Devil's Work

I’m crawling on the floor. Or at least, I’m trying to.

Frank sets down one of my blankets on the carpet in the living room and then sets me down on my stomach. I try to pull myself forward with my arms but my body doesn’t follow. I end up rocking back and forth in a weird and awkward way, but it amuses Frank.

“I have to get this on film!” he laughs. He stands and runs to get something. He returns with his video camera.

He holds it right up to me as I try to crawl again. “Smile, Kaitlynn!” he says, his own face holding a huge grin. And I can’t help but smile, too.

Soon he stops filming and plays with me. He sets me on my back and tickles my stomach. Weird noises escape my mouth, and then I realize I’m laughing. I’m laughing with my dad. It comes out as small, high-pitched squeals that sound nothing like Frank’s voice.

Gerard comes into the room to grab the phone. He’s not at work today, staying home with us. His face is tired but it lights up when he sees Frank and me.

“Hey, that’s what it is!” He smiles and kneels where Frank and I are. He joins in with our laughter, “She has got the most adorable laugh in the world. We are so lucky, aren’t we, Frank?”

Frank’s fingers continue to tickle my sides but he agrees with Gerard by resting his head on his shoulder. They smile at each other and kiss. I’m so happy to be with them.

Gerard stands. “I gotta go do something.” He pecks Frank’s lips quickly before he gets the cordless phone and dials three numbers on it.

They look tired. I noticed it this morning when they woke me up. But they have bags under their eyes, both of them, and Frank’s eyes are especially red and swollen. They still play with me, though.

The room goes quiet. Frank presses a finger to his lips, and then he closes his eyes to concentrate on Gerard’s voice in the other room.

“Hi, my name is Gerard Way... okay.” And then after a pause, “Yes. I’d like to report some suspicious behaviour outside of my house? And also some men impersonating employees from the adoption agency downtown.”

He mumbles the rest of the details but is too quiet for us to hear. Frank shakes his head, his messy brown hair falling into places I can reach. I wrap my fingers around some locks and pull his face down.

“Woah, Kaitlynn. That’s an ouchie.” His face twists and I let go of his hair. He kisses my face all over anyways. “Such a beautiful baby. Hey, you’re even starting to look like us. I wonder how that is, huh? You’re still going to grow up to be one of the most beautiful things on this earth.”

I have no idea what he is talking about. But I smile anyway. And this seems to please him until Gerard gets back in the room. He looks angry.

“They’re not going to do a fucking thing about it!” He growls. His pale face, usually so calm even in the worst situations, is red. Pure red.

Frank tries to shush him and scolds him for swearing. But Gerard goes on, mimicking someone’s voice, “‘Sir, we don’t think that it’s a problem. Maybe they had the wrong address.’ What bullshit! Not even going to take it down, not even going to inform anybody else. How can they do that?”

I look at Frank who is frowning the whole time. “I knew it. I knew that if we reported it, it would go unheard. They’re not going to believe us, Gerard. I already knew they wouldn’t. It does sound crazy, doesn’t it? Why would they want to take our baby away?”

“Maybe her mother hired them, to scare us,” Gerard murmurs thoughtfully.

“No, she couldn’t have! It’s a closed adoption, remember? She wants nothing to do with her! So why would she suddenly want the child she’s never seen before? Going to shoot her up, isn’t she? Going to make our Kaitlynn a druggie just like she is.” Frank’s sentences break down and he starts to cry.

“Frank, don’t talk like that. We’re thankful for Kaitlynn.” I notice that the way Gerard’s talking is strange and unlike him, but I still watch them go back and forth.

“You’re right,” Frank sighs, and he takes me off of the blanket. “You’re right. Maybe... I don’t even know. At least we tried. I’ll go set Kaitlynn down for her nap.”

“All right. Be careful, okay?” Gerard asks, and I wonder why, because Frank is always careful with me. He loves me. But Frank seems to understand better than I do, and he nods.

I look at Gerard as I’m carried up the stairs. He stares out the window before dialing another number on the phone.