Chapter 12
Karen could tell he was starting to feel cabin fever, it had only been three days in the apartment but Frank looked like he was going crazy. He made sure to always let Soph know he liked hanging out with her. His bruises were starting to fade, but his ribs still made it hard to walk further than the kitchen.
She was worried about how Frank would most likely try and leave the apartment once Karen left for work and took Sophie to preschool. She was just going to have to trust Frank not to get himself hurt by trying to be independent.
After making Sophie’s lunch of peanut butter and jelly sandwich and some fruit with a cookie for dessert. Karen put it in her Finding Dory lunch box and decided to make the same lunch for Frank, so he wouldn’t have to make it for himself. She put it in a brown bag and wrote ‘FRANK EAT ME’
“C’mon Soph, it’s time to go to school!” Karen called for her, knowing she was probably still with Frank in her bedroom. She was right Frank was still in Karen’s bed, but what shocked her was the little girl still in her pj’s next to him.
“What are you wearing? I helped you get dressed in clothes for school, you can’t wear your jammies to school. They’ll get dirty.” She put her hands on her hips, in a way that said ‘let’s go’
“I’m not going to school today!”
Frank was stretching and starting to wake up when he heard the little girl next to him start to raise her voice.
“Of course you're going to school, why wouldn’t you?”
Sophie crossed her arms over her chest before answering, “Frank is hurt, and so he can’t take care of Duck. I have to be here to take of Duck- And Frank. Duh!”
“Don’t duh me little missy. What if Frank is tired and needs to rest today? Then you won’t have anyone to hang out with.”
“Then I’ll just ask him then, Frank? Frank? Fraank? Fraaannkk??”
“Hmmm?”
“Can I stay with you today?”
He wasn't even sure what he was saying he was so tired, he just stuck up a thumbs up- “Sure…”
“See? Karen he says I can stay. So can I? Please??” She looked up at her with her lip stuck out, pleading with her.
“Fine! But come with me little miss- if you’re gonna stay today you have a job to do.”
The little girl loved the prospect of getting a job to do, and she jumped out of the bed to follow Karen out.
Karen brought her to the kitchen table and placed her breakfast in front of her, and told her to eat.
“If your gonna stay and take care of Frank today, I made both you and Frank a lunch so when your hungry bring them into the bedroom. He’s gonna tell you he’s feeling better and wants to go out, but you have to say no. Frank is still hurt and you have to gentle with him. So no jumping on him or asking him to pick you up. Okay?”
“Okay, I’ll bring him lunch at lunch time, and I won’t jump on him. I promise.”
Karen smiled at her and picked up the empty bowl before following the little girl into her bedroom. Karen tucked her in next to Frank and kissed her forehead.
“I’ll be back later, okay? Be good.”
Karen moved over towards Frank who was just beginning to really wake up, she handed him his pills and he took them gratefully.
“Frank, Soph is gonna stay with you today, okay?”
“Alright. We’ll have fun right Soph?”
He got an eager response from the little girl, “Right!”
Karen laughed at them both before leaning over to kiss Sophie’s head again, then she turned and left a kiss on Frank’s head as well. And if he had been a little less groggy he probably would have something to say that would come off suave and cool, but right now he could just stare with his mouth open wide.
She walked out the bedroom and started locking the front door when she called out, “I’ll be home around five thirty, bye!!”
“Chase is on the case!!” She screamed right along with the show.
Sophie laid in bed with Frank, they had watched three episodes so far and she was ready to watch more.
“This is killing me…” Frank whispered under his breath.
“Soph why don’t we do something different? Like go outside or something?” He obviously didn’t want to keep watching, and staying inside these past few days- no matter how fun it was with both the girls- was killing him.
“I don’t know, Karen said it was my job to keep you inside. Then at lunch time I’m supposed to bring both of our lunchboxes in to us.”
“You don’t need to keep me inside, I’m feeling great-“
“Kare said it was my job.”
“She packed us lunch?” He hadn’t had someone make him a sack lunch since-
Since a long time ago. Probably before Maria, he hadn’t had a job here in the states for her to pack him a lunch for.
“What would you say if I said we could go to the Bronx zoo?”
Her eyes lit up light Christmas- “The zoo?”
“Yeah we could take the train down, buy some tickets- bring our lunches with us. It’ll be fun!” He was silently begging her to say yes just to get out of the house.
