This one life

Friends are family

Hey my friend you understand
You like me just the way I am
You can read my life like an open book
And my secrets will be safe with you

"Friends r family", Michael Patrick Kelly

If this were a movie, there would probably be romantic, elated music of some sort now, while the following days are compressed into little scenes, showing the protagonists in all sorts of places, always doing more or less the same thing (kissing, mostly...).

The reality is, this is not a movie, but the days seem to rush by anyway.

We found out rather quickly that, with this new set of rules, we hate being apart even more than before, and simply decided that we wouldn't. No, I haven't moved in with her yet, but on some days, it almost seems like it. I have very successfully ignored the growing pile of non-existent songs for my new album and spent every free minute with Jasmin and her kids.

I tend to have a lot of free minutes, it turns out.

Rule-breaking is still an issue, at times, on both of our accounts. I would like to say that I have grown accustomed to her presence, to the closeness we now share, to her spell. Yet it is not true. I am irrevocably in love with her, and with every touch, every kiss, she pulls me deeper into this dream-like reality. All I wish for is to be close to her, to touch her, to see the goosebumps on her arms and the dream-like smile in her face when I slowly open my eyes after a long, breathtaking kiss.

Serena likes me, as well, and has lost her initial shyness, although we still have a tendency to share awkward moments. Jasmin assures me that this has nothing to do with me, just with her daughter's age and 'hormones', as she puts it. Teenager or not, Serena never fails to surprise me with her wit and (sometimes snappy) comments on all sorts of things; she is extremely intelligent, that much I could gather from the rare minutes spent with her. I have soon started to talk to her in English and French only, and her replies come more quickly by the day.

Fabian is a totally different story. He basically decided that we are best friends forever the moment I walked into the house with a guitar case in my hand. I rarely get to spend time with Jasmin when he is around. There is always something I need to do, something he wants to play, or something extraordinarily important he needs to tell or show me. Jasmin was very annoyed and irritated by his behavior in the beginning, and she still constantly apologizes for the way he hogs me. I have to admit that it can be exhausting to listen and pay attention to his stories and ideas, but most of the time, he is so sweet and adorable (and cheeky) that I love to play with him. We have started drawing together, and it now seems that I am his idol: When he is big, he wants to become a guitar player and a painter, he has decided.

Do I need to mention that I am happy? I have certainly had many an experience before, seen and heard a lot and lived an interesting, colorful life, but this is different. I feel like I have a family. Not the family with my brothers and sisters back when we were still making music on the streets, but my own family, someone that looks to me for counsel and inspiration, a place to come home to. I did not know I was missing something before I saw that look in Jasmin's eyes – the one she has whenever she comes upstairs to remind Fabian and me that it is time to stop playing, to tell us to come downstairs and have dinner, to then find us begging – both of us – for another five minutes, because we haven't finished the roof of that Lego house yet...