Devil's Work

Frank is alone with me in the morning because Gerard goes off to work, and Frank usually only works nighttimes or some days now that I’m here with them. He calls the agency and they tell Frank that they have nothing to do with those men that came to us last night, and they tell him to call the police and report it because it could be dangerous.

After that Frank goes around with me in his arm, locks all the doors and shuts all the windows, and then brings me into his bedroom. He peeps out the blinds and tells me that he’s looking for those shiny black cars, and if I see them, it would help if I told him. He giggles at me when he says this.

He doesn’t call the police yet. He says he’s waiting for Gerard to get home and he knows that the police won’t concentrate on a threat as much when there are killings around the corner and stuff. Still, he hugs me tight like I’m about to be taken away.

“You want to stay with us, right?” he asks, humming into my hair. “We love you so much.”

I want to tell him that I love him too, but of course I can’t. He presses his lips to my cheek and then places me in my crib. Gerard moved it into their room this morning because Frank was worried and wanted to keep a close eye on me.

I stare at him right in the eyes, and I think he gets the message, because he starts to cry.

* * *

Gerard comes home right before suppertime. He asks Frank if he called the police, because there were shiny black cars waiting outside of his office, and that was strange. He says that they looked like the ones we saw last night. Frank bursts out into tears and shakes his head. He’s still afraid that I’m going to go away and he cries to Gerard that he doesn’t want to take any chances.

While Frank wipes his eyes, Gerard scoops me up into his arms. He smells like Work. Like cologne and the collared shirt he wears that I like to chew on. I occupy myself by sucking on his shoulder. Gerard doesn’t seem to mind these things as much as Frank.

“Frank, we have to call the police,” Gerard tells Frank sternly. “What if we don’t, and we’re just endangering Kaitlynn even more? Come on, honey, don’t be scared. We’re doing everything fine and they’re not going to take her away.”

“I love her so much,” Frank whispers and he comes up to kiss my forehead. His eyes are red from the tears. “You know what happened today, Gerard? I think she was trying to tell me that she loves us too. She told me with her eyes.”

Gerard adjusts my position in his arms. “That’s a little nuts, Frank. I don’t know if she can understand you that way yet.”

“She did,” Frank presses on, and he brings his fingers up to massage my scalp. “I know that’s what she meant.”

Frank pulls me out of Gerard’s arms and holds me in front of him, staring in his eyes. I put my fist in my mouth. He tries to look at me the same but I don’t want to, not when Gerard doesn’t believe it. I don’t want to prove Frank’s point because it looks like it’s making Gerard upset.

“We’ll wait til she’s older, Frank, and that’s the first thing she’ll say,” Gerard pronounces softly.

I am pulled into Frank’s chest. Frank whispers meekly, “Are you going to call the police?”

There is a small silence and I guess they are communicating with their eyes, like I tried to earlier with Frank. But soon Frank gives me to Gerard and he goes to start dinner.

Gerard puts me in my crib and then he goes to change. He starts humming and talking to me. He is coming out of the washroom and saying something as I try to grab at the toys overhead. And I feel his curious eyes on me.

“You’re special,” he tells me as he tugs his t-shirt over his bare, pale torso. He hums part of a song before taking me out of my crib and pretending to dance with me. “Frank and I know that. We’ve always known that. But you really are special, aren’t you, Kaity?”

So far Frank has never called me Kaity. It’s always been Gerard and I want to be his little Kaity.

But I’m starting to feel hungry now so I start to cry. Gerard shushes me and dances with me some more until we have to go downstairs.