Merry Christmas!

This is my gift for you today - a glimpse in the future, enjoy.

I'm sending all my love to Nancy, Lou, Lotty, and Vanya - thank you ladies. You're miraculous.

A Message From My Shrink

The Futuretake

"Stop doing that."

He puckers his lips in a mocking kiss in the air.

"Come on, get dressed for God's sake. We're gonna be late."

A wicked grin illuminates his face. Shit, I love this grin so much, I can't be mad at him.

"No, really, stop it, Jasper!"

I have to make him get out of bed and put some clothes on, but he looks so happy there. The truth is, I'd rather snuggle beside him and help him with what he's doing. Under the blanket, his hand is moving up and down.

He's dreamingly staring at me, and I'm not surprised by his invitation. "I definitely can't go like this. I won't be able to fasten my jeans. Come join me, Edward, it won't take long. What if we're ten minutes late? It'll be worth it!"

What's ten minutes, indeed. I just put my boxers on, but I let them drop back to the floor.

We're, in fact, almost half an hour late when we finally arrive at my old apartment. Mom's been waiting for us. She's baking cinnamon flavored cookies, and the whole place smells delicious. I realize I terribly miss the sight of her fussing in the kitchen, now that I don't live with her anymore. Every time we visit, she bakes for us, and it makes me regret my decision to move in with Jasper. Ah, okay, you got me there - I can't really regret my decision. It's just the thought that the only cookies we get hold of in our place are the ones we buy. And no one cooks as good as Mom. Nothing compares to the meals from one's childhood, you know.

Mom asks if we're doing alright.

Yes, we're doing alright, if you ask me.

I have a job now, with Mrs. Esme Cullen, as an assistant in her flower shop. I have another assignment, too, and that's to keep a strict eye on her when Mr. Carlisle Cullen, her partner in the enterprise, is not there. He runs errands during the day, deliveries and stuff, so I'm her guardian. Not that she needs it, actually. She's been clean as a mountain spring for the past few months.

The minute we step back into our condo, the phone rings. Marie is calling from Europe; she's now back in their house there. Seems she has good memories and nice friends who have missed her, which is good enough reason for her to choose not to stay with us.

"Are you doing alright, kids?"

What's with them? Why wouldn't we be alright?

She's on speaker phone, so she hears us both confirm that we're doing fine, and everything is wonderful.

"I miss you terribly, boys. Why don't you come visit for Christmas?"

Raising his brows, Jasper throws a questioning look my way. Reading the plea in the azure eyes, I simply can't say no. I nod.

"Okay, we're coming, Mama. We're coming."

Jasper ends the call and throws himself toward me, pushing me over an armchair and covering my face and neck with thousands of pecks, tickling and wet. He makes me laugh.

~""~

A few days later, Marie meets us at the airport with warm hugs. She's really happy to see us, and looks very different from the last time I saw her. No more black clothes; she's wearing fancy jeans and a furry white coat. She looks younger, and self-confident. We hear her explain something in the local language to a taxi driver. Then we fill his car's trunk with our luggage and take off to a place about ten miles away from the airport. When we arrive at our destination, we need to transfer everything, suitcases and our many presents, into the ugly waiting room of a small railway station. Seems we are an attraction. A bunch of dirty and scary looking people surround us and throw unashamed curious looks our way.

"Keep your wallets in the inside pockets only," Marie whispers. "Bags with valuables to stay on you. Don't leave the luggage unguarded. They are looking for something to steal."

We spend our time in the waiting room observing members of the group come and go. They pretend to be busy with conversations in a barking language, which Marie says she doesn't understand. Through the two hours of our wait, my skin is covered in goosebumps, and I stick as close to my boy as possible. When we're finally on the train, I sigh with relief.

"Jasper, was it the same the previous time you were here?"

"Yep. Did I forget to mention?" The mischievous glint in his eyes makes it clear he omitted to mention it on purpose. "I didn't want to scare you, Edward. They're no big deal when you're prepared. We might have been lucky and not see them at all."

