(Author's Warning: Like everything else, this takes place in my series, set up by the events in my first story "More Than My Friend" where the big event is that Frankie adopts Mac. If you haven't read that story yet, I strongly suggest you do so now, or else you might get terribly confused.)
"…And since we're just going out for dinner, I won't be gone very long at all." The young woman dutifully explained to her charge. "Okay?"
"Okay, Frankie.' The little boy chirped as his guardian knelt down to give him a quick hug and a kiss on the forehead.
"Bye, pal." Frances "Frankie" Foster bade. "I'll see you soon, okay?"
"Yup! Bye, Frankie!" Mac replied as he returned the squeeze, and once they broke the embrace, the boy added as she took a moment to straighten her simple but classy skirt and blouse combination, "You have a nice night out!"
"I will." She chuckled with a smile, taking care to affectionately tousle his hair before strolling over to the young man waiting patiently in the doorway.
"See ya, Mac!" the young fellow said warmly with a warm smile and a friendly wave.
"Bye Frankie! Bye Rudy!" Mac bid farewell to Frankie and her date once more.
"Bye, pal!" she replied before she exited the house, thus finally ending their goodbye ritual.
"All set?" the young man asked politely.
"All set." She answered with a bit of a blush. Unable to control herself, they had barely descended the porch stairs when she blurted out, "Rudy, I'm so sorry that always takes so long, it's just-"
"Ah, don't worry about it." He objected cheerfully with a chuckle as together they strolled down the front walkway. "I think it's kinda cute to be honest, so nothing will wrong with that, is there?"
"Well…" Frankie's bush grew a little darker before she quickly tried to change the subject. "Yeah…I guess…do, are we still going out to that Thai place we talked about yesterday?"
"Well, sure, if you're still up for that." Her date answered. "Though I did hear that they just opened up that new Indian restaurant near Main Street, by the-"
"Hey, right!" Frankie's eyes brightened a little with excitement. "I saw it for the first time while running errands last week! I've heard that they have great-"
"Frankie! Hey, Frankie!" a frantic cry from behind abruptly interrupted the conversation. As recognition of the familiar voice dawned instantly, the redhead immediately ground to a halt and craned her neck around.
"…Wilt?" she murmured to herself in bewilderment as the unmistakable lanky imaginary friend sprinted off the porch and made a beeline for her. Quickly the towering figment's long legs had crossed the short distance, and in a heartbeat he was at her side.
"I'm sorry," Wilt gasped breathlessly as he held up something in his single hand. "I'm sorry for holding you guys up like this, really! Sorry! I really don't mean to hold you up like this at all, it's just…well, see, you left your-"
"Oh!" Frankie exclaimed in embarrassment as soon as she recognized her cell phone. "Oh…oh, jeez, I…I could've sworn that I had put it in my-"
"No, it's okay!" he quickly tried to allay any possible humiliation on her part as he quickly put on his trademark smile. "Honestly, just a mistake! I'm sorry, I really should've noticed that you had forgotten it sooner, but you had just walked out the door when I walked into the foyer and saw that…"
Before he could bombard her in the usual hail of apologies, Frankie couldn't help herself and suddenly burst out laughing at the irrepressible creature.
"You're unbelievable, you know that?" she chuckled, shaking her head as she motioned for him to bend over.
"Well…I should've been there sooner…" he nevertheless persisted gently as she stood on her toes to give him a quick hug.
"Don't worry about it." She reassured as she broke the embrace and stored her phone away safely. "I'm just glad you managed to catch us before we left for…"
It was about then that she realized, much to her profound confusion, that she and her imaginary friend were the only ones there, or so it seemed at first. After glancing around bewilderedly for a few moments, the dumbfounded redhead finally spotted her date standing several yards further down the front walk for some inexplicable reason.
"…Um…Rudy?" the young woman inquired as she shot him a puzzled look.
"Yeah, Frankie?" he replied with a weak smile.
"…Why are you standing way over there?" she asked, cocking an eyebrow.
"Oh, I…I just…no reason, just…well, this is between you and Wilt, no need for me to be in the middle of…and I just thought that…that…"
Even he knew full well that if his uncontrollable stammering wasn't a painfully obvious signal that something was indeed wrong, the half-baked excuses he tried to cook up and the manner in which he fidgeted nervously were. Once this realization set in, he quickly decided to clam up, as the others continued to just gawk at him silently.
