please, call me Frank." I smiled and he just nodded.

Jamia gave me a huge portion of the chicken she cooked knowing me and my hunger very well. I smiled and thanked her. I love my family more than anything. Toni sat down next to her new roommate and they shared a chaste kiss. I watched them sometimes and I liked how they smiled at each other and how they held hands, how they kissed briefly when they thought no one was looking. It reminded me a little of me and Jamia when we were still dating.

I wasn't a fan of an obnoxious PDA that most people seem to practice these days, so it was nice to see how subtle my daughter and her boyfriend were. I could see how much she loved him and how he loved her. He was older than her almost a decade yet they didn't seem to care. After a year of dating they decided they wanted to live together and my wife and I were more than happy to see our daughter growing up, but at the same time, we didn't want to let her go. If she came to us and said they found an apartment and that she is moving further away from us, I would be sad that my baby was leaving her home but I would gladly help her pack and move her things.

Luckily for all of us they couldn't find an apartment decent enough and for a decent price so I offered to let her and her boyfriend live on the upper floor of our house. Jamia was okay with that because the two of us didn't really need that much space and when my father and mother moved away ten years ago to live in the country, claiming that they were too old for the busy city, they basically left the house to me and the majority of their rooms were left unused.

We redecorated the rooms so they suited Toni's style more and finally after some persuading and reassuring that yes, it was okay with us and that yes, we didn't mind him living here Toni's boyfriend moved in. Toni and he were happy that they have a place to live, despite still in parent's house but at least with their own entrance and me and Jamia were happy that Toni is living on her own but still very close.

I liked him ever since I met him. He was introduced to me in a weird way but the funnier it was. I was just coming home from work when I found a half-naked man standing next to my fridge. I had to admit it was kind of my own fault for having to face that because I asked my boss if I could leave earlier that day so Toni must have thought they had enough time for themselves. And so he turned around and looked me up and down, obviously not knowing who I was, and smirked.

'are you Toni's roommate?' he asked me and I was so weirded out by seeing a stranger in my house that I decided to play along. 'You could say that' I told him and sat down behind the kitchen table. He sat down too and introduced himself 'I'm Gerard' he extended his hand which was dirty, I deduced it was paint. 'Where is she anyway?' I asked then and kept watching this Gerard guy. 'Oh, she's probably washing the paint off' he laughed and so I guessed he had to do something with that since his hands were also covered in paint. 'Paint? Off where?' I remember asking him. 'Off herself, I painted all over her' he laughed this funny way, like when a small child laughs but two octaves lower. His teeth were also like child's I noticed, they were so small they almost weren't visible underneath his lip.

When Toni came out of the shower she explained to both of us who was who and since then I've met Gerard quite a few times. He liked art, he painted and drew and after his studies at NYU, he became an art teacher at a university. Toni told me they met at this art show of a friend of hers and he was there to support his student. He wanted to ask her out but she looked way too young, so she asked him out. She didn't mind that he was 9 years older than her and frankly I didn't mind it too. If that was what she wanted than I was all for it.

"Who wants a dessert?" Jamia asked when we all finished our food. Toni and Gerard excused themselves claiming they needed to get settled in and so it was just me and my beloved wife.

"What's with that long face?" She laughed as she sat on my lap. I smiled at her and kissed her softly.

"Nothing, it's just weird seeing her grow up." I shrugged and tucked a loose strand of hair behind Jamia's ear. "She has him now, she doesn't need me anymore." I sighed and hugged her closer to me as she laughed at me.

"You'll always be her dad." Jamia told me and kissed the top of my head. I smiled sadly but nodded and kissed my wife once again.

"I love you."

"I love you too." She smiled and then I left her to her things and locked myself in my room so it was just me and my photos.