Swing Into My Heart

“But mom, look at him!” I look down at him myself and can't help but smile despite of the fact that my mom is making me sad.
“He's gorgeous,” I say softly and brush a strand of hair out of his face. He wiggles his nose. My stomach tickles and I stifle a giggle.

“But he's a human, Frank,” my mom says calmly. I get up and carefully tilt a leaf on the tree that grows over us. The warm water that had gathered there after last night's humid air drips down onto Gerard's face and he opens his eyes.
I smile.

“Can he be my human?”
Gerard suddenly sits upright and turns his head to look behind him at my mom. She's just a few feet away from him. She tilts her head.

“He looks scared.” She frowns at him, tilts her head to the other side and then, suddenly, leans forward towards him.

Gerard, being so cute, shrieks and jumps forward – away from my mom and towards me. He wraps his arms around my legs and presses his face into my thighs, as if he's trying to hide from my mom.
He's not good at hide and seek.

“Urgh. He sounds like those little monkeys that keep coming back here to steal our leftovers,” mom complains.

I'm starting to feel shy. The way Gerard is holding my legs is very....nice. I want to hold him too, but not in front of my mom.

Gerard slowly lifts his head and looks up at me. I'm glad my loin cloth is sitting perfectly, otherwise he'd see a bit more than my face right now.

“It talks?” he asks, obviously scared out of his mind. His eyes are wide and the outer sides of his eyebrows are pointing down while the inner sides are sticking up. He looks sad.
I pout.

“Yes. She talks just like me.”
Doesn't he like it when I talk?

“But. But.”
I frown at him. Why is he repeating himself? Does he like my ass? He's not even holding my ass, so why does he keep mentioning it?
“But, she's an ape,” Gerard says, out of breath.
Oh. That but.

“She's my mom,” I state simply and smile.
“Wanna say hi to her? She's real happy and friendly and she makes amazing banana cakes.” I lift my head and look at my mom. She's got this smile on her lips. Like she knows something I don't. That taunting nah-nah nah-nah-nah nah kind of smile.

I give her my best wolf-puppy eyes to try and get her to tell me what she knows that I don't, but she just laughs at me and bats her eyelashes innocently.

I pout.

I cross my arms.

“H-hi,” Gerard suddenly chokes out and my mom's smile is redirected at him.

“Hello. I'm Frank's mom. Who are you?”

“I. I'm Gerard.” I hear him swallow before he sticks his hand out. I frown. Does he want something?

My mom looks just as confused as me, but instead of denying Gerard, she picks up a flower and puts it in his hand.

She smiles.

Gerard forces out a laugh.

I smile widely. They like each other.