404

Warm and Cozy

*plink. plink. plink*

I wash my hands for the night in Mr. and Mrs. Stephenson's silver sink to prepare for dinner. The sink seemingly imitating the railings of my bed had in the hospital which made my anxiousness slowly ease away. My mind inching towards extreme exhaustion and wanting to sleep. I stared at the floral design of the window curtains located just a little directly in front of the sink. Its dulled out red roses and yellow sunflowers with little brownish-red and black spots on it that look like marks from the ketchup and soy sauce I saw in the cupboards earlier made me feel homely and quite comfy as Mr. Stephenson would put it. I started to wipe my hand on the cloth hung by the refrigerator. As I dry my hands, I admired all the stickers and magnets attached to the fridge. There was a picture of young Mr. and Mrs. Stephenson in front of the house we were in while holding a key. A picture of a pink crib with a bunch of flower and butterfly stickers attached to it. It looks like it could be the crib of Emma as she was a little baby. On the freezer part of the fridge, next to all the fruit magnets and crown stickers, I also saw a picture of Emma on the back of Mr. Stephenson at some sort of a colorful place like a carnival or a theme park. They look so happy.

"I am home. This is home now. I have nothing to be afraid of." I quietly thought to myself.

Then I hear a soft voice coming from the dining room which was next to the kitchen.

"Darling... what's taking you so long?" The voice asked.

I turned around and saw Mrs. Stephenson standing by the entrance of the kitchen. Her hands are on both sides of her hip while her face shows with a jokingly grumpy look and that exaggerated pouty lips. 

"You know the food is getting cold right? I made you something special and it doesn't taste good when it's room temperature." She told me as she crosses her arm and leans her head sideways to the left, again with her jokingly grumpy face.

"I was just looking at these pictures and decor Mrs. Emily and I just have to say, this place is really peaceful, cozy, and very homely. " I replied as I walk slowly towards her while scratching my right long finger to show my respect and my awe at the place.

"Aww... Why thank you. Alex and I really had to put all our effort into decorating this house. We want it to look like both of our childhood homes." She replied with a grateful and reminiscent tone.

"I even bought that giant spoon and fork that hangs by the wall in the dining table so that it could look more like my family's dining room in Batangas." She added with an excited and happy voice.

"That's really nice to hear Mrs. Emily. I didn't even know you were such a nostalgic person." I replied with a calm but interested-sounding tonality.

"Well, there's a lot you haven't learned about us. We'll talk all about that later at the dining table so for now, let's go." She said with a joke angry tone as she gently grabs and pulls my arm towards the door towards the dining room.

I looked into the dining room and saw Mr. Stephenson at the other end of the dining table while Emma sits next to him.

"Goodness, sonny. I thought you were gonna be in there for millennia. Glad to see my wife here still has her convincing abilities." Mr. Stephenson said jokingly as Mrs. Stephenson and I walk into the dining room.

"Hey. If it weren't for me being convincing, you would've not come to high school every day just because it was 'too easy'." Mrs. Stephenson jokingly but wittily responded to Mr. Stephenson's joke as she sits me down and put dinner on my plate. 

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, and I thank you for that. You were always next to me anywhere and everywhere I go." Mr. Stephenson said to Mrs. Stephenson gratefully while she looks at him with puppy eyes.