Chapter 4

"Feli dear, will you help me in the kitchen?" Elizabeta called to Feliciano. "It's only for a moment please."

Feliciano was spending his time with Roderich in the living room sitting beside him on the mahogany bench smiling and watching him play etudes and Concertos one after another on the piano in front of them. Roderich stopped when he heard Elizabeta and nodded to Feliciano signaling it was okay for him to leave. Roderich had the feeling that even though Feliciano liked listening to him play he wasn't actually looking forward to learning how himself, instead he was always interested with house work and cooking, for some odd reason.

"Well, maybe I can teach him something else." Roderich said while he watched with remorse as Feliciano left him, a bit upset that he had no cooking skills and was unable to help out the two in the kitchen. It had been almost a month and still there was nothing he and the boy had in common, well, nothing he had discovered yet. At least he showed some interest in music, but about as much as any boy would, or perhaps he was just being polite. Over run with muddled thoughts Roderich returned to his study hoping some alone time would help clear his mind and maybe then, later on, he could try to spend more time with Feliciano.

Elizabeta wasn't much of a cook herself but she tried for Feliciano, hoping she was being a good mother.

"Feli, do you know what today is?" Elizabeta said as she began to tie a small green version of her apron around the boy.

"...A special day?" Feliciano said as one of the chefs came in and began to pull out ingredients, bowls, and other cooking utensils to place on the table in front of them before he left the room.

"Not just any special day Feli dear, it's sort of an anniversary." Elizabeta pulled her brown hair into a pony tail and put a netted cap over Feliciano's head and lead him to the table. "On this day, exactly six years ago, Roddy and I found out he was going to be a father." Elizabeta said as she stared off in a daze before patting her cheeks and looking down at Felicaino who looked back up at her smiling innocently.

"... Mr. and Mrs. Edelstein have another child somewhere in the house?"

Feliciano wondered why she chose now to tell him, maybe because the house was so big and he probably over looked the other child and made them mad by not paying attention to him or her. Feliciano began to fear he had upset his care takers and began to apologize immediately. "I'm sorry, I didn't see the baby in the house!...But I'll try not to ignore your baby anymore, I promise!"

Elizabeta bent over and wrapped her arms around the boy, hugging him tightly from the side before she spoke. "No Feli dear, the only baby we have in this house is you, and you're my baby." She smiled as Feliciano rose his eyebrows in confusion. His grandfather had said that their mother had died while giving birth, but Elizabeta just claimed to be his mother...so she wasn't actually dead and grandfather had lied for ten years? Well, he was a lying frugal alcoholic, so maybe Elizabeta was his real mom all along, and no one bothered to tell him, but she said six years ago, Feliciano was ten, right?

"So, if I'm your baby that means... you're my mother and I'm actually six years old?" Feliciano asked as he felt Elizabeta's hold on him get tighter, he heard her inhale sharply and then exhale as she buried her face in his hair. He would have tried to see if she was okay if she hadn't pulled his body closer and forced him into her chest enabling him from moving. "Mrs. Edelstein, does this mean I shouldn't call you mom because your crying now...I'm sorry, I wont do it again." Elizabeta had began to treble and Feliciano was about to start crying thinking he had upset her but when she lifted up and turned him around fully towards her he stopped. Her cheeks and nose were bright red and she had tears streaming down her face but she was smiling though it and that calmed Feliciano.

"Please Feli, call me mommy again, please?" Elizabeta asked through a broken sob slightly fearing the boy would refuse. But he did not, Elizabeta felt her heart fill with job when the boy addressed her as his mother and asked his mommy why she was crying."...Because Feli, I'm so happy you're here with me!"

"Oh, well I'm glad to be here with mommy too!" Felicaino said then stopped when he felt himself on the edge of tears. For some reason he wanted to hug Elizabeta and smile but cry at the same time. He couldn't stop himself from reaching out to her and clinging to her apron then leaning in and crying into the folds of her thin dress feeling overwhelmed with sadness. Elizabeta held on to Feliciano until he stopped crying, then wiped his tears away with the edge of a napkin, wishing she could just wipe away all the pain he was feeling she hugged his once more.

"So, Feli sweety, are you still up for helping mommy?"