After a few more moments of careful observation, however, especially at the way in which the young man kept shooting Wilt uneasy glances, Frankie managed to figure it out. Despite the fact that she was almost positive she understood what was going on, it was all just so unbelievable it took her quite some time before she managed to inquire, "Oh my God…you're actually afraid of Wilt, aren't you?"
Immediately Rudy winced, signaling that she had hit the nail square on the head. Nevertheless, the embarrassed young man attempted to argue lamely, "N-no, I just…it's just that…th-that…"
"Did I do something wrong?" Wilt asked as his good eye widened a little in sincere horror. "Oh no, I'm sorry! I'm sorry, I didn't mean to-"
"Wilt, no!" Frankie whirled about and denied him firmly before turning back to her date and scolding him like a naughty child. "And don't you dare lie to me, you're not fooling anyone! You are scared of Wilt, aren't you?"
"I…well, I-" he murmured, not quite willing to openly state the humiliating truth. "It's just-"
"Aren't you?" she snapped fiercely.
"I…I-I…I would've call it 'scared', exactly but…you see…" Rudy managed to confess as he broke out into a nervous sweat.
Once he confirmed her suspicions, Frankie just stared at him blankly for several moments, simply unable to fathom this revelation; never in her entire life would she have ever expected anyone to ever say such a thing, yet here they were.
"…Why?" she finally demanded in bafflement so tremendous it actually hurt her. "Oh, you...you just have got to be kidding me!"
"Frankie, I'm sorry." He apologized with a whimper. "It's just-"
"Just what?" she inquired as Wilt meanwhile grimaced and attempted to cut in.
"What'd I do? Whatever it is, I'm sorry, I never would've done it if I knew-"
"See? See that?" Frankie swiftly pointed out. "Look at him! He doesn't even have a clue, but he's already begging for forgiveness! Wilt's quite possibly the nicest, most generous, kindest, most caring imaginary friend you can find anywhere, and I should know! He's been looking after me since I was just little more than a baby, and never has he ever-"
"No, see, that's the thing though!" Rudy tried to explain, earning him a dull stare of total incomprehension from the caretaker.
"…You mean the fact that he helped look after me?" the befuddled redhead asked.
"No, no!" the humiliated young man sputtered. "It's just…well, he's your imaginary friend, and…well, y-you said you adopted h-him, and-"
"Yeah…and?" Frankie growled impatiently as she folded her arms and glowered.
Not sure how to best put it, the flustered fellow tugged on his shirt collar as he mumbled, "Your…y-your really athletic, ten-foot tall imaginary friend…"
"Is that it?" Wilt asked guiltily. "Do tall things bother you at all? I'm sorry, I can squat down a little if that makes you feel better-"
"You're not doing anything." Frankie declared steadfastly before barking at the young man again. "So, what gives? We know, we know, he's my adopted imaginary friend, and that he was first created to play basketball. So what?"
"But…b-but he's your athletic, ten-foot tall imaginary friend who…who really cares about you, and…" Rudy did his best to explain in an incontrollable stammer. "And he's always looking out for you too, and…and he…"
Suddenly he shot Wilt a pleading gaze and began to whine, "Please, just hear me out! I know she's had some really bad experiences with past boyfriends, but I swear, I'm not going to be like any of them! At least, I…I don't want to…seriously, I'm totally fine with the fact that she's raising Mac, it doesn't bug me, and…and I-"
"Did I imply at all that I was suspicious of you, or anything?" the extremely over-apologetic figment exclaimed with dismay. "Oh no, I'm sorry! I'm sorry! What, did I give you any weird looks before or anything? If so, I didn't mean to! I'm sorry, I'm sorry!"
Rudy however only cringed as he continued on. "I'm sorry! Please, don't get upset, I-"
"Hold on!" Frankie suddenly bellowed fiercely as she gestured for silence. Obediently, the others went dead quiet as the irked redhead stomped up to her date.
"So…you're honestly telling us that you're scared Wilt might think you're harming or hurting me…and in return he'll actually get overprotective and…"
She couldn't finish the sentence; it was near impossible for her to wrap her mind around the very notion. After Rudy nodded wordlessly in confirmation and let his head droop shamefully, the thunderstruck young woman found herself gazing incredulously at him for the umpteenth time already that evening.
"Wait…wait…so, let me get this straight." She requested after a pause that seemed to last for almost an eternity.
"All right." He replied softly as Frankie took a few deep breaths to recollect herself.