"But we weren't lucky. That was creepy."

"Come, let me hug you. And don't fall asleep."

"Why not?"

"We should keep an eye on our luggage."

"Even inside the compartment?"

"Especially inside the compartment."

"What, don't these people have police here?"

"They do, but the police are as poor as everybody else, and ineffective."

"Shit." Then I remember Jasper's mom's presence. "Oops, sorry, Marie. How the hell do you live here?"

"It's not like this where I live. But we have to get there first."

"How much longer until we're there?"

"Three and a half hours."

Five hours later, we're still on the train, stuck in the middle of nowhere. It's night, and we can't see a single light outside, except for a lamp over the door of an old building. Marie says this is a small station, but it looks abandoned to me, cracked paint and rust everywhere. Finally, a man in uniform comes out of the building and gives the signal for everybody to come out.

It appears someone has stolen a piece of rail from the railroad. The train didn't collaps on its route thanks to a lucky coincidence. A worker noticed the missing part minutes before our train was scheduled to pass.

Now we're waiting for a bus to pick us up from this little station.

There are a million of stars above our heads. Never have I seen such a beautiful sky. I hug Jasper to avoid the cold, and whisper in his ear to raise his head and look at the mesmerizing sight.

"Have you seen anything like this before?"

"It's always like this here. You're going to love this country."

"I doubt it."

"Have some patience, please, Edward."

The bus drives us the last miles of our trip. We finally arrive at a little village, hidden in the outskirts of a snow-covered mountain. It's cold and beautiful in the night. The houses are small and some of the windows are illuminated, showing life inside. Apart from the barking of several dogs, no sound is to be heard.

We carry our luggage inside a huge two-story house belonging to Mrs. Whitlock. My jaw drops at the sight that awaits us inside.

It looks like it's come from a fairytale.

The little three-legged chairs, the wooden table of irregular form, the bright-red and green rugs. The walls are all painted white, floor to ceiling, with bunches of herbs and dried flowers seen at various places, smelling of wild forest and endless fields. A huge fireplace with a copper kettle marks the center of the room, its chimney going straight to the middle of the ceiling.

"It will keep you two warm, too," Marie says, following my curious look. "You'll be sleeping in the room right above your head. Come, let me show you."

We follow her up a wooden staircase, which squeaks at every step. Everything is old and beautiful at the same time, and I fall in love with the place. It's foreign and unique, and extremely cosy.

"Put your bags in here and make yourselves comfortable. I'll go down and start a fire." Mrs. Whitlock turns her back and leaves us in our room.

I turn my head toward Jasper, who hasn't uttered a word since we have entered the house.

"What's wrong, baby?" I'm a bit worried.

"I don't know. Do you like it here?"

"It's magnificent, Jasper."

"Thank God. I was beginning to worry. I didn't imagine our arrival to be like that."

"It's all good now that we're finally here."

I try to take a better look at the room, barely managing to see the huge bed when he sticks his lips on mine and buries his fingers in my hair.

"Thank you," he whispers, breaking the kiss. "Thank you for existing."

"What's going on, Jasper?"

"I love you. It's as simple as that."

This is the first time he's said it. I'm in heaven.

"Jasper, I'm in heaven."

"I know, my love. Me, too. Aren't you exhausted?"

I immediately feel the pain in my muscles and my eyes aching for sleep. "I am."

"Let's go down and kiss Mama goodnight, then we'll come back and test that bed." He smiles and leads me out of the room.

We wish Marie goodnight while she sticks wood in the fireplace. The burning fire has begun to warm the place, and its flames add to the feeling of belonging to a fairytale.

"We're very tired, Mama," Jasper says. "We're going to sleep."

"Aren't you hungry, boys?"

"No, Mama."

"Thanks, but no, Ma'am," we answer simultaneously. After we kiss her on the cheek, we head once more up the stairs to our room.

I get inside, and Jasper steps in after me. Then he locks the door. Once.