Feliciano hugged her back before nodding and wiping away any remaining tears then facing the table happy and ready to work.

Dear diary.

Today I made cookies shaped like the treble clef on sheet music with mommy. Father taught me what those were and mommy said it was a great idea when I suggested the shape. Mommy was looking for a way to cheer father up today for some reason. When we brought the cookies to his study he was really happy when I said 'Here father, I made you cookies' he even asked me to repeat myself twice then asked me to always call him father so I said 'okay' since it made him so happy. Then later while I sat in mother's lap and ate cookies father played music for us in the living room... occasional he would stop and wipe his face on a napkin then continue after smiling at me and mommy. I guess playing makes him tired but someday, I still want to learn how to play even if I get really tired so one day I might be as good as father. Anyways, today was a good day, it even reminded me of when Lovi promised me a reward for keeping everyone happy.

Lovi had just woke me up, like he used to when we were going to school together. And as usual he was dressed before me but this time he was in his work clothes. He laid out my school clothes on the bed then handed me an orange when I came down stairs. I saw that Lovi had tried to clean up the house but, he's bad at it, he did fix my back pack that I had dropped when...

Anyways Lovi told me to have a good day at school but tell no one about grandfather, then he made me pinky swear I don't know why though, I never break my promises so I figured this secret was really really REALLY importantand Ii had better not break it, no matter what. When we got outside I watched brother head off down the dirt road towards the factory he worked at leaving me by myself. The first few moments of walking to school made me cry because I was alone and scared, I had never done it by myself before and I really miss Lovi. I panicked and turned around to go back but this stray black puppy was in my way and it wouldn't let me pass, so I just ran the other way towards school yelling for help but every one I passed just smiled and waved.

"Go away puppy! I have to go home!" I said that because the puppy was chasing me closer and closer to school and if the teachers saw me I'd have to go in. "Please,...chase the orange!" I threw my breakfast at the dog but it didn't stop and eat it, it just picked it up and continued chasing me, so that didn't seem to do anything but waste food.

I was chased all the way to the front doors of the school, thankfully when I went in the dog couldn't follow and was shooed off campus by a teacher.

Since Lovino and I are in the same class I checked his name off the roll sheet because I didn't want the teacher to find out Lovi had skipped class, people get punished when they skip class.

The entire day no one noticed Lovino wasn't there and that's normal because most of the time Lovi sleeps during class, since he has that job and it makes him tired. So, no one pays attention back here plus there was this one time Lovino fussed at a teacher for wanting him to wake up and answer math problems, that teacher never talked to Lovi again once Lovi finished yelling.

During lunch I hid my milk drink in my backpack to take home because I knew Lovi gave me the last fruit in the bowl this morning and I wasted it so I would make it up to him with this.

School was almost over and I was about to leave when the teacher called me back in. He had a confused look on his face and asked me if Lovi had ever came to class today, I didn't want Lovi to get in trouble, because then he would have to come to school and get yelled at so I told the teacher that he had left early because he was feeling sick. The teacher believed me, I think, and I was so happy but as I headed to the path home the same dog came out and chased me all the way home and I was un happy. Once I got inside the dog wandered around outside then left so I started to clean the house like I used to do after grandfathers parties, it wasn't so bad, except the one room upstairs Lovi said I couldn't go in, and I wouldn't no matter what anyways but I stuffed some old newspapers in front of the door because this really bad smell was coming from underneath.

Romano got home late and he had a huge burlap sack with him, inside were tomatoes! Most of them were rotten but Lovi said his boss had a few extra to give away so Lovi took as many as he could. He promised that when he got paid, and finished paying all the bills, if there was any money left over he would buy flour and make pasta but until then Lovi had me make the less rotten tomatoes into sause then store it in a jar. After that I shared my milk with Lovi then we took a bubble bath together and went to bed together in Lovi's bed since his blanket wasn't torn up as bad as mine, and grandfather never bought us another ones... but it was still nice and warm cuddling up to Lovi!

Good night Diary, see you tomorrow!

Ps. I can't wait to tell Lovi we actually have a mother and father, and it's Mr. and Mrs. Edelstein! He is going to be so happy!

.

.

.

.

thanks or reading!

OTL