"Okay…now, you know how I'll stand up for others, no questions asked, right? If someone close to me is in trouble, I do not like standing on the sidelines; is that clear?"
"Just ask my crazy ex-girlfriend." Rudy affirmed with a nod and a thankful smile that appeared for just an instant before he began grimacing anxiously again.
"Okay…" Frankie continued once she was sure he was following her. "Obviously, Mac's no exception. We've had some rough times together, and I've really had to fight to protect him…and I'm not using figurative speech here, I honestly mean that there have literally been specific instances where I actually fought others to keep him safe... like, there was actual physical combat involved."
"I know, you've told me." He answered calmly, finding nothing at all to object to, as peculiar as her words may have sounded to someone else.
"All right…" Frankie sighed. "So, you remember everything I told you about fiasco right before I could officially adopt Mac? That whole mess where Mac tried to run away from the orphanage they were keeping him at, and that imaginary friend that the orphanage used as an improvised guard dog tried to track him down, right?"
"Do I ever!" her date responded with a whistle of sincere heartfelt admiration. "Oh man! I mean, you actually fought that think with your bare hands, and...well, you actually won! That was…well, what else can I say? That was incredible! When you first told me how-"
"Yeah, yeah, we know, we know." She interrupted with a deft gesture for him to be silent. "But do you know what the nuns who run St. Joseph's Orphanage did with that thing about that whole episode? They decided to keep him, only now they always have him kept on a chain to avoid another incident like with Mac. And do you know how I know that? Because I've passed by once or twice while jogging. And you know what that weird excuse for a komodo dragon does every time it sees me?"
The young man just shrugged wordlessly, while Frankie sighed before confessing. "He hides. He remembers quite clearly what happened, but more importantly, he remembers me, and honest to God, every time I come around he seriously starts whimpering and actually tries to get out of my sight as fast as he can. No joke at all, I actually scare him."
"Well…I really don't see why he shouldn't be frightened. Let's be honest, you pretty much showed him whose boss." He answered, as if nothing could possibly be more natural. Unable to believe she was about to say this, Frankie nevertheless took a deep breath and looked him dead in the eye.
"So…let's be clear here…you're honestly telling me that I don't scare you at all…but…Wilt does?"
"I…I…it's just that…you were only trying to protect…and meanwhile….uh…." the young man stammered before finally whimpering as he cringed a little as he swiftly realized how incredibly foolish he sounded with his irrational fear. Finally, he answer with a barely audible whisper, "K-kinda."
Frankie stared blankly at him for nearly a full minute, unable to believe what she was hearing at all. On one hand, it was good to know that her boyfriend wasn't at all unnerved by some of her past adventures; however, the fact that he was still intimidated by Wilt of all living creatures was just too much for her to handle. Finally, she narrowed her eyes and declared flatly, "I put up with a lot of things in my life…and there is no way that this is going to become one of them!"
"I'm sorry, but you understand, don't-WAUGH!" Rudy cried as she grabbed hold of his arm and forcibly dragged him over to her imaginary friend.
"I do understand where you're coming from, and it's absolutely crazy!" she answered snappily. "Wilt's the last imaginary friend…no, the last being in the whole world that anyone should even be slightly nervous about!"
"But-" he tried, and promptly failed to get in any word..
"He's not going to attack you, he's not going to bite you, and he's nothing to be frightened of at all!" she explained as she positioned him before the towering figment. "Now, apologize to him now for even thinking that."
As Frankie stepped back, Wilt just gazed down at the young man, with confusion and the inevitable hint of guilt written all over his features. Despite the fact that he was still uncontrollably intimidated by the height difference alone, Rudy nevertheless took a deep breath, tried to put on a weak, disarming smile, and bravely held out his hand. "I…I'm sorry that I…it's just that…"
To the young man's deep relief, almost immediately Wilt burst out grinning happily and immediately gave him a strong, firm handshake. "Oh, please, don't be! It's okay, don't worry! I'm sorry for everything I did to make you believe that-"
"Nah, it was my bad entirely." Rudy objected as his anxiety began to fade away. "It's just…well, it wasn't like I thought you were a bad guy or anything, Frankie actually goes on and on about everything you do, and…well, if they think their kid's in trouble, then an imaginary friend's gotta do what an imaginary friend's gotta do, right? Not that I wanted to cross the line or anything, I just thought by accident I'd do something dumb and you'd think that….well, see, I had this one friend who had a dog that would…ack, wait, not that I'm saying you're like a-"
"It's okay, I understand." Wilt assured warmly as they continued shaking hands. "I mean, yeah, I totally see why you'd think that. I'm just sorry if I ever accidentally implied that I was going to hurt you or something like that. Sorry, not that I think you're a bad guy or anything, I mean-"
"No, no, I'm sorry." The young man insisted. "I mean, it was dumb of me for trying to hide this in the first place, and…well, let's be honest, this was all my fault for-"
"Please, I should be sorry for-"
"Nuh-uh, it was me who…"
As the two chatted away like two old friends, or at least like two compulsive apologizers who were old friends, Frankie sighed in disbelief and muttered to them under her breath. "…How can you be scared of the guy that you have more in common than you think?"
