"Well, that's the last of them," I said to myself as I unloaded the last box from the truck. I looked over to the pile of boxes neatly stacked upon each other inside the house.
The furniture truck had luckily arrived two days before this one, so it wouldn't be as difficult to unpack everything and place them in their designated area. Although, there was still much to be done, and it was already past noon. At this pace, it'll take about a week before everything is unpacked.
I sighed; who knew moving into such a large house would take so long. At least the house felt smaller after the furniture was put into place. Alfred and I now had a comfortable bed to sleep on and not just in a sleeping bag. Speaking of Alfred, where was the little hooligan.
"Alfred," I shouted, "Where are you?"
I heard little steps from the stairs, where Alfred stood with a wide grin on his face.
"What are you grinning about?" I asked.
Alfred's smile grew," Daddy, look," he said, bearing his teeth.
"My tooth fell out," he said, pointing to the missing bucktooth he used to have.
"Indeed it has; your gums aren't bleeding, are they?" I asked with a hint of worry. He shook his head, "They were when it fell out, but I rinsed my mouth, so it ain't bleeding no more."
"Well, that is a relief; go put your tooth in a napkin or plastic bag so it won't get lost. That way, you'll get money from the tooth fairy." I told him.
His eyes widened with joy, "Okay," he said as he ran off.
My little Alfred is growing up; It won't be long till his new tooth grew back in."Won't you look at that dear, our little Alfred is growing up right before our eyes," I whispered to myself.
Alfred came running back in, showing his toothy grin. He swung back and forth on his toes before stating. "Put my tooth away."
I ruffled his hair, "Alright, Alfred, do you want anything specific for dinner?" I asked him.
He thought for a moment, "Oh, could we have some fish-n-chips; with apple juice?"
"Of course, now wait for a moment till I get them ready; go play for a while, alright, love."
He nodded before running off to his room. I prepared the ingredients, hopeful that I wouldn't burn anything this time. I haven't quite gotten the use to the new kitchen; it was modern. Everything I made came out a bit different than what it's supposed to be. "At least the tea tasted alright," I said as I placed the kettle on the stove.
I laid out the necessary ingredients; It thankfully wasn't much. It was a simple dish, perhaps the only dish, I admit, I don't completely ruin. That aside, I don't understand why the boy likes it so much. Yet again, my little Alfred will eat just about anything.
My thoughts were put aside when I heard a knock at the door. "Who would be knocking at my door at this hour?" I thought.
I walked to the front door, slightly blinded from the light that came through its window; I opened it. Behind it stood a man, he had silky-midlength blond hair, blue eyes, a sharp nose, and a patch of stubble. He was handsome, no, that was an understatement; he looked like a graceful swan.
I shook thought thoughts out of my head, "Hello sir, do you need anything?" I asked.
He shook his head, chuckling a bit, "Ah non, My name is Francis Bonefoy; I live a while away from your house. In other words, we are neighbors. I wanted to stop by and say hello, perhaps if you require any assistance." He said in a heavy French accent.
I thought to myself, "Great, we were off to a great start till I find that he's French. I guess all things must come at a price."
"Ah no," I began, "I do not require any assistance, but you're welcome to come in if you'd like."
"If it is not much of a bother," He said.
I looked down; behind Francis was a nervous little boy. He looked just like Alfred.
"Oh, hello, little one, my name is Arthur; what might yours be?" I asked the little boy.
He clung to Francis's leg, hiding his face."My apologies Arthur, my son can be a bit shy around strangers." He stated.
"Go on; you can tell him your name."
The little boy let go of his father's leg, "M-my name i-is MaMathew," he stammered.
He had medium lengths hair, much like his father's. Although the boy had a different eye color - correction he had two different colored eyes- one blue, the other purple.
"Well, hello, Mathew," I said, "This may come as a shock, but you look very similar to my son," I stated.
Both Mathew and his father looked confused at this, "Alfred," I called, "I'd like you to meet someone."
"Who is it pops?" Alfred asked as he ran down the stairs.
When he finally got down the stairs, his smile fell, Mathew and Alfred stared at each other. They began to walk closer to each other as if they were two magnets of opposite charge. Once they got close enough, they began to circle each other; their face showed no emotion.
"Y-you look j-just like m-me." Mathew finally said. I noted that he also had a bit of an accent. Although, it wasn't exactly French.
"Yeah," Alfred began, "I'm Alfred; what's your name?" Alfred asked.
"I'm Mathew."
"Hey Mathew, do you like birds?" Alfred asked.
Mathew was slightly confused by the sudden questioning, "Y-yes." He finally stammered.
Alfred's face glowed up, "Awesome, cause I have a picture book about birds in my room." Alfred stated as he dragged Mathew by the hand, pulling him to the stairs before stopping.
"Oh, I almost forgot, "Hey dad, can me and Mathew go play?" He asked.
I stood slightly shocked before looking over at Francis, who gave a slight nod.
"Yes dear, oh and you have to say 'Mathew and me.' It's more polite." I lectured.
"Okay, pops," Alfred said with a smile as he ran up the stairs, Mathew at his heels.
"It seems like our sons get along," Francis noted.
"Yes, I said, "Do you want some tea?" I asked.
"If it isn't much of a hassle."
"Not at all," I said.
~~~
"Oh, and another thing about Ludwig; he and his assistant Feliciano are lovers. It's impossible not to see it; it's right there for everyone to see." Francis stated.
I nodded, listening attentively to Francis gossiping about the people he works with. Better said, we work with; we had discovered that we work at the same place. Although; Francis and I only share two hours, he works the night shift because his wife works during the day.
In our chat, I had discovered quite a bit about everyone; how one of the ladies down the street often steals other people's garden gnomes. Two of our neighbors often get into arguments about who can save the most money; I'd rather not witness that. Much gossip was disused in the short hour Francis had stayed.
"Oh, Arthur, as much as I'd like to stay and chat, I must be leaving by now; my wife will be arriving soon, and I must get dinner ready. Perhaps we can meet another day so our boys can play together once more." Francis stated.
"That sounds wonderful; let me call the boys down. Alfred, It's time to say goodbye to your new friend."
I heard a whine from the top of the stairs, "Come now, Alfred, you can play with Mathew another day, but he must be leaving now."
"Okay, dad," Alfred said as he glumly walked down the flights of stairs, Mathew once again at his heels. "Bye Mathew, bye Mr. Bone-foy," Alfred said.
"Bye Alfred, em, w-would y-you like me to b-bring a book next t-time we meet?" Mathew asked.
Alfred's face lit up, "Yeah." He said as he nodded.
"Okay," Mathew said as he waved shyly.
I closed the door behind them. "Now Alfred, I think it's time we have dinner. it's almost time for you to go to bed."
"But I don't want to go to bed," Alfred complained.
"Come now, Alfred, you want to grow up big and strong, don't you? You must sleep and eat properly to do so."
"Mkay pops, oh, can I ask you something?"
"You already did," I stated. Alfred chuckled, "Can I asked you a million questions?"
"Yes, you may, Alfred."
"Is Mathew my brother?" He asked.
"Heavens Alfred, where did you get that idea?"
Alfred looked at me sheepishly, "Well, I mean, we look alike; doesn't that mean we're brothers?"
I shook my head, "No, you're not brothers."
"Aww, why can't we be brothers; I like him," Alfred stated.
"I'm afraid that's not possible, Alfred."
He pouted slightly, "Now, my boy, don't put that face; you can pretend you're brothers."
"Okay, dad, I'll do that."
"Good boy, now let's eat."
~END chapter 1~