Follow Your Bliss

It was cute how Gerard proudly introduced me to his family and friends. And I felt just as proud being introduced as his girlfriend.

"Yo Uncle Matt, this lovely lady," Gerard pulled me closer to his side. "Would like a cheese burger. Got any left?"

"Let me throw one on." He nodded taking role as chef once again and smirked. "So does this lovely lady come with a name?"

I smiled and shook his hand. "Caitlin."

Another man came over and leaned on Uncle Matt. He was an older man and had dark brown hair with some gray weaving in and out of it. He pointed his water bottle at me. "Do you know that you are one the few girls Gerard has introduced us to or brought home?"

I bit my lip and looked at Gerard lightly blushing. "No I didn't."

"Now you know why." Gerard rolled his eyes. "My family's fucking nuts."

I laughed. "And you know someone's whose isn't?"

"That's besides the point." He grinned. "Dad this is Caitlin. Caitlin, Don."

I couldn't help but giggle. "Really?"

"That's what my birth certificate tells me." He smiled.

"That's kind of funny how that worked out. Donna and Don." I shrugged; it amused me anyway. His uncle Matt laughed with me anyway so at least someone shared my sense of humor.

"She's simple minded." Gerard nodded and patted my head. I hit him roughly in the stomach. "Hey." He pouted and rubbed where I had hit him.

"Please." I rolled my eyes. "And that was with my bad arm." I looked over to see Gerard's dad and uncle laughing at us and smiled shyly.

"Oh yes, Mikey and them told me about your adventurous weekend and your stubbornness." Don laughed.

"This is the one?" Matt pointed at me surprised.

"What?" I asked confused and slightly nervous about what they were talking about that had to deal with me.

"You're the one with the stitches from dirt biking?" His uncle asked me.

"Yeah." I nodded and showed him my arm. "23 simple stitches. They numbed it first of course. But, it was awesome because I've never had stitches before. I think it's the coolest thing how they use that hook to pull the skin to together again."

"Oh no, just what we need; another Frank." Don laughed. "So what do you do Caitlin?"

"I'm a nurse."

"No, no, no." Gerard squeezed my hand lightly. "She's a nurse practitioner. I nabbed a smart one."

"Yeah, and I nabbed the one who's terrified of needles." I poked him. I happened to think needles were fun especially when you had to draw blood. That was one of my favorite parts in school when we got to simulate a blood typing test and learned how to actually draw blood.

"Dude they are some freaky shit." Gerard defended himself. Gerard's dad and uncle laughed at us. Donna came over and made a comment about how cute we were being. We both looked up at them embarrassed at their comments. "We are not cutesy." Gerard shook his head.

"Definitely not." I shook my head to agree with Gee.

"No, you guys are so way passed cutesy it's disgusting." Bob came up between us and swung an arm around us.

"Hey!" I pulled him into a hug. "When did you get here?"

"Yesterday." He rubbed his head. "Now would you mind telling me why you wanted to know the weather of all things?"

I shrugged. "Just curious."

"About the weather." He looked at me dumbfounded.

I nodded my head. "Yup."

"She's never been to Chicago." Gerard added.

"Well we'll have to kidnap you and take you there soon." Bob grinned.

"Like how you kidnapped Logan?" I laughed.

"You guys kidnapped Logan?" Bob looked at Gerard weird.

"Yeah, well I figured he wouldn't want to be stuck in the apartment all day." Gerard shrugged.

"I would have kidnapped her television and leather couch." Bob shook his head in disappointment.

"Then, that, my friend, would be theft." Gerard smirked.

"Not if you leave a ransomed note." I added thoughtfully. They all looked at me like I was an idiot. "What? It's true. Besides the now inanimate couch was once a cow so then you're kidnapping a living thing so yeah it would be kidnapping and then you'd need the ransomed. Because no kidnapping is really a true Law and Order kidnapping without a ransomed note."

Bob grinned up at Gerard. "Yeah, Gerard. I'll kidnap her TV and couch and leave a ransomed note."

"Yeah, but the TV wasn't once a living thing so that would be theft." Gee smirked thinking he had had us.

Bob looked at me. "I've got nothing."

I smirked back at my boyfriend. "Well, the electricity that runs through the television is alive."

