When they reached the grocery store, Geno wondered if he could hop back in the car and drive off. But he would never leave his son behind, or even Nicholas, even though he doesn't know the man that well—it is still rude to drive off without either of them.

"Dad, I can see the gears moving in your mind. I promise it will not be too bad." Mikeal interrupted his thoughts of running away.

Geno glanced at all the people entering the store with them, and when they entered, he couldn't help staring at the sheer amount of people inside. Oh god, there are so many people. Geno thought with internal tears.

It had been too long since he had been anywhere near a crowd, and entering the sea of it caused fear to course through him. He took a step back, already wanting to break for the door.

Nicholas tapped his shoulder, feeling and seeing Geno's resistance. Geno glanced at him while Nicholas tried giving him a reassuring smile, "It will be fine. Your son and I will be with you every step of the way."

Mikeal grabbed his father's arm, nodding, "Yeah, there is nothing to worry about; we will be your buffer." Then Mikeal turned towards Nicholas, "Mr. Raven, could you get the shopping cart?"

Nodding, Nicholas walked off to get the cart from them.

Mikeal gripped his father's hand, squeezing it, "If it becomes too much, let us know, and we can leave."

"I'm fine," Geno wanted to add 'I promise' with his sentence, but he knew it would be a lie.

"Okay."

Nicholas returned with the cart, and they started following Mikeal to the aisles they needed. They slightly moved slowly, wanting to take Geno slowly without a rush.

Plus, Mikeal wanted to ensure they got everything he needed so they didn't have to return.

While they shopped, Geno kept glancing around, moving closer to Nicholas, who pushed the cart. The crowd of people made him a tad bit nervous, but he did not complain nor call it quit—his son looked so happy to be out shopping that Geno didn't want to ruin it.

When they reached the dairy, Nicholas stopped the cart nearby, noticing Geno looking giddy. Mikeal didn't question where his teacher stopped as he ran to get milk and yogurt.

Once Mikeal walked off, Nicholas quickly asked, "Have you started looking for a therapist?"

Looking silently at the other shoppers, Geno shook his head, "I am not bothering with any therapist; it is not for me."

"Are you sure?" Nicholas thought back to what the doctor recommended to help Geno improve. "Is it the talking face to face? You can now talk with them on video and phone—some even allow texting."

Geno scrunched his nose, "I am fine. I could never let myself go with a therapist. I tried before, and it never ended well. I don't know; it is hard to speak with them."

"Is it because they are professionals, and you feel that they don't really care, or is it something else?"

"Maybe," Geno shrugged, "I guess knowing that you are paying for their services to sit there and listen to your problems throws me off. I mean, my wife was the one I used to talk to about everything, so I guess it is weird trying a therapist."

Geno never gave these things much thought because he knew he didn't want to deal with a therapist, so he didn't without much thought.

Nicholas hummed, thinking for a second before blurting, "Then, do you want to talk to me? After working with children for so long, I can admit to being a good listener."

Geno finally looked at Nicholas, staring awhile with a tilted head, "Uh, it doesn't sound too bad and is different, but are you sure? I swear, I am a bad talker."

"I don't mind. It is up to you."

Geno thought for almost a minute, "Okay."

Before Nicholas could say anything else, Mikeal ran back with only milk in his hands. "They did not have the yogurt I wanted, and after looking at the other choices, I couldn't choose anything."

Geno patted his son's head, "It is okay; we can go without yogurt for a while, or maybe we could buy it online from another store."

Mikeal pouted but agreed, "I guess yogurt is off the lunch plan today."

"I'm sure everything else you will make will still be good," Nicholas commented. Geno nodded his head, agreeing with Nicholas.

Mikeal hummed in response before they started moving to get the rest of the things on Mikeal's list.

When they returned to Mikeal and Geno's home, they put the groceries up before Mikeal started cooking food. It was no longer lunchtime, moving into dinner, but Mikeal continued with his lunch plans.

Geno and Nicholas sat in the living room, waiting for food as Nicholas pulled his phone out. "Do you want to put in your number?"

Nodding, Geno grabbed Nicholas's phone and typed his number, "I just want you to know that I am a terrible texter; I sleep way too much to remember that I have a phone."

Nicholas waved his hand, "No problem, I am busy most of the time—especially on weekdays. This week was the first week that I had more free time."

Handing the phone back, Geno replied, "If you say so."

"Hmm," Nicholas saved Geno's contact and sent a text message so he could have his number. "I sent you a text so you would know it's me."

"Okay," Geno looked around before noticing that he might have left his phone in his room, "I will check later."

Noticing the absent phone, Nicholas silently chuckled before saying, "Well, here to us getting to know each other better."

"Here's to hoping I don't piss you off; I don't want to take Mikeal to another school." Geno joked but silently was serious.

"If you did manage to piss me off, your son will be saved from my wrath," Nicholas replied.

"Ah, that's good."

"But, I swear you cannot piss me off unless you say something completely out of pocket; you are good."

"Then, let's hope I don't make the impossible happen."

Nicholas peered at Geno, "Are you psyching yourself out?"

"No," Geno hesitantly answered.

Nicholas shook his head, "Stop worrying, everything will be fine. We can talk about a show or something easy if you are worried."

"That I can do." Geno sighed relievedly. It had been so long since he talked with someone other than his son, so he couldn't help worrying about having someone new in his life. Hopefully, he doesn't screw this up.