Wind-up toy (NOT MINE)

Chapter 11

Too much, too fast maybe.
I don't know where my destiny's taking me,
so I'll go wherever it leads me.
Too high, too low baby.
I wanna know where my destiny's taking me,
so I'll go to make you believe me.

The next day started early again. It was a good thing that Frankie had been so hyper during Ray's visit the night before. He had fallen asleep quite fast -after expressing how much he liked the big bed and jumping on it. He did wake up a couple of times screaming and shaking, but I managed to pacify him by holding him and whispering to him. He was still sleeping when I got up to prepare breakfast and I only called him when it was almost ready.

Frank seemed to be rather contemplative that morning. Maybe if he stayed like this for some hours it'd be better for what we needed to do. He seldom behaved the same way for long, though.
"Do you know where we're going now?" I asked him during breakfast. "Frankie?" I snapped my fingers and he jumped, taking the spoon he'd abandoned with an unsteady hand. I repeated the question patiently.
"N-no..."
"I need to go look for a job, and you'll have to come with me because Ray can't look after you today. Understand?" I spoke slowly, seeing as he wasn't too attentive.
"Y-yeah. S-so we're g-going out?" he was more interested now.
"Yep."
"R-really?"
"Yes, Frankie. Be prepared because we might be walking a lot."
"Oh! I...I've never b-been out much. Th-they took kids out s-sometimes but only l-let me go a f-few. W-wasn't safe for me." he said while drowning sugared cornflakes into milk. White splatter was all over the table.
"Well, I'm letting you come for sure. I'll take care of you and I know you'll be a good boy, won't you?"
"Y-yes." he went back to the monosyllables.

Not without some fighting, I convinced Frank to let me fix his hair a little bit. It was soft and shiny in spite of its messy state. I straightened it with a comb, his long fringe to one side, while studying his delicate features. He was too entertained with Puppy on his lap -who was apparently biting his finger- to notice.
"W-we have to feed him f-first!" he recalled when I had finished.
"I already gave him some milk with bread." I got an amusing mental image of myself feeding a non existent dog. "We'll buy some dog food today."
"K-kay, g-good."

We left the house at 8. Since the commercial part of town wasn't far away, I considered walking as the most suitable -and economic- option.

As we walked along the sidewalks, I could see the hostile looks some people were throwing us. I figured out what the reason could be: Frankie was certainly too old to be led by the hand like a little kid, so they were probably assuming that he was my boyfriend. Therefore I conjectured some of them were disgusted homophobes and the rest were thinking me a pedophile because, again, no one would say Frank was 18.
"Frankie, remember that if anyone asks you who I am you have to tell them I'm your big brother." I wanted to stay out of trouble.
"Wh-why can't I say w-we're boyfriends?" he surprised me.
"We...we're not..." I choked.
"N-not my brother e-either!" he laughed. For moments he seemed too smart. "I...I like to h-hold hands. It's l-like you were m-my boyfriend." he added, applying pressure on my hand. I was sweating and the day hadn't gotten that hot yet.
"Frankie, I'll explain why at other moment but please, if someone asks, tell them I'm your brother, ok?"
"Y-yeah, kay...y-you're mean." he mumbled.
"Am I?" I fake pouted, making him giggle.
"J-just a little." he put his thumb and index finger together.

Our first stop was a comic shop, for it was the kind of job I had before making myself unemployed. A paper attached to the window read 'salesman needed'. We entered the place and I noticed that it was fairly bigger than the one where I used to work, a real paradise for comic geeks. I kept Frank's hand in mine while approaching the prematurely aged man behind the counter.
"Good morning, what do you need?" he greeted us.
"I'm here about the ad on the window, I need a job. My name's Gerard..."
"Ok, Gerard, fill this in and then I'll ask you some questions." the guy handed me a paper to annotate my information.
"Frankie, I need both hands for a while. Stay right here beside me and please don't touch anything." I instructed him.
"K-kay."