"Ah," he shook his finger at me. "But, the TV itself isn't."

"Yeah but," I tried to think up of some bullshit excuse to win the argument. And no matter how lame it was I wanted to actually win this one. "Well the plastic and wires were made of materials that were once were alive. Besides everyone knows that you can't have one without the other. The couch and TV need each other so naturally they have to be kidnapped together."

"Very true Gerard." Bob laughed at my reasoning, but went with it anyway. "What will you lounge when you watch TV?"

"A bean bag chair." Gerard closed his eyes briefly realizing how stupid his response was for an even stupider debate.

"Yeah, but you can't snuggle on a bean bag chair." I nodded agreeing with Bob.

"Yes you can." Gerard said defensively.

"Comfortably?" I grinned knowing that we'd won.

Gerard threw his head back. "I can't believe you guys actually 'proved' in your own demented minds that televisions and couches could be kidnapped."

I grinned and kissed his lips. "Don't be such a sore loser."

"I'm not!" He retorted.

"Now, see that right there proves it." Bob laughed.

"What did?" He groaned.

"The tone in your voice." I smiled ganging up on him with Bob again. "It's okay to lose you know honey."

Gerard threw his hands up in defeat. "I give up."

"Well lovely lady." Matt laughed at us. "Are you ready for some food."

"Ah yes," I didn't hesitate to grab my burger. "I'm starving. Thank you."

I went over and just added everything to the cheeseburger. I also got some potato salad and chicken wings.

"I would've never guessed." His uncle teased me amused at my appetite.

"Uncle Matt this one can just pack it all." Gerard rubbed my stomach gently remembering the tender bruise under my shirt.

I grinned sheepishly as I grabbed a plastic fork and napkins. Gerard grabbed his plate and lead me back over to everyone.

I sat between Gerard's legs again situated ourselves so we could both eat comfortably.

"So what's this about a ransomed note?" Frank asked amused hearing bits and pieces of our heated discussion.

Bob explained our rationality to them. It took them a moment to understand it before they laughed at its randomness. "Hey, that just goes to show how complex Bob and I think."

"Oh is that what you call it?" Mikey laughed.

"Hey we won didn't we?" I shrugged eating my dinner.

"Yeah," Gerard punched his brother defending me. "But, by default."

"He's a sore loser." Bob whispered loudly.

I set my empty plate aside and played with Logan rubbing his belly as he laid between my legs. I leaned against Gerard just relaxing and listening to him talk with everyone feeling content. Olivia came over and plopped herself on my lap as well. With the sun warming me and the humming of everyone's voices, I didn't hesitate to nod off.

I shrugged my shoulders and squealed when someone began to kiss my neck. "Hey." I glared at Gerard.

"You fell asleep on us." He pouted.

"Yeah, well I only got three hours of sleep." I defended myself and stretched my arms letting them hang around Gerard's neck behind me. I smiled as he kissed my tenderly on my neck again. I yawned and smacked my lips a few times waking up. "I'll be right back I'm going to grab a drink."

I carefully shoved off Logan and Olivia and made my way over to the cooler contemplating between a soda or an iced tea.

"So, you're a nurse?" Donna asked making me jumped as she grabbed a wine cooler.

I grabbed a can of iced tea and nodded. "Yup, a lot of hard work, but it was worth it."

"And you two met at an art gallery?" She asked to confirm the little facts that she did know about me.

I nodded. "Yup. Actually, it was my gallery too."

"No kidding?" She looked surprised. "I faintly recall him mentioning something like that. So you are into art then." She smiled.

"I minored in art when I was an undergraduate. That was always the big tug of war of what I wanted to go to school for. As long as I can remember, I was torn between art and medicine. When I was little I always drew or colored and at the same time, I wanted to be a veterinarian. Only as I grew older, I changed from animals to people."

Donna cringed slightly, "And you don't mind the blood and guts."

I laughed. "Nah. I have my dad to thank for that. I have been desensitized from about four years old by watching Law and Order and all those cop shows with him."

She laughed. "You're just as bad as my own sons."

"Yeah, but they make fun of me because I can't deal with suspense and suck at watching the horror movies they love." I smiled bashfully. "I can't deal with watching the actual event, but the after math is easy for me. It's the music in the back ground that always gets to me too." She laughed and told me that she understood.

