1 day left

      When the pink light of dawn began peeking through the curtains the next morning Sebastian wasn't lying down next to me anymore. I stretched and smiled to the emptiness. Then heard some noises from the other side of the door.

      "Do you think she's awake, Marcus? I want to see her. Let's wake her up?"

      "Ow, Lilly, I do want to meet the girl too, we have just a few minutes!"

      "No way!"- This time I recognized the voice speaking. "Leave her alone! go go go!"

(Lilly)
      "Stop pushing us! It's not our fault we are dying to see the new girlfriend you brought home- may I add- without our agreement." 

      Silence.

(Sebastian laughing)
      "Well she's not my girlfriend so your phrase doesn't make any sense! I'm so sorry!"

(Lilly)
      "Silly boy... Of course there's something going on between you two. Don't you think, my love? She's the first girl I see coming in with him after Anna."

(Marcus)
      "Which Anna? The blonde one?"

(Lilly)
      "No, the brunette."

(Sebastian)
      "Guys I hate you so much"

(Marcus)
      "I liked the brunette. The blonde wasn't even blonde."

(Lilly)
      "Agreed. There is the other blonde, too, the nice one, Meredith."

(Sebastian)
      "Can you please go to the kitchen? I will wake her up so you stop talking."

(Lilly)
      "Excellent!"

      Footsteps, and a little knock on the door.

      Wait a minute I need some time to recover what I just heard.

       Sebastian dated Anna, a fake blondie, and a Meredith?!?!

      Nice, Angelina, and you were there living with Garbage Greggy.

      "Hey there," His soft voice filled the room. "There are some people excited to meet you... are you all right?"

      I think he saw my sickened expression.

      "No, I'm fine" I lied.

      He sat on the edge of the bed. "Want to call your mother?"

    I shook my head. "I am excited to meet your parents, Sebastian."

      And I really was. His past, as well as mine, was something to put behind. Lily and Marcus were normal people, and they were crazy for their son. 

•••

      She screamed the minute I stepped in: "Hello, Angelina!! It's a pleasure to meet you!"

      Empathy.

      "No exaggerations, my love!" Marcus laughed. "Make yourself at home, Angelina." He winked, getting up to take my hand. He was tall very tall and his belly was big, like 3 times wider than his legs, which were covered by a thin and very plain pants. Marcus was that kind of lollipop people.

Differently from Lilly. She had a lot of jewelry around her plump neck and hands. Her nose was small for her big face; while her husband was all bony.

      I introduced myself politely, and from the corner of my eyes I saw Sebastian sitting onto the counter with his cereal. He waited until I was done with the hands shaking, then tapped on the stone by his side, calling me. I glanced at Lilly and Marcus to be sure I could join him there. My mother would never allow me to eat on the counter.

      "He doesn't know how to use chairs, the poor boy." Lilly winked, then turned to Marcus, who was already behind the newspaper. "My love? Are you ready? We ought to open the shop early today!... Sebastian must have said, hu, Angelina, that we run a sweet shop?" She said, walking outside.

      She wasn't actually waiting for my answer so I went to the counter. Sebastian helped me up.

      "My love?"

      "Yes yes yes" Marcus put the newspaper back on the table- it hit Lilly's glass of juice and it poured over everything, turning the towel orange. "Ops... They can clean it later?"

      "Marcus Louise Donald!"

      "Yes, they will clean, I swear."

      "I can't believe you-"

      "I love you, my love!" Marcus took the wallet and waved a quick goodbye. As soon the door closed ("take care, kids!")- we exchanged a look.

   "They are awesome." I said.

      "Yeah, it's been one year already."

      "One year of..."

      "Adoption."

      "Well, you're lucky. I- my father was a policeman, and he was my hero... and once I received the news that he died in a car crash. With my uncle."

      Sebastian said nothing. I felt his embrace around me. "Our parents are taking care of each other."

      I turned my face to him, and he gently cleaned a tear that was willing to form under my eye. Then, very slowly, we leaned in for a kiss.

      BEEEEEEIN!

      I hopped in place and had to swallow a scream.

      "Fuck! it's the door bell." He jumped from the counter. I followed right behind.

A small figure was standing by the door. She was an old lady much smaller than me; had white hair and skin as white as Snow White. She was carrying a violin in one hand and a package in the other.

      Sebastian nervously faked a smiled. "Mrs Clay! What an honor!"

       He rapidly checked both sides of the hall, as though looking for someone else.

      "Sebastian dear!" The lady showed her denture. "Look at what I brought you!"

      "What's this, Mrs Clay?"

      "An elf."

      "An elf?"

      "Yes." She smiled proudly.

      "Okay, then, let's see this elf." He was clearly holding a laugh. "Oh- what a handsome elf!"

       It was a little statue of an elf made of ceramic. And it was ugly as hell.

      "You liked it, Sebastian dear? I made it myself."

      "You're getting pretty good on these, Mrs Clay. Someday we can sell them for good prices."

      To bank your visit to the hospice.

      "Oh, no! You know I don't need money! He he he!" She waved.

      "See you!" Sebastian waved back. And pushed me inside and closed the door well closed. We looked at each other, and then to the elf.

      "HAHAHAHAH!"

