My Way Home Is Through You

Gerard and the others were more than a little surprised when Ray and Anna appeared back on the bus less than a half hour later. However, they were relieved to see Anna snuggled happily in Ray's arms, and Ray himself with a brilliant smile on his face.

"Hey, guys," said Frank uncertainly. "How's things?"

"Things is good," Ray said as he tickled Anna. She laughed out loud and squirmed until he set her down. She pelted off toward Frank and crashed into his legs, nearly sending him into the floor as he caught her.

"Hey there, chickie!" Frank exclaimed. "I see you're feeling better!"

"Yeah!" she laughed.

"Did you fuss at your dad for being so uncool earlier?" Mikey asked. She nodded solemnly.

"That's good," said Gerard. "Because sometimes dads need to be fussed at."

"Great, Gee, give her ideas," muttered Ray with a grin as he sat down on the couch.

"So what are we doing tonight?" Bob asked. "I don't know about anyone else, but I'm hungry."

"Me too!" said Anna. Frank let her down and she climbed onto the couch beside her father, leaning against his shoulder.

"Well, what do you guys want to do?" Gerard asked. "You want to go out, have something delivered, con some poor schmuck into getting us something, or what?" The others chuckled.

"I'm up for anything," said Mikey. Bob nodded his agreement.

"As long as we can find something for me to eat, I don't really care," said Frank.

"How about you, Anna, what do you like?" Ray asked his daughter, pulling her onto his lap.

"I don't know," she shrugged.

"You don't know?" After resolving the issues of earlier, Ray was feeling particularly happy, and downright silly at this point.

"Do you like... Octopus?" Anna made a face and stuck out her tongue.

"No!"

"Do you like duck feet?"

"Ewww!"

"Do you like frog?"

"Dad-dy!"

Bob rolled his eyes at the guitarist. "Anna, don't listen to him, he's being very silly."

"How about we go out?" said Gerard. "I'm kind of tired of being stuck in the bus all the time. Besides, Anna will have fun."

"How about that little Japanese place we found last time we were here?" Mikey suggested. "It was small and out of the way, nobody even recognized us there. Plus, they had really good sushi."

Gerard smiled at his brother. "I don't think Anna would go for raw fish, Mikey."

"They have the hibachi grill," Ray pointed out. He turned to face Anna. "Do you like chicken and veggies, sweetie?"

"Chicken!" Anna exclaimed gleefully. Frank laughed.

"I guess that's a yes."

"Sounds good to me," Ray said. "Let's go!"

* * * * *

The restaurant was nearly deserted, and they were able to eat their dinner in peace. Anna was thrilled with the impromptu show the hibachi cook gave them while he stir-fried rice with her chicken and Frank's vegetables. She clapped in delight as the man ignited an onion "volcano" before their eyes. The rockers enjoyed it, too; they had forgotten how much fun dining out could be.

Ray was pleased to find that Anna was not picky at all about her food. Much to his surprise, she was even willing to try a piece of Kappa sushi that Mikey offered her, after being convinced that it was nothing but rice and cucumber.

However, when she asked about the "green stuff" on Mikey's plate, Ray was a little concerned.

"That's called wasabi, sweetie," he told her. "You don't eat it by itself, you put it on the sushi. It's very spicy."

"Yeah, I don't think you'd like it, sugar," Gerard said with a mischievous smile.

At that, Anna suddenly looked very determined. "Can't I please try it?" she asked imploringly. Mikey looked to Ray for an answer.

Finally, Ray shrugged. "Go ahead, let her. We've got plenty of water, so she ought to be okay."

Mikey showed Anna how to mix the wasabi into the soy sauce, then dipped another piece of cucumber sushi into the concoction. Thankfully, he only let a small portion of the rice get coated.

For the first moment after popping the sushi into her mouth, Ray thought Anna would be all right with the spicy horseradish. Then her eyes began to water and she made a terrible face.

"My nose!" she cried, sniffling. "Owww!"

Gerard and Bob burst out laughing as Ray helped her sip some water. She drained half the glass before she stopped.

"That hurt!" she said with wide eyes.

"You okay, baby?" Ray asked, smoothing her hair. She nodded, looking suspiciously back at Mikey's plate.

"I don't like that green stuff!" she said. Ray laughed and kissed the top of her head.

"You and me will just stick to the chicken and veggies, huh?" he said.

"So what are we doing after dinner, guys?" Frank asked. "The night is young."

"Well," said Ray, "I promised Anna a night out in the city."

"Well, hey," said Gerard. "Let's take her down to Times Square and Broadway to see the lights. Maybe even Rockefeller Center. She'll love it!"

Ray looked at his daughter. "How about it, baby? Does that sound good to you?" Anna smiled brightly and nodded.

"All right!" said Bob. "Let's do it!"