Learning to Fall

I pulled up to Gerard’s driveway, with a wide grin on my face as I watched Sophia bouncing around in the seat next to me.

“We’re heeere!” Sophia chanted, instantly unbuckling her seatbelt and hopping out of the car.

“Not so fast, sweetie pie,” I said to her, grasping my fingers around hers as we walked up the perfectly landscaped pathway to Gerard’s front door. I pressed the doorbell and watched in content as she squealed excitedly. This whole surprise was her idea, and she even did some research during the week finding out where Ella would like to go if she was given the opportunity. And not only that, I’d felt absolutely terrible about making Gerard run out on his daughter’s birthday party to come after me, so this little outing today was my special gift to Gerard, for being such a wonderful friend.

With that in mind, my excitement for today grew as the sound of little feet racing toward the door could be heard, followed by the sound of Gerard yelling something in the background. The front door was pulled open seconds later, as a very excited looking Ella stood there looking just as darling as ever.

“Hi Sophia! Hi Frankie!” Ella greeted us. The two girls were instantly wrapped in a big hug, as Gerard made his way out toward us, with Logan perched on his hip.

“Fank!” Logan instantly cried out, pointing at me.

“Hey Logan!” I said to him, giving him a great big smile. “Hi Gerard,” I said, my tone somewhat fading as my heart rate picked up slightly.

“Heyyy Frankie,” Gerard greeted me with a smile. Logan reached his arms out to me, and as if on instinct I reached over and grabbed him from Gerard. He began to play with my lip ring, glancing at it curiously as he smiled at me with his big hazel eyes.

I gave Logan a kiss on his cheek, and noticed that Gerard was giving me a pouty look.

“What, do you want a kiss too, Gee?”

He nodded in repsonse. Giggling, I leaned over and kissed his cheek as well, making sure to linger there for a moment before I pulled away.

“That better?”

“Much,” he replied, smiling at me before noticing that the girls were looking at us impatiently.

“Are you ready for your surprise, Ella?”

“Yes!” She exclaimed. She looked so excited, she was practically beaming.

“Me get surprise, Fank?” Logan asked sweetly, his eyes wide with wonder.

“Of course, Logan,” I responded, kissing his cheek once more before setting him down. “Are you guys ready to go?”

“Almost,” he said to me, before turning to Logan and Ella. “Little dudes, grab your bags so we can rock and roll!”

“Okay!” Ella called out, before taking her brother by the hand and disappearing inside. The two emerged a short while later, sporting Barbie and Spiderman backpacks. Ella quickly re-attached her hand to Sophia’s, and Logan began to toddle cutely around the two girls.

“We’re off!” Gerard exclaimed, suddenly appearing beside me. “Aww, look at them,” he said, wearing a smile that I’m sure matched my own as we watched how excited the kids all looked.

“They are by far the coolest kids in the world,” I said to Gerard, who nodded eagerly.

“Indeed,” he agreed, pulling his keys out of his pocket. “Want to take my car, Frank?

“Um, no actually. I’ve got the Navigator today, so I’ll drive,” I replied, to which Gerard nodded. “Plus, it’ll ruin the surprise if I tell you where we’re going!”

“Okay great then,” Gerard said, taking a glance at my girlfriend’s expensively big SUV. “Let me just get Logan’s seat, and then we can head out!”

“Okay,” I said with a smile, returning back to the kids. “Come on loves, let’s go!”

As Gerard strapped Logan into his seat, I helped the girls get situated in next to him.

“Frankie, where are we going, anyway?” Ella asked, which made Sophia and I chuckle.

“It’s not a surprise if I tell you, sweetie!” I answered her, setting her Barbie bag next to Sophia’s Spongebob bag.

“Pleaaase, Frankie?” Ella pouted, batting her eyelashes at me. “I reaaaally want to know!”

“I promise we’ll be there soon,” I told her, giving her a smile.

“You're going to love it, El!” Sophia piped up, squeezing her friend’s hand. I gave each of the kids a high five before settling myself in the driver’s seat, glancing over at Gerard who was already seated.