      We laughed till our lungs couldn't laugh any longer and the muscles of my cheeks and belly started to hurt.

      "Try to live one year near this lunatic." He put the statue against the light. "Another one to the collection.."

      "Is there more? Where are the others?"

      "Marcus is afraid of them so we gave it all to Mrs Agatha."

      "I can see why Marcus is afraid- this one looks like The Hunchback of Notre Dame."

      "Thanks God they are only 5 inches tall."

      And then I thought about something. I stole the elf from his hands and I myself put it against the light. "And if we transform it into a real elf?"

      "Don't you dare." He rapidly stole it back.

      "I can control it! Please! I've never seen an elf before!"

      "That's a good thing, I've never seen an unicorn neither."

       I threw myself on him and grabbed the elf. He tried to pull back but I forced my fist closed. I began thinking about how I would love if the elf was alive- how he would be a little elf running around the house and playing with us- how he would be named-

     "My Godness."

      I opened my eyes- and saw that I was now holding a little... not so little...

beast.

      "Ugh!" I dropped in disgust. The creature fell on its feet and looked up at us. He was about the size of a garden dwarf, the big type one. His face was pure nose- a rounded nose, full of black spots, and he had two long ears like Dobby's (duh Harry Potter). But to be honest, the thing that called our attention was the beard. I had to wide my eyes to that beard because it was the biggest beard I had ever seen- wrapped on the floor like a black plumage and twirled around his coat. We couldn't even see if the elf was naked or not.

      Sebastian twisted his piercing. "Hell, that's a monster!"

      The monster- I mean the elf- let out a loud squeal and ran to under the table.

      "He's offended!" I scoffed. "Come back, Jorge!"

      "JORGE?"

       I crawled to where my elf was. "Come here with momma!"

      "I can't believe you named this thing Jorge!"

       Jorge ran from under the table. He jumped across the sofa, beard sliding after him wherever he passed. Sebastian impulsed himself forward to save a Chinese vase from sticking to the ground.

      "GET THIS ELF!"

     "Ouch!!" I screamed as Jorge threw a pillow right on my face. I got the pillow and threw back, but it hit Sebastian instead. The elf squealed with happiness. Sebastian got the pillow and Jorge was hit.

      He flew to the kitchen. We went after him, screaming and tossing things over our heads. "Shit shit shit..." - Jorge climbed onto the counter, pushing dishes and food out of the way; everywhere he passed a new thing was destroyed and I was almost there when he began throwing chocolate bars to delay us.

"Come here so I can put this chocolate somewhere else in you..."

"Sebastian!"

The flying objects suddenly stopped. We looked to where we've seen Jorge last and all we saw was the rest of beard entering into the cupboard, under the sink. It had no way out now. I crouched down.

      "Be careful," Sebastian said in my ear. "no man that has gone in there has ever come back alive."

      I laughed. "Good, I'm a woman."

      It was pretty dark under the sink. Maybe because my body was half inside and half outside so there was no space for the light to pass.

      "Jorge?"

      I heard Sebastian chucking from behind, and my cheeks got flushed. "What are you laughing at?" I said to the darkness.

      "Your butt is assaulting me, Angelina Firenze."

      "What??"

      He grabbed my waist and pulled me back on his lap, then started kissing the back of my neck. It felt
unexpectedly...

...good

      "Sebastiaan..." I tried to move away. "there's still an elf destroying... your house..." I opened my eyes slightly just to see a piece of beard leaving the cupboard.

      "Sebastian!" I pushed myself forward for real now- to get the beard before it escaped- but I was too late. Again.

      He crouched in four by my side.

      "Where is it?"

      "GONE!"

      "Really?!" He opened a big smile.

      "Not that meaning of GONE, idiot! He disappeared, again!"

      "Oh"

      "Oh" I repeated sarcastically.

      "Oh" Someone repeated in a raucous noise.

      I turned to Sebastian wide eyed and, slowly, we raised our heads together to the source of the sound. There was an elf balancing on the edge of the sink.

      "Nhéééé!!" Jorge squealed and jumped onto Sebastian, attacking and scratching his face.

      "SOMEONE KILL THIS THING BEFORE IT KILLS ME!!"

      "Nhééé!"

      "Be a toy! A toy!" I shouted and tried to kick that monster away. What had I done?! Why wasn't it working?

      Sebastian suddenly gave up fighting and just concentrated on keeping the elf's nails far from his face. He held it into the air, squeezing the two sides of its body- and the more he squeezed, more Jorge scratched. That's when I glimpsed at something weird happening around Sebastian's hands. A stain of porcelain was being formed onto the places he touched.

      I opened my mouth in wonder. Convert to its natural form. That is it.

"Sebastian! He's turning into porcelain again!! Do not let go!"

He laughed out loud when his fingers were no longer curling into Jorge's beard. It was all becoming solid, smooth, and relatively clean. "See you never again, beautiful!"

      "Nheee!" Jorge squealed his last squeal before the porcelain arrived at his face, covering every inch of his mouth and the rest of the beard.

      Sebastian dropped it on the floor, sweat lighting his forehead.

      "Yeah, Angelina. I think we will need to clean a little more than a glass of juice."

Ps from writer: this chapter looks big but it's because of the amount of dialogs ;) Hope you liked it!