Starman (Frerard)

Chapter 5

    Frank pulled into the driveway of the Way’s house, got out, and locked his car. He walked up to the door and rang the doorbell. Mikey answered it almost immediately, letting Frank inside. Today was another day where Frank watches after Gerard, and he hoped to God that today will be much better than yesterday.

    “How’s Gerard doing?” Frank asked.

    “Oh, he’s alright. He didn’t wanna get out of bed, so I figured I’d let him sleep in today. When the alarm on his bed goes off, get him up,” Mikey replied, finishing up a cup of coffee.

    “Alright. I’ll keep a close eye on him. I should stay in his room so I can catch him in time when he wakes up,” Frank said.

    “Cool, that’s a good idea. I have a favor to ask you,”

    “What’s that?”

    “I gotta go shopping for groceries when I get home, and of course, I can’t leave Gerard at home. Can you come with us to keep an eye on him? Gerard likes to run around the store every time we go, and it’s just hard for me to keep up. I’ll pay you up front. He also has a check up appointment tomorrow, and I’m gonna need help with that too since Gerard tends to be disruptive. I’ll pay you for that too. I have the day off tomorrow, so you won’t be alone with him,” Mikey asked. Frank knew right away that Mikey surely needed help keeping Gerard under control, knowing how he is. He was also being offered getting paid extra, which Frank couldn’t say no to.

    “Yeah, I’ll do that. How could I say no?” Frank smiled, and Mikey smiled back at him, looking relieved.

    “Oh, thank you. I really appreciate it. I’d hate to give you a heavy workload with taking care of Gerard, but...someone’s gotta do it,”

    “That’s true, and don’t worry about it. I can handle it. Just think of how yesterday went,”

    “Right, right. Well, I’m gonna get going. Call me if anything comes up,” Mikey said as he began to walk out the door.

    “Will do. Have a good day at work,” Frank replied. Mikey shut the door behind him, and Frank went right up to Gerard’s room. When he got there, he saw Gerard snug under the covers of his bed, with lullaby music playing from his radio. The lights were dimmed, and a rotating nightlight with the shapes of stars all over the walls and ceiling was on. Frank smiled, quietly walking up to Gerard, bending down, and stroking his hair, then kissing his head. He then sat down in the panda chair nearby, and began to check his Facebook profile on his phone. He thought of calling Jamia, but quickly realized that it was too early since she’s usually asleep at this time of day and doesn’t have work til the afternoon today.

    Suddenly, Frank saw Gerard shift in his bed, and then heard mumbling, indicating that Gerard was waking up. Frank immediately stood up and walked up to Gerard’s bedside, smiling.

    “Hey, sleepyhead. You ready to get up?” he asked. Gerard didn’t respond; he just sat up in bed, bouncing up and down in his seat. Frank turned off the bed alarm that was going off, and helped Gerard up to his feet. Frank decided to get started on making Gerard breakfast. He took Gerard’s hand, leading him downstairs to the kitchen.

_ _ _
    The whole day went by smoothly for Frank. He did his usual routine with Gerard such as feeding and clothing him, as well as giving him his medication and spending time with him. When Gerard was almost done watching the movie Finding Nemo, Mikey came home from work, setting down his briefcase as soon as he walked inside.

    “How was it?” Mikey asked Frank.

    “Pretty good. No meltdowns today,” Frank replied.