"So Caitlin, where are you from?" Alicia and Jamia snuck up behind me joining in the conversation curious too to learn more about me.

"Ah here for my life story?" I teased as they waited to listen. "I was born in the Lady of Mercy in the Bronx, lived in Yonkers until about seven, moved to Connecticut and came back to New York after school to work at St. Joseph's. Well, that's the short at sweet version anyway." I laughed giving details to exagerate their request.

We sat in some lawn chairs since this was going to be a long game of 20 questions. "What about your parents, what do they do?"

"Well they both started off as teachers. My dad used to work in Harlem and my mom in the Bronx. Then my mom stayed home when she had me. After we lived in New Fairfield for about seven months my dad was in a car accident leaving him with a TBI."

"What's that?" Donna asked curious taking a sip of her soda.

I was used to that question and knew how to explain it better now, then when I was seven. When I was little, all I knew was that my dad now had a bad memory and he was sick a lot. "It's stands for Traumatic Brain Injury. Basically his brain got really rattled so he has a hard time remember things even now after all the physical therapy he went through. And it enhanced his migraines."

"That's horrible." Donna frowned. I was used to this response too. It was honestly a hard time for my family, not just my dad. We barely lived in this new town and knew no one. My mom had to take care of my dad and me and my younger brothers all under seven years old. How she did it? Not even she knows when I have asked her about it.

"Yeah it was hard, but we somehow got through it." I don't know how we did either. I honestly can't remember what happened during those two years, that were the hardest, if you were to ask me. My mind just suppressed it. Which is probably a good thing. I can remember some good experiences and a few bad ones, but other than that those couple of years in my life are a complete blank.

"Now, my dad doesn't work on the books, but he does odd jobs here and there. My mom, she didn't want to teach anymore. At the time, she loved it and loves those memories, but she went back to school for occupational therapy several years ago and has been enjoying that since." I shrugged there wasn't much to tell without getting into the details of everything in between.

Donna smiled as she asked other questions. More about me, like my likes and dislikes. She did realize that I wasn't some spoiled girl that had everything handed to her. She saw that I worked my ass off to get where I am today. I put myself through school and studied with my free time.

I knew that education was the only way to survive. Not only that, but my parents taught me how it was a privilege to be educated so I made sure I succeed in whatever it was that I would do in my life. The plan was that with whatever major I chose to study; I would go straight through and get at least my masters in that area. And it so happened that nursing was my choice so thus I am a NP instead of just having my BS.

We swapped information back and forth as well as embarrassing stories. I told her about me brothers and the extremely close knit bond that we have. I learned that Donna still worked as a hairdresser, complementing me on how my hair had never been dyed, and Don still worked as a car dealer.

She also shared some of her own hardship stories growing up in New Jersey, especially in Newark. I knew all about Newark and its reputation. In fact, my dad has a friend whose husband was murdered there for no apparent reason. He was just in the right place, but the wrong time.

"Hey, you never came back." He pouted shoving a forkful of the cheesecake I brought down with me in his mouth.

I laughed at him. "Good?"

He shrugged. "Eh, I guess."

"It's his second piece." Frank shouted over ratting him out.

"Ah." I opened my mouth. He rolled his eyes, but fed me some. "Thank you." I grinned and licked my lips. I pouted at Gerard.

He noticed my look and rolled his eyes. "What do you want?"

I smiled innocently. "Can you get me my own slice?" Jamia and Alicia piped up and asked him to bring them some too. He groaned in complaint playfully, but fulfilled our orders.

Don chuckled at his son. "Whipped already Gerard?"

"Hey," Gerard defended himself. "I could say the same or worse for you."

"Touche." He chuckled knowing how true it was. "When you're married or hell just in love, the man always seems to sacrifice his dignity."

"Did you even have dignity to begin with?" Gerard teased his father.

"Once upon a time." Don laughed.

"A long, long time ago." Gerard finished his dad's statement laughing.

"Hey, not that long ago." Don glared offended.

"Sure, sure." Gerard rolled his eyes and made his deliveries. But, he couldn't help, but let his mind wander as he watched me laugh with his mom, on thoughts of love.