Threaded Mode | Linear Mode

Thaddeus Duke · (08-19-2020)

On Board Galileo II || New York City

The flight was short, but took forever if that makes sense. The anxiety I feel has my heart racing and my head sweating. Lizzy has said a number of things but I’m so concerned about Frankie that I haven’t really been paying attention. In one ear, out the other. I’m sure she’s spent the trip trying to reassure me that he’ll be fine and he’ll overcome this rather catastrophic set back in his very short life.

Will he?

Not everyone does. I don’t know the statistics but I’m rather certain most don’t overcome this type of thing. I’m not a believer in gods or phantom ghosts that hang in the sky watching over our every moves but in this case, I pray she’s right. He has an uphill battle ahead to be sure, I just hope I can fill the voids- now ever present in his life- enough that he doesn’t become a statistic too.

”I’m taking it down, sir,” the pilot says as he descends upon the rooftop of a police precinct a block or so away from Elaine Cooper’s office.

”Shut it down and grab a coffee or something,” I say to him through my headset. ”We’ll be awhile.”

Elaine originally was going to meet us here, but had to change plans while we were in flight. I asked her why, but she never answered. Instead, we have to hoof it the rest of the way. That’s not really an issue, but it only increases my anxiety, and my nervousness that something will go wrong and I will neither see Frankie nor will I get to take him home where he’ll feel safe and loved. Or at least, more safe, and more loved.

I’m so singularly focused on getting to Frankie that I damn near got Liz and I nailed by a speeding taxi twice in only a block. As we round the corner and reach the building where Elaine’s office is, it occurs to me that maybe I’m not equipped to meet Frankie just now. What if I do get to see him and I lose my composure? I’m supposed to be strong for him so he doesn’t have to be. I’m not strong right now. Not even a little bit. His world has been completely destroyed and somehow I have to summon the courage and the wisdom to pick up all of his shattered pieces and hold him together.

Liz and I enter the building and climb a small staircase but as we reach the landing, I’m frozen in place and start to hyperventilate.

”Baby what’s wrong?” she asks, understandably a bit freaked out that I’m shaking uncontrollably. She hugs me tight and forces me to sit on the floor. It takes a little while, but I stop hyperventilating and I do calm down.

”What brought that on?”

”Do you have any water in your purse?” It’s a dumb question, admittedly. This woman somehow has everything in her purse. If I asked for a ten foot ladder, somehow she’d have that in there as well.

She takes out a bottle of water and hands it to me. I chug, then take a deep breath.

”I started worrying that maybe I might break down if I get to see him. I want him to do what comes naturally. If he wants to cry he can cry all he wants. If I cry, he’ll cry too but because he’s concerned about me.”

”You know what?” she says as she cradles my head. ”No matter what happens, somehow I think you were meant to be exactly where you are now. You were meant to save this boy from a life long struggle with hardship.”

”I don’t feel strong enough to be a rock for him,” I tell her. ”Frankie disarms me too easily. I’m going to melt and I don’t want him getting emotional because I am.”

”Miss Cooper said he only broke his silence yesterday,” she reminds me. ”It’s a good chance that he needs to cry. So, no matter why he starts to let it out baby, its only because he feels safe with you.”

”I just don’t want him to hurt,” I say, wiping a single tear from my eye and sniffling a little.

”You can’t avoid that and neither can he.”

She helps me up to my feet. After brushing off a little floor dust from my backside, I gently grab her beautiful face and lay one on her.

”What was that for?” she asks with a rather beautiful smile.

”I’m here to be a rock for Frankie, someone for him to lean on and here you are… being mine.”

”I love you,” she replies. ”I love that you’re not afraid to show your emotion. I love that you love Frankie the way you do. You have an amazing heart and a certain gift for making people love you, Thaddeus.

“If he cries, good. If you cry with him, good.”

”Why’s that good?” I ask, cracking a smile for the first time in hours.

”He looks up to you. Nine year olds are funny about emotions. If you’re all wrapped up in yours while he’s letting his out, he’s being reassured that its okay to let it out. If his best buddy is emotional, he knows he’s okay.

“Male masculinity is tricky,” she laughs.

”It’s not about masculinity,” I laugh back. ”I just want to do and be the right thing.”

