Colder Than Ourselves.

“Yeah… how would you like to meet the lovely woman?” Gerard’s voice rang through my ears and I couldn’t decide if what he proposed was a good idea.

The vibe that I had gotten about this girl seemed that she was a hardcore bitch, something I totally could have gotten at home from one of my sisters. But, I had to admit to myself, I did love Bandit and I knew that she would just love it if I did this.

“Well,” I finally huffed out. “what are your plans for tonight?”

“Ah, nothing, probably just a lovely night at casa de Way.” He chuckled out, reaching for his bag and shoving all of his comics into it.

“Could I meet her tonight?”

He looked at with shock in his eyes and was probably just as unsure about this whole shenanigan as I was, but it just felt right. I helped him close up shop while Bandit ran around picking up her toys, unaware about what was going to happen tonight.

Once we walked out the door, Bandit prepared to say goodbye to me. When I didn’t reach down to hug her, a look of disappointment spread across her little face and I began to feel bad.

“Bandit, baby, you don’t have to hug Bert just yet, he’s coming home with us for supper!” Gerard explained, picking her up off the ground.

“Really?” She squealed in reply, wiggling all about in Gerard’s arms. “Can I show Bert all my toys?”

Gerard chuckled and laughed, beginning the walk home to his humble abode.

When we reached the door, Gerard paused and just stared at it for a few seconds. When Bandit began to wiggle in his arms again, he resurfaced, sighing before he pushed the door open.

“Welcome to my home, Bert.” He mumbled, setting Bandit down and moving over to let me in.

Before I could say anything, a woman’s voice called out from the kitchen, “Gerard? Is that you?”

A groan escaped his mouth and he whispered, “I’m sorry if she’s in a super bitchy mood.”

Right as I was going to reply, a woman came flying out of the kitchen. At first she appeared really angry, but when she saw me, a surprised look came across her face, “Oh, Gerard, you didn’t tell me that we were going to have company.”

Ignoring her, he motioned to her, “Lindsey, this is my new employee, Bert, and Bert, this is Lindsey, my wife.”

She smiled uneasily, not sure what to say to me. It didn’t matter though, because I knew that deep down, I had a few choice words for her.

“I was just about to go get some pizza,” She finally spoke, walking towards the door. “does that sound like a good plan?”

Gerard nodded and sat on the couch, awaiting Lindsey’s departure.

Once she was gone, Gerard let out an easy sigh and Bandit peeked her head around the corner.

“Can I bring my toys out, Daddy?” She asked so sweetly, I knew that he couldn’t refuse. Before he could say a word, she drug out a small bag of toys and unzipped it, pulling out each toy carefully. “Bert, come sit and play with me!”
I laughed and moved to the floor while she introduced me to each toy. Gerard moved down to the floor and played along, laughing when ever Bandit command the toys to do something.

As though time had flown by, Lindsey soon returned home with pizza. She seemed overly happy and told us all to head to the kitchen, Bandit hot on her heels.

While Bandit was teaching me how to set the table, I looked over and saw Lindsey kiss Gerard on the cheek, but he didn’t seem in to it. I felt a pang in my heart but I didn’t know what it was for and I shrugged it off, focusing my attention on to Bandit and getting her in to her high chair.

Once we were all situated, Lindsey handed us all slices and just looked at me, “So, Bert, tell me about yourself. It’s not every day that we have a guest.”

Not sure what she meant, I looked at Gerard.

“Well, Lindsey, Bert is my new employee and—“

“Can Bert not speak for himself?” She cut him off, glaring at him.

“No, but he’s a little nervous, you can’t put him on the spot like that.”

“Well, I’m fucking sorry that I couldn’t be good enough conversation for you two.” She spat, standing up and pushing her plate away.

“Mommy,” Bandit began, beginning to get up.

“Lindsey, just sit down, please.”

“Don’t even start, Gerard!” She screamed, leaving the room.

He followed her, not wanting this conversation to be over.

“Lindsey, don’t take your anger out on that kid.”

“Well, maybe you shouldn’t have brought him around!”

I jumped at her words and looked at Bandit, not sure what to do. Finally, I decided that she needed to get away from this environment and picked her up, preparing to take her out on the porch.

As I opened the door, the last thing I heard was Lindsey screaming.

“You’re only hanging out with a high schooler because you’re disappointed with how your life turned out, well, just because that kids a loser, doesn’t mean you have to be!”

Gerard didn’t say anything and I felt that pang hit my heart again, but instead of being upset, I felt anger. That bitch so did not go there.