Counterfeit Children (KURT COBAIN)

16. sneaky

twas' the night before christmas, and ah, fuck that.
my mother was aggressively beating sugar cookie dough, flour on her button down shirt. I snuck up behind her, and dipped my finger in the bowl.
"gardenia alessandra novia." she said, furrowing her brows but laughing a bit.
"you can't be mad 'cause i'm just too sneaky for you," i gently patted her shoulder and joined my siblings on the living room floor, watching the smurfs christmas special.
the phone rang out like a church bell.
"gar can you get that?" my mother asked, and i ran to pick up.
"novia residence" i said in my best secretary voice.
"gar it's kurt," he laughed a bit, i could hear the smile in his voice.
"oh hi," i said unenthusiastically.
"gee thanks, can i stay the night with you?" he asked.
i quickly asked my mother, and she furrowed her brow.
"it's christmas eve, doesn't that boy have a family?" she asked.
eventually she agreed though.
about twenty minutes later kurt ditched his bike on our front porch, shivering in his hoodie. snow blew around him, sticking to his hair and shoulders. he wrapped his arms around my stomach and held me.
my siblings were more in awe of the snow than kurt, understandably. they ran out their in their pajamas, no shoes, only to be screamed at by my mother to come back inside. kurt untied his sneakers and padded around gently on the carpet of my living room, first inspecting the cookies my mother had just put in the oven, then pulling the blanket off the back of the couch and rolling up in it, then sitting on the couch. the tv reflected in his eyes, you could see everything he saw by looking into them. he let a thin smile shine through, as my siblings finally shut the front door and returned to the couch beside him. my mother brought in a plate of cookies and turned off the light, sitting beside my siblings. the reflection of the tv and the glow of the multicolored christmas lights illuminated the people i love.

it was beautiful. they were all so beautiful.

i was never into holidays that didn't involve copious amount of food or children dressing up as the dead. but at this point, sitting at kurt's feet on a plush rug surrounded by my family. i almost liked it.

i was also very excited about the ham in the fridge.

kurt stood up from the couch, pulling the blanket behind him after he had stuffed himself to contentment.
"ya' wanna go to bed gar?" he asked me, to which i nodded. i said goodnight to all of my family and we sleepily walked up the stairs.

he shut the door behind us after we made it into my room. he laid down on my bed, still wrapped in the same blanket. i turned my back to him and undressed, putting on my pajamas.

i laid down next to him, cramped in the space of my single bed, his arm wrapped around the back of my neck and over my shoulders. he pressed his forehead onto my forehead, a small smile forming on his lips before he pressed them against mine, bumping noses gently at first.
"merry christmas, or whatever," he said, laughing slightly.

the next morning there was a mad dash to the christmas tree, where my siblings ripped open gifts, my dad panning around the room shakily with his camcorder, frankly getting far too close to peoples faces. my sister got a cabbage patch kid, my brother some weird star wars play-set, and my baby sister, teething rings.

after assisting my siblings with their presents, my mom looked to me.
"you have something too!" she said, happily reaching to the very back. it was a large crisp box covered in the same purple snowflake wrapping paper my sisters was covered in. i carefully picked at the edges.
"oh just go ham already," my sad said, pointing to the camera.
the box said in big plain letters "fender".
i opened the face of the box to make completely sure this wasn't some sick joke.

there it was, a classic sun burst fender strat.

"mooooom!" i said, nearly in tears, pulling the box off my lap to hug my parents. my mother handed kurt an envelope, last but not least.
"sorry it was last minute," my mom said, sheepishly rubbing the back of her neck. kurt opened up the envelope with long slender fingers.
"oh sick, 20 bucks! thanks mom," he said, smiling up at my mother with the sweetest, most innocent smile he could muster.

after the commotion had died down and everyone had returned to their rooms, kurt and i returned to mine.
"you're letting me play that, right?" kurt said with a hopeful gleam in his eye.
"you wish,"
"i wish for a lot of things," he laughed, falling back onto the carpet.