THE FAMILY I remember the day I came to live with my new family. It was before Christmas and I entered the house in a state of trepidation. Would they like me? I had been looked over and rejected so many times. And always on account of my looks. "Too big" or "unsightly" were just a few of the things that were said about me. But I soon found out, that I needn't have worried. As soon as I entered the house a pair of young twin boys started running around me. The mother, quite an excitable woman cried out: "WOW! Big! Perfect!" She told the father, a laid-back kind of guy, to get me cleaned up a bit. He didn't look very thrilled but did as he was told. I was soon to learn, that this was the normal state of affairs. Neighbours started popping in to have a look at me. The comments I got was: "Big!" "Perfect!" Somebody even called me "blonde". I had never heard that one before. A couple of days later it was Christmas and lots of friends and family started arriving. I must have counted about 30 or more. Tall people, short people, old people, young people and very young people. People of different backgrounds and ethnicities. People with different accents and people that spoke different languages. And I was at the centre of it all! I helped carry and serve the food and the drinks all day and most of the night. Foods from all four corners of the world. I had never seen anything like it. About two weeks later the boys went back to school and the parents went back to work. It was quiet during the day and I got a bit bored but it gave me time to reflect on what was happening around me. But every evening my family was back and I was happy to carry and serve food again. The days turned into weeks the weeks into months and the months into years the boys became teenagers and play dates turned into hang outs. "Happy New Year" was followed by "Christos Anesti"(*), followed by "Eid Mubarak", followed by "Happy Birthday" followed by "Merry Christmas". Party food was followed by Easter Eggs and Sunday Roast, followed by Kebabs and Moussaka, followed by Kartoffelsalat and saussages followed by birthday cakes, followed by roast turkey. But one thing never changed. When my family was home, I was always at the centre of things. And I always helped to serve and carry the food and drinks. But lately strange things have started to happen. One day, everyone stayed at home. Nobody left the house and if they did they wore masks. I was confused. Did a zombie apocalypse just break out and if it did why is everyone so calm about it. I learned later that a virus had broken out and everyone was "on lock-down". I thought this was great! I served a big breakfast every morning. Then the boys started to do their school work and the mother sat next to them. I started hearing words like "Photosynthesis" and "Algebra". But most of all the boys talked about two characters: "Jekyll and Hyde". I had never heard about these names before. Were they world leaders or something? And soon, the boys started mentioning a certain "Mr P" (*) when they spoke about "Jekyll and Hyde". Now I am no expert, but it seems to me that this Mr P was the mastermind of it all. Very suspicious indeed! But I digress. Four months have now passed. Four months of bliss. During the day the boys and the mum sit next to me. The dad goes upstairs to work. I serve breakfast, lunch and dinner. When the weather is nice, the family eats outside. It's the only time when they are not near me. I have never been outside. In the evenings all four of them sit next to me and play cards or board games. The mother - she cheats! She has started teaching the boys German. From what I can make out, German is not a language. More of a state of mind. Who knew that a nice bunch of people could sound so angry! But last week the best thing ever happened. I still can't believe it. One of the boys said, that he was writing a story for a competition. Next thing I know, he was reading out a story about me! ME!!! And the whole family loved it. They joined in, with more stories about me. All the things I had been part of over the years. All that I had been the centre of. The story was in danger of becoming a book. I am still overwhelmed by how much my family loves me and how much they appreciate my hard work. But at night, when my family goes to bed and I am by myself with my thoughts, I worry. Soon everything will go back to normal. The boys back to school and the parents back to work. And when the door shuts behind my family, the magic fades. And I go back to being what I am. A big, square, humble dining room table. (*) Christos Anesti is Greek for Happy Easter (*) Mr P is our English teacher