“Sorry, Ella is not one for patience,” he said, smiling apologetically at me. “But you can tell me where we are going, right?”

“Nope!” I replied, starting the luxurious SUV up and headed down the driveway.

“Pleaseeeee,” Gerard pouted the exact same way his daughter had done just minutes ago. I simply shook my head and grinned widely at him, as our journey officially began.

“Awww man,” Gerard sighed, pouting in his seat. He stuck his lower lip out and stared at me, to which I laughed.

“Aww, cheer up Gee. Just sit tight, we'll be there soon,” I told him, turning his frown into a smile with my fingers.

“Yes, sir!”

------

"We are here!" I called out cheerfully, immediately noticing everyone's head snap up at once.

"Frankie... is this where I think we are?" Gerard asked, his eyes wide once his surroundings became familiar to him. I nodded, immediately noticing how wide his smile had become.

"Oh wow!" Gerard exclaimed, obviously in awe of where our little daytrip would be taking place.

"Where are we?!" Ella squealed from the back seat, which made Sophia giggle. She knew exactly where we were.

"Oh gosh I am so excited," Gerard squealed, just as I pulled in to a parking spot.

"Me too," I agreed, as we both hurried to get out of the car so we could help unload the kids and everything else we would need to begin our big day. I opened Sophia's door for her as she bounced out excitedly and gave me a smile, but received a different reaction from Ella.

"Where are we?" She asked once more, giving a confused look around the crowded parking lot full of families.

"El, do you remember that day at school when I asked if you could go anywhere, where would you want to go?" Sophia asked Ella, who put her hand under her chin thoughtfully. Her eyes suddenly lit up, and her eyes widened.

"We're at Hannah Montana!?!''

I nearly choked, as Gerard simply burst out in laugher. ''Oh god, I would hope not,'' he said, as he unbuckled Logan from his car seat.

I gave a sweet smile, and shook my head. ''No honey, I'm sorry; why don't you try guessing again.''

''May I have a hint?'' She asked, putting her hands on her hips, cocking her head to the side.

“Umm…” I thought, scanning my surroundings for anything that could give our location away. My eyes landed on a big sign a few feet away from us, and I instantly knelt down next to her and pointed at it. “Now guess.”

She smiled and did as she was told. Seconds later, her eyes lit up and two small words were shrieked into the air around us.

“THE ZOO!!!” She exclaimed, jumping around excitedly, before hugging both of my legs. “Yay!”

''I think she's excited,'' I spoke to Gerard, who had come around to meet us now that Logan was out of his seat, and holding on to Gerard's hand.

Gerard smiled. “Just a little,” he replied, before kneeling down next to Logan. “You heard that Logi? We’re going to the zoo!”

“Zoo!” Logan repeated, giggling as Gerard kissed his cheek. “Do you want to be a big boy and walk today, buddy? No stoller?”

Logan nodded. “Yes daddy. Me big,” he stated proudly, showing off all of his baby teeth as he grinned up at us.

“Oh wow, you hear that Frank? Logan's big!” Gerard exclaimed, picking Logan up and swinging him in the air, causing the toddler to shriek uncontrollably.

“He sure is!” I agreed, turning my attention back to the girls, who were now dancing around the car.

“We're going to the zoo, zoo, zoo!” Ella sang, giggling as she and Sophia pranced around some more. “How about you, you, you!”

Smiling at them, I felt something tugging on my leg, and looked down to see Logan smiling up at me.

“Let’s go, Fank,” he said, reaching up to grab a hold of my hand.

“Aww,” I heard Gerard say, and noticed that he had walked up next to us. We both grabbed a hold of one of Logan’s hands, who grinned up at each of us before echoing his sister’s song from earlier.

“You ladies ready to go?” I called out to them, who suddenly stopped dancing and headed over to us.

“Yes Frankie, let’s go!” Ella exclaimed, grabbing a hold of Sophia’s hand as the two lead the way in front of us. I couldn’t help but smile, today was already shaping up to be a great day.

