TRUE COLORS

WELCOME TO OUR FAMILY

POV ABE
Family ... Yesterday my friend Daoming Si, that old muttering parrot, explained to me what it is.
I've been wondering this since little Yan Se picked me up from the street and brought me to her house.
I remember daddy studying me with a worried look and mommy never stopped caressing me.
Yan Se kept asking her parents to keep me with them, that she had seen a man pull over the car, pick me up and leave me there on the sidewalk before leaving again very fast.
And then I remember mommy's eyes very well as she brought her face close to mine and whispered: "Welcome to our family, darling".
Family.  I thought it was the name of their home.  I really like their home!  Well our home, I should say!
It's so warm and full of colors!
And so, while yesterday I was saying to Daoming Si: "I'm sure no house has such a funny name! Family!", he replied that I hadn't understood anything.
Daoming Si is the parrot of who they call Uncle Su... I only saw him on mommy's cell phone ... Daddy says he's on Honeymoon with Auntie Xixi.  I suppose it's a honey shop ... And it must be really far, because it's been weeks since they left!
Daoming Si loves mommy and daddy so much, because they brought him to Uncle Su when he was still a kid.
Anyway ... I'm not as good as Daoming Si in words ... I'm just a dog, be patient!  So instead of explaining what the word "Family" means, I will tell you about my day with the Wangs.
Mommy is always the first to wake up.  I sleep in Yan Se's room and as soon as I hear mommy and daddy's door open, I run out to reach her.
When she sees me she embraces me and scratches my head with a smile, then we go down the stairs together without making any noise and we go to the kitchen, where she prepares breakfast for everyone.
Mommy has many names ... Mommy, Yue, Yueyue, Love, Little Idiot, Honey ... Uh!  And sometimes daddy calls her: "SHEN YUEEEE!"  and it makes me laugh so much!
She is the sweetest of all.  Yan Se is sweet too, but Mum has her own way of talking to me and pampering me, which makes me move my tail here and there madly!
When breakfast is ready, we go up the stairs again and go to daddy.
Mommy sits on their giant bed and watches him for a few minutes while he is still sleeping.  I don't understand why they bought such a big bed ... Once I saw them sleeping together ... They are all stuck in the middle ... What sense does it have to have a bed like this if you only use a small space ?!  Human ...
Mommy leans over to daddy and fills his face with small kisses.
There are days when daddy opens his eyes immediately and smiles at her ... Others where he just doesn't want to know to wake up and then mommy says to me: "Abe ... My kisses are not enough ..." and then I know  that this is my moment!  I jump on the bed and start licking his face as he complains and tries to cover himself.  Mommy always laughs out loud!  I love to hear her laugh!
Yan Se's turn finally comes ...
She likes caresses.
And so dad strokes her hair while calling her name softly.
The first thing she does when she wakes up is to jump up and cuddle me.
"Good morning, Abe!"  she exclaims with a big smile.
"Good morning to you too" daddy mutters, pouting.
Yan Se laughs and runs to hug him.
She is my best friend!  Nobody plays as well as she does!  The garden is our kingdom!  We run, jump, play with water, look for ants ... I love her!
While the girls are having breakfast, daddy and I go out for a walk first.
Daddy is ... Cool!  I think there is a silent pact between me and him ... Sometimes he pretends not to stand me in front of mommy, but then he always gives me cookies secretly and fills me with pampering.  And I do the same with him ... I often do him some spite, but then I always look for him when something scares me or when I want to walk.  Dad says it's a boy thing.  I don't know what that means, but it's ok.
Unfortunately Yan Se goes to school in the morning and I can't play with her ... Then I follow mommy and daddy in a place full of books ... I think it's called Bookstore, but I'm not sure.
It's fun to be there!  Many people come and go and they always compliment me!
I see that mommy cares a lot about this place ... Daddy too, but she a little more.
Oh ... Here they do it again!  When they believe that no one sees them, they hide behind a shelf and kiss each other on the mouth.
I don't understand why they complain so much when I try to do it, but then all they do is eat each other's lips!
Tsk!
Anyway ... Daddy taught me to do one thing!  If any boy or man approaches mommy, I have to run between them and if they touch her, I have to bark loudly.