"…Oh, no way." The young man snorted with laughter as the young woman continued on with her ridiculous tale as they strode up to the walkway, hand-in-hand towards the towering Victorian mansion.
"I wish." Frankie replied with a giggle. "I mean, I guess it's pretty funny now that I look back, but at the time…honestly, I still don't know how Bloo got all that glue on his back, or how he stuck against the wall like that. All I know is that the little guy was trapped there until Mac fetched one of the snow shovels for us to finally pry him off. Ha! He popped right off and flew right across the room, right into the other wall…and it was only when he didn't tumble to the floor that we learned about the glue he had all over his stomach…"
"Heeheehee! Oh, I don't believe it, every time it's always something new with…jeez, and you put up with this everyday too. And I thought social services could be a crazy job; how you deal with this all the time, I can't even imagine."
"You get used to it…at least I hope I will one day…" the redhead joked, and the two shared another chuckle as they ascended the porch steps and arrived at the ornate front doors.
"Well…here we are…" Rudy announced somewhat anxiously, getting a snicker out of the young woman.
"'Here we are?' What do you mean? We weren't even out late at all! C'mon, you can hang around here for a bit." Frankie encouraged as she tugged on his arm. "It'll be fun, everyone's still up. And don't worry if the rabbit gets his underwear in a knot about you hanging out here, it'll be fine-"
"Yeah but…" he interrupted with a nervous grimace as he. "I dunno…I mean, after what happened earlier, maybe it'd be best if-"
"Oh, don't tell me you're worried about Wilt, are you?" she groaned. "Believe me, he's not the kind of guy who hold's a grudge at all. You said you were sorry, and he knows you were sincere about it; seriously there's nothing you need to worry about. It's not like he'll jump you as soon as-"
"I knew I heard you guys out here!" a familiar voice interrupted as the front door suddenly opened. "Just in time, too!"
Frankie turned around and broke out smiling as she laid eyes upon her gangly imaginary friend. Needless to say, she was a sharp contrast to her date, whose heart skipped several beats and while he simultaneously went ashen-faced once he spotted the light glinting off the large knife that the lanky figment was wielding.
In an instant, full-force panic set in. After letting loose with a yelp that was surprisingly shrill for a young man, Rudy tore his hand out of Frankie's grasp and hastily stumbled backwards, all the while speaking in a barely comprehensible sputter.
"I-I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I said I was sorry about earlier! I just…n-nothing bad happened tonight, honest, I didn't-AUGH!"
Before any of the others could react in any way, he had backed right into the railing, and somehow managed to tumble right over it and plummet into the bushes down below. As Frankie and Wilt looked on, both absolutely dumbfounded, a weak voice sounded out in reassurance.
"I…I'm all right…well…no, it's okay, just a couple…no, don't worry, I-I'm all right…sorta…"
After dashing over, Frankie glanced down and winced a little at the sight, while a very shaken Wilt sauntered to her side, already firing off the apologies as he continued to try and keep hold of the tray of fresh brownies balanced between his waist and elbow.
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry! I'm so sorry! Madame Foster decided to make a couple trays, see, and…a-and…I'm sorry, I was just sharing them with everyone else like she asked, honest! I'm sorry! I'm sorry!"
Once she had peeled her eyes away from the mini-catastrophe below them, Frankie sighed, gave the guilt-ridden imaginary friend a quick forgiving pat on the leg and a weak smile before racing down the porch steps.
As he lay face-down in the dirt, the flushed young man groaned softly, "Could one of you guys dial 911 and report a homicide?"
"Excuse me?" Frankie demanded as she grabbed him by the shoulders and tried to hoist him back onto his feet.
He spat out a few leaves and sighed morosely. "Yeah…I'm pretty sure I just murdered my dignity…."
The End