Like Buttons On A Shirt

Chapter 34

"Hey Mom!", I said while entering the hospital room.
"Look, I brought a guest"

Gerard followed right after me. He was still fumbling with some strings that stop the disposable hospital gown from slipping right off your shoulders.

"Oh Frankie!", my mum said and I could see how excited she was by the way she smiled. She looked so much better than the last time I've seen her and that made me a little too cheerful.
I usually won't allow myself to get hopeful when it comes to my mothers condition. I knew that she could be great one day but one breath from dying the other.
But today I just let myself be happy about her feeling better.

"And who is that handsome man you've brought with you?", she asked when she saw Gerard.

He himself was looking rather helpless. He finally managed to tie the strings together and was now approaching the bed.

"I'm Gerars, Mrs. Iero. Gerard Way.", he said and held out his hand.
Before my mother could shake it be quickly snatched it away again and with wide eyes he said:
"Oh I'm sorry... I'm probably not even allowed to shake your hand"

My mom started giggling and reached forward to take his hand.
"I dont care, honey. There's no doctors here"

At first Gerrard's body stiffened but after my mother held his hand for a few moments without anything happening, he relaxed again.
"Its very nice to meet you", he said.

My mother smiled and finally let go of his hand.
"Its also very nice to finally meet you. Frank talks about you so much all the time that it felt weird not knowing a face behind those stories"

I felt myself blush.
"Mom!", I exclaimed.
Why did she have to say that.
I mean... she was right. I did talk about Gerard a lot but he didnt have to know that!

"Oh does he now?", Gerard asked and gave me a little smirk.

"Why dont you two sit down and tell me how I earned the pleasure of you visiting together?"
She gestured towards the chairs next to the window.
We both took a seat but I made sure not to block her view by sitting in front of the window.
I wanted to ask her how shes feeling but then again... that's not our thing.

"Frank told me a lot about you too, Mrs Iero.", Gerard answered her question.
"Hopefully he only said good things about me."

"Of course I did. What di you even think of me, mom?", I exclaimed, making Gerard and my mom giggle a bit.
"I'm just joking, Frankie"

Gerard and my mother seemed to get along with each other instantly. While I started looking out the window, they started talking about an old TV show that my mom just watched and that Gerards brother Mikey was obsessed with.

The sky had darkened a little and I thought about what Pete had said about a thunderstorm. Maybe it was going to rain a little after all. I could see clouds in the distance but it all seemed very harmless just now.

"... am i right, Frank?"

I snapped out of my thoughts when I heard Gerard say my name.
"Uhm... what did you just say?", I asked.

My mother started laughing.
"Oh Lord... you always have your head in the clouds, Frankie"
"Your mother said how she was surprised to see me and I just told her what you've told me a few days ago. About how the both of us would get along well"

"Oh yes I did say that."

A few minutes passed with my mother and Gerard still talking about something and me staring out the window.
God... I hope Pete was wrong about that thunderstorm...

"Hey Frankie"
This time my mother interrupted my thoughts.

"Huh?"

"How about you go get us some coffee from the cafeteria. I would like to have a talk with Gerard here."

I hesitated.
Did I really want to leave my boss alone with my mom?
Every single book and romcom taught me that this was a bad idea but what could I do...

"Yeah of course. Do you still drink yours black?"

My mother nodded and after another moment of hesitation I left the room.
They probably wanted to have a moment to themselves. I guess my mom wanted to talk to Gerard about... well... him and his feeling. It's probably for the best that I wasn't with them. I wouldn't know what to say anyway.

I decided to take my time to get to the cafeteria and walked down the halls slowly.
I also took the stairs instead of the elevator.

And when I heard thunder coming from outside (obviously) I knew that was the right decision.
Call me crazy but I sure as hell was not going to use the elevator when there was the possibility of a fucking thunderstorm.

I jumped slightly when I heard more thunder.
Okay... I'll admit it. I'm super scared of thunderstorms.
Well... not of thunderstorms exactly but of what they could cause.

When I was a kid I had a reoccurring nightmare for a few weeks straight.
I was standing at the kitchen window of our top-floor apartment, watching the rain outside.
Suddenly a bolt of lightning hit a tree a few houses away, which instantly caught fire.
The fire spread in no time and I could watch everything in my neighbourhood burn down.
Then the fire got to pur house and all my belongings and everything I loved just lit up like it was nothing.

It creeped me out and kind of stuck with me till now.
So you could say that I'm more afraid of lighting causing a huge fire than the thunderstorm in general.

More thunder.

I felt very uncomfortable. How did this happen so fast?
A few hours ago the sky was still blue as ever and now it was almost dark outside.
And was that rain I heard?
Yeah... definitely rain.
At first only a few drops that hit the large windows but in a few seconds it changed.
And now it was raining cats and dogs out there.
Fucking great.

I decided to get back to my mothers room without the coffee.
I could just say that they were out of it.