I don't know why he makes me do it, but it makes him so happy ... He always says that he should have taken a dog a long time ago, so he would have saved himself a lot of hassles and above all he would have seen less flowers in the library.  Mommy beats him when she hears it.
My favorite time is when mommy and I go to get Yan Se from school in the afternoon.
Now that the weather is fine, we stop to play on the playground before going home.
Daddy comes to us after closing the library.
He and mom like to chase each other ... You should see how much they laugh!  And then they chase me and Yan Se too, but we are too fast for them!
We are a great team, Yan Se and me.
In the evening, daddy prepares dinner.
Yan Se doesn't want him to know, but she prefers daddy's cooking.
While he's busy in the kitchen, mommy takes a shower.  I don't know why, but she always puts on daddy's clothes. She's funny, with his huge shirts!  But she's pretty!
After her, Yan Se also goes to wash and put on her pajamas.
I never go in there ... I'm afraid they'll bathe me too!
So I stay in the kitchen with daddy and mommy, who talk about a lot of things while preparing dinner and meanwhile exchange many kisses.  They never get tired!
While we have dinner, Yan Se speaks a lot!  She tells us everything she did at school.  Every now and then mommy reminds her to eat, otherwise the food cools down.
They are so slow ... I finish everything in twenty seconds!
And then comes the movie moment ... Everyone on the sofa!  I like being on mommy's lap, because she spends all her time stroking my fur.
But when we watch comic movies, I go to daddy... Mommy laughs too much and she makes me seasick with all her hops!
Usually Yan Se falls asleep before the end, then daddy picks her up and carries her to her bed ... He is really strong!  Mom follows him and they both kiss her and say "Goodnight, our little star" even if she doesn't hear them.
They go back to the sofa and this time there is no room for me on daddy's lap, because there's mommy.
He holds her close and gives her small kisses on the neck.
"When will you tell me that you lost the dinosaur book?"  mommy asks him with a sly smile.
"What ?! It's not true!"  whining daddy.
"Wang He Di ..."
"Okay, okay. But I haven't lost it, okay? That sad boy we saw in the library today ... I wanted to cheer him up ..."
"And did you give it to him?"
Daddy nods, blushing a little.
Mommy gets to her feet and then she sits on his knees again, but this time facing him.
She kisses him gently and smiles at him.
"You did the right thing. I love you," she whispers.
"I love you too," he replies.
Another kiss.  Then another.  Daddy puts his hands under mommy's huge shirt ...
Hey!  They forgot that I'm here!
I also want pampering!
With a leap I jump on the sofa and start licking both
"Abe! Please! Not tonight!"  complains daddy.
I don't listen to him and I try to push mommy away from him.
"Come here, you fool!"  she laughs, making room for me to pamper me.
Dad looks at her badly, but then he starts to caress me.
"Okay, now everyone's to bed! Come on!"  he exclaims suddenly.
"Goodnight, Daoming Si" they both say to the parrot.
"Small Idiot! Big Idiot!"  he replies.  What funny names!  I also want to call them that!
  We climb the stairs together, but before entering Yan Se's room, I turn to them.
Mommy is whispering something in daddy's ear and he blushes, then they enter their room holding hands and they lock the door.
Strange, they usually don't close it!

As I watch Yan Se sleeping, I think back to what Daoming Si told me. Love.  This is the family.  Whether it's two, three, five, ten people ... There are so many kinds of family!  But ... In the end, it's simply love.
It's that need to be together.
It's that sense of responsibility towards the other and that instinct that drives you to protect him, her, at any cost.  We don't always get along, but we still find ways to fix things.
We grow and strengthen ourselves together.
I sigh and close my eyes ... Now I also have a family.
And I'm happy.

Author's corner
Ciao!
Last night I went to bed with a huge smile thanks to you ... True Colors has reached 80,000 views ☺️
That's why this very short chapter and the new cover ☺️
Maybe it's a bit silly as a chapter ... I remember doing something similar a few chapters ago when little Su told Yue's grandmother about his typical day with Small Idiot and Big Idiot ☺️ Back then they were kids... They are now adults.  But nothing has changed.  Love.  There is always that.
And I wanted to show you ☺️💜💛
Thank you very much for all your affection 😘
I know that some of you have re-read this story and this fills my heart with joy, thank you very much ❤️
See you soon!
A big hug,
Lucrezia