”Oh honey,” she says with a pitiful look on her face. ”You’re 21 years old about to start raising a 9 year old if all goes well… You’re gonna be wrong a lot.”

”That’s so reassuring,” I say sarcastically as she laughs a bit.

”Let’s go see Elaine,” she says as we walk hand in hand to the elevator.

My anxiety has started to subside as the elevator dings passed each floor. A certain calmness, readiness, sets in. All of it, because of Elizabeth. I look at her as she watches the floor numbers go by, 7… 8… 9… It occurs to me that I have to do whatever it takes to never let this woman slip away from me. I’m not a perfect person, no one is and if anyone claims they are, they’re absurdly delusional. No matter how we met and despite the fact she’s married to my mothers biological father, her and I are as close to a perfect match as I have ever seen. Any time I doubt myself, she’s right there to update my programming, so to speak, and reinstall my confidence in myself and the things I do.

The elevator slows to a stop and the door opens. I take a deep breath and hand in hand, we exit into the hallway. We round a corner and I can see Frankie at the end of the hallway sitting with a man, woman, and another child. I can only assume that’s his foster family.

Frankie sits quietly, a few chairs away from the family beneath his Iron Man mask.

”Frankie,” I call out and he looks in my direction. He hops off his chair and runs toward me. As he runs, he rips off his mask and drops it.

”Thaddeus!” he cries out. I fall to my knees and he nearly tackles me with the tightest hug around my neck. I hold him tight and kiss his cheek. I realize I might be holding him too tightly. He’s a small boy, smaller than most 9 year olds. I place my hand on top of his head.

”You came!” he yells out as he starts to cry.

”Anything for you, kiddo. Didn’t I tell you that?” Of course I start to cry too.

He says nothing, only nods.

”My mommy’s dead,” he whispers in my ear.

”I know buddy, I’m so sorry,” I reply to him softly as I rub the back of his head gently.

”Why are you crying?” he asks, still not loosening his tight hug.

”I’m just happy to see you,” I reply after a sniffle. ”Happy that you’re okay.”

”Mr. Duke,” the foster father interrupts our reunion. ”Jesse Davis, it’s nice to meet you. Francis...”

”Frankie,” I correct him.

”Frankie hasn’t stopped talking about you since we told him you were coming.”

I look up at him, smiling on the inside. ”Just call me Thaddeus,” I tell him, holding out my hand which he accepts.

”My wife and I want to thank you for stepping up,” he says.

”I’d do literally anything for him,” I inform him.

”Mr. Duke, your...” Elaine darts her head toward Liz.

”Girlfriend,” Liz says, filling in the blank.

”She’s filled out the appropriate paperwork, it just needs your signature, sir.”

”Okay kiddo, you have to let me go for a minute so I can do some boring adult stuff.”

Frankie says nothing, only shakes his head, denying my request.

”You want to come with me while I do it?” I ask him.

He nods slowly.

”Hop on,” I tell him. Frankie finally releases his death grip and jumps up on my shoulders with his legs dangling over my chest. ”You ready?”

”Yeah.”

I stand up with Frankie on my shoulders. He clasps his hands over the top of my head and lays his head down on top of them. We walk over to the reception area and Liz cuts off my path.

”I didn’t know what to put for your birth date,” she whispers in my ear before disguising it as a kiss on the cheek. She’s fully aware of my age ‘discrepancy,’ for lack of a better term. However, I don’t believe I ever told her the date I use for legal purposes. For lthat, I use December 25, 1998 which lines up with my age as a human being rather than my ‘real world’ birth date of 2013.

I fill in the date and sign the form.

”And now you need to observe me with him, right?” I ask Elaine.

She laughs lightly as if I said something funny. ”Boo, I think we’ve all seen enough.”

If I look confused, its because I am.

”It’s obvious he feels safe with you. He loves you, you love him, that’s all evident honey,” she states. ”Take that boy home.”

I’m relieved. All of my worry and nervousness and anxiety, gone in a statement that took just a few seconds.

”You ready to go home, Frankie?” I ask of the small, wonderful, sweet boy using the top of my head as a pillow.

”Baby he’s asleep,” Liz replies.