We walked up to the ticket counter together, and joined the line of families already waiting their turn in line. Gerard nudged me, and smiled.

“This is really, really cool of you, Frank. I've been meaning to take the kids to the zoo for ages,” he admitted, giving a sigh at the end. “That’s why Ella couldn’t figure out where we are, neither of the kids have ever been here.”

“Sophia’s never been either,” I said, nodding in agreement. “And I haven't been back since I was a kid. Sophia somehow figured out that Ella wanted to come here and once she mentioned it, I knew it was about time. Thanks so much for coming with us today,” I said, giving Gerard a grateful smile, which he graciously returned.

“Our pleasure!” He said, glancing down at Logan who was grinning toothily at Gerard, then at me.

It was finally our turn then, so I let go of Logan’s hand and stepped up to the ticket counter. “2 adult tickets and 3 kids, please,” I said to the guy at the window.

“That’ll be $40, sir,” the guy replied, and I instantly reached in to my wallet and retrieved two $20 bills. Gerard put his hand out, and handed me a $20 of his own.

“Our part,” he grinned, to which I smiled wider.

“No Gee,” I told him, pushing his money away. “This is my gift to all of you, it’s not just a treat for Ella.”

“Are you sure?” He asked, biting his lip. I nodded.

“Definitely. My treat,” I repeated, and watched him smile widely at me.

“Thanks, man!” He said excitedly, leading the kids off toward the main gate that would lead us in to the zoo. I paid the man and got our tickets, just in time for Gerard to sneak up and hug me from behind. “Really, thanks so much Frank. This is so awesome of you,” he said, to which I simply patted his arms that were still around my waist and smiled.

“You’re welcome Gee,” I replied, instantly grinning.

“Ella and Logan, say thank you,” Gerard said to the kids once he’d let go, to which the kids turned their attention to me, and did as their father had instructed them to.

“Thank you so much for bringing us here, daddy,” Sophia chimed in, hugging me tightly.

“Of course, sweetie,” I told her, kissing her cheek. She gave me a smile before skipping off to Ella once again. I then turned my attention to Logan, who was tugging on my hand expectantly.

“Come on Fank, let’s go,” he instructed, to which I nodded. We all walked through the main gate and I glanced at Gerard, who was surveying the big map of the zoo in front of us.

“Where shall we go first?” I asked once I stepped up next to Gerard, who turned to me and smiled.

“That’s a good question,” Gerard said, then repeated my previous question as he turned to the girls. “Where would you lovely ladies like to go first?”

As he awaited the girls’ response to his answer, I felt that familiar tugging at my leg and couldn’t help but smile as he held his little arms up toward me.

“Fank Fank!” Logan shrieked, just as I knelt down beside him.

“Where would you like to go, buddy?” I asked the toddler, who immediately jumped into my arms.

“Monkey!” Logan exclaimed, grinning up at me.

“You’re a monkey,” Gerard mused, kneeling down beside us as well. He gave Logan a kiss on the cheek, which immediately made me pout.

“Heeey,” I whined, mimicking Gerard’s actions from this morning when I had given Logan a kiss on his cheek.

“Aww Frankie, would you like one too?” Gerard laughed, to which I simply nodded, eyeing Gerard expectantly.

Just as he was about to lean in to grant me my wish, we were interrupted by the familiar calling of “Daddy” by two very impatient little girls, who were eyeing us rather curiously.

“Can we go already?” Ella requested, giving us an unamused look.

“Yeah daddy, let’s go!” Sophia repeated her friend, tugging on my hand.

“Of course sweetie, let’s go,” I replied, as Gerard stood up and helped me to my feet.

“How about I give you a rain check on that kiss?” Gerard suggested, which made me grin.

“I'll hold you to it,” I agreed, earning a grin from Gerard in return. He linked hands with Ella, who was already holding on to my little girl's hand. With Logan attached to my hip, I reached for hers as well, and the five of us were ready to embark on our first adventure for the day.