“Yeah and we can maybe eat our lunch like a picnic?” Sophie was excited to sit out in the sun with frank eating pb&j, and was ready to tell him her whole plan- when she saw the look in his eyes. They looked sad, like he was pained to hear the suggestion, so she instantly took it back- “Or we can sit at the tables by ourselves.”
Frank wanted nothing more than to give Sophie what she wanted, but he knew- he knew the idea of doing what he last did with his family before they died…. With her, would kill him. Would rip his insides out, pull his heart from his chest kind of pain. And after everything she’s been through she saw the pain on his face and decided to change her plan so he wouldn’t hurt, made him sad for her but eternally grateful that she was the way she was- an angel.
“Yeah, we’ll eat at the tables by the giraffes- it’ll be great. Make sure you bring your puffer jacket with you- it’s starting to get cold.” The beginning of October brought a chill with it that was starting to bite at his nose, and he knew Karen might already kill him for leaving while still hurt- so he didn’t want to increase her wrath by getting little Soph sick too.
Luckily after Curtis came by to check on his ribs yesterday, he brought a duffel of Frank’s stuff with him, so he could go out in clothes other than sweats. Frank got his beanie out and placed it on his head, pretty much in all black- the opposite of the girl coming out from her room. She had dressed herself, and wow it was a look.
Yellow rain boots, blue jeans, pink polka dot long sleeve tee, and a bright purple puffer jacket- an outfit only she could put together.
“Are you gonna do my hair?”
“What?” Hair? He had to do her hair?
“Kare always brushes it then she either puts it in a pony, or a braid, or two braids, or pigtails. I think I want pigtails today- let me get the brush.” The little girl ran back into her room before frank could respond.
And before he could properly refuse she was pulling him to the couch and placing a brush in his hand, two hair ties in the other and sitting between his legs with her back to him.
“Ummm”
“Just brush it- then pull it into two parts. That’s what Kare does.” Frank tried to follow her instructions but he probably didn’t do that great of a job of brushing it as he was barely actually touching her hair- for fear of hurting her.
Eventually he just gave up and put the two hair ties in. Frank looked at his handiwork and knew it looked awful, it wasn’t parted correctly and one side had a lot more hair than the other- but he figured if she put a hat on no one would really notice.
“Okay… done. Now go put a hat on, you don’t want your ears to freeze and fall off, do ya?” She turned to look at him and covered her ears while shaking her head no.
He laughed as she ran to her room and while she was gone he packed his backpack with her lunchbox and a brown bag- he chuckled when he read it. ‘FRANK EAT ME’
“Frank! We can’t go...I can’t find my hat, and my ears will fall off.” Sophie was about to cry so he quickly grabbed the beanie off himself and pulled it on to cover her ears. She looked ridiculous the hat obviously too big for her, but she looked happier. So he went into his- Karen’s room and grabbed his second favorite hat. The blue beanie.
Frank grabbed the backpack and the key she left him ‘only incase of emergency’ and scribbled a note about where they went just incase she came home early and found them not there. “Let’s go!!”
It was fun, she had never been to the zoo before, so all the animals she looked at- she had only seen on tv or in the movies or in a book. Never in real life. When they ate lunch he bought them a lemonade to share, even though she drank almost all of it. Frank promised he would show her the movie Madagascar on movie night since she loved it here so much. He regretted not bringing the stroller because she was starting to get tired, but wouldn’t let him pick her up since she wanted to at least not break one of Karen’s rules.
When they were headed back home on the subway, the repetitive motion of the train lulled her sleep and her head rested on his shoulder. Frank wouldn’t wake her when their stop came, so he had to pick her up, and his ribs only protested a little bit.
He was walking through the familiar streets that lead to her apartment, he hadn’t noticed she had woken- “Frank? Do you think we’ll get in trouble?”
Frank pulled his head back to look at her, “Why would we get in trouble?”
“Because we broke all the rules. I didn’t do the job Kare gave me. I let us out the house, and I let you pick me up.”
“Nah nah nah, little lady. You couldn’t have stopped me from going out if I really wanted to, and I picked you up all on my own. We’ll be fine, besides I won’t let the boss get too mad at you, ‘kay?”
He couldn’t see her, but he felt her nod her head into his shoulder, then she sleepily spoke up, “Okay, ps I won’t let the boss get mad at you either….”
She couldn’t hear him, but he said it nonetheless- ”Thanks, kiddo.”