”What? Really?”

”Honey, he been asleep since you walked over here.”

”He needs it,” Jesse Davis chimes in. ”He hasn’t been sleeping.”

This really is a horrible thing for anyone to go through, let alone a nine year old boy. I made a decision awhile back to pay off Keith Rickle’s debt to Alister Henry so that Frankie could lead a nice quiet, stress free childhood. Alister wanted Keith to meet his end. I chose a different course and that course has directly lead to where we are now. Frankie’s mother lies in a morgue cooler and Keith Rickle sits behind bars. Francis Robert Rickle’s life has been forever shattered. One way or another, I am responsible for this. Had I done what Alister wanted, Frankie would at least still have his mother. Instead, he’s orphaned. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not blaming myself for what Keith chose to do or why he chose to do it. I don’t feel guilt for that, nor I should I. The blame lies solely at the feet of Keith Rickle and Keith alone. I tried to give him a way out and a hand up. I feel guilt because this little boy has the hardest of roads ahead.

”It says here your residence is in Connecticut?” Elaine questions as I try but fail to look up at Frankie.

”Is that a problem?” I ask her, knowing full well she knew that earlier today when she dialed a Connecticut area code to reach me.

”No,” she answers. Damn her for getting my anxiety going again for a second. ”It would be, normally,” she continues. ”But these are extraordinary circumstances. We will though, need to stop in for inspections from time to time. Of course, just until the legal guardianship is granted to you by the courts.”

”Of course,” I reply emphatically. ”Give me a call, I’ll send my chopper for you if it’ll make it easier on everybody.” I offer things like this out of the goodness of my heart but I always fear people just think I’m boasting. Really, I just want peoples lives to be easier. These people took care of Frankie and I only want to return the favor.

”Frankie,” I say, nudging the young boy to wake him up.

”I don’t want to wake up,” he says in a sleepy voice.

”Frankie baby, its time for you to go to your new home,” Elaine informs him.

”Good,” he replies, still half asleep. ”Thank you Mr. and Mrs. Davis,” he says, slightly more alert.

”You ever rode in a helicopter?” I ask him. All at once he’s awake and alert. He climbs off my shoulders to the floor like the little monkey that he is.

”No!” he replies excitedly as we make our way back down the hallway.

”Want to?” I ask him sincerely. Not everyone wants to fly. It scares a lot of people. If he’s scared, I’ll get a car and drive back.

”Heck yeah!” he says excitedly as he grabs my hand. ”Can I help fly?”

I laugh lightly before I lean down and kiss the top of his head and pull him into a light hug.

”I’ll see what I can do,” I answer him.

The walk back to the police precinct and the awaiting chopper is uneventful and I didn’t once nearly get any of us killed. Baby steps. When we reach the top, the pilot sits on the edge of the chopper door eating a slice of pizza.

”You must be Frankie,” he says warmly.

”Yes sir,” the boy replies shyly.

”I heard you’re gonna fly us home.”

A big smile creases Frankie’s lips.

”You ever flown a helicopter before?”

”No sir,” Frankie answers.

”Well,” he says as he hops off the edge of the chopper. ”Captain Frankie, come aboard let’s earn you your wings!”

Frankie looks at me with biggest shit eating grin I’ve seen on him. Excitedly, he approaches the pilot. Tony lifts Frankie into the helicopter and climbs aboard himself. I help Liz inside and step up and in. The doors are closed and everyone straps in and puts on their headsets. The pilot had most of the startup sequence completed before we arrived so all Frankie has to do is hit a switch.

”See that button there?” the pilot asks of Frankie.

He looks up at him. ”The one that says start?”

”Push it.”

Frankie pushes down the button and the engine starts up and the rotors start turning. The young boy can barely contain his excitement, grinning from ear to ear. He watches the rotor blades turn by, slowly at first, but faster and faster until they’re a blur. Within a minute or so, the skis are off the roof of the police precinct as we ascend into the New York City sky.

”Wow!” Frankie exclaims. ”People look like ants,” he says, looking at the people on the ground. Within a few seconds, we’re buzzing over the New York skyline and finally headed home.

Threaded Mode \| Linear Mode Operation Hope - Part 2: RP #2
Author	Message