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"Olwe!" shouted Faith. "Boy, put that knife down!"

Olwe hastily laid the meat cleaver down on the kitchen table. "Sorry!" he chirped.

His sister regarded him. "Shouldn't you be practicing your song for Sunday?"

"We have been practicing all week!" protested Olwe.

"Then go practice it some more!" instructed Zipporah. "Elmo, please get out from under my feet. Where's Star-Man?"

"Father took him driving," said Olwe. "And you promised to teach us to cook!"

"I did, didn't I?" said Zipporah. "Okay, well, we're kind of in the middle of dinner here, so let's have you all work with me on dessert, how's that?"

"All right," Olwe sighed, and he turned and left the kitchen. But Elmo held out his arms to be picked up, with all the impudence of an adorable child who knows it. Whereupon Faith gave him a warning look that sent him scurrying after his brother.

Zipporah slid the large glass baking dish into the preheated oven and went to the living room. Little Elmo was curled up in a chair with a pillow rather larger than himself while Olwe lay on his stomach on the floor with a sketchbook. She shook her head in mock disgust. "Here I ask you all to be practicing your song, and y'all are just chillin'!" she said.

Olwe looked up from his drawing and smiled at her. Elmo climbed down from the chair and held out his arms to be picked up again. "I'm spoiling you," sighed his sister, sweeping him up nonetheless. "I'm spoiling you till salt won't save you, you know that?"

Elmo just made himself comfortable in her arms. He had spent more of his life in America than under the stars by Cuivienen, and his memories of his own mother and father were vague and distant.

Zipporah sat down in the chair herself, but at that moment the phone rang. Zipporah put Elmo on the floor. "Bring me the phone, please," she instructed, and Elmo ran away and returned in a few seconds carrying the receiver, leaping gracefully (if disrespectfully) over Olwe and his sketchbook.

"Thanks," said Zipporah taking the phone. "Why, it's Dad!" She pressed the Talk button and put the phone to her ear, re-situating the elfling with her other arm. "Hey Daddy!" she said.

"Hello Zipporah, is your mother around?" asked Conrad.

"She just went back to her desk," said his daughter. "Did you want to talk to her?"

"Yes please."

Zipporah put the phone on hold. "Mom!" she called. "Dad's on the phone, and he wants to talk to you!"

In the other room Faith picked up the second receiver. "Yes, dear?" she said.

On the other end of the line her husband sighed. "We're having a little situation here. . ."

"Which is?"

Another sigh. "Elwe seems to have met some elf friend of his from Cuivienen. They're crying and hugging and kissing and talking in their other language - "

"Excuse me, kissing?"

"It sure looks dangerous, but we did have that talk before. My point is, Elwe might not come home without the kid."

"He might not get a vote, Dad."

"You aren't seeing what's going on here, Mom," returned Conrad.

Faith sighed. "Put him on," she said.

"I'm telling you, Faith, he's never been emotional like this since - "

"Conrad! Just put him on!"

After a short pause Elwe's voice spoke. "Mother?" he said, sounding very weepy. This rattled Faith very much, for Elwe had always been the strong one of the three brothers.

"Yes, who is friend of yours that your father said you met?"

"Oh, Mother! Did I never speak to you of Finwe, my dearest friend and heart's brother?"

Faith rubbed her temples. "Yes dear, you did. How did you find him?"

"Father and I were out," Elwe sniffed. "and Finwe saw me, called me by name - "

"Yes dear, I see. And who is he staying with right now?"

"I - I do not know, Mother," said Elwe with a sigh.

Faith shook her head. "Put your father back on, Elwe."

A moment later Conrad said, "Hello?"

"Hey?" Faith sighed. "How about you go ahead and bring Elwe and this other kid home, all right? If he's like our three he might not be with anyone right now."

"Okay," said Conrad. "See you in a few." He hung up.

Faith went back into the living room where her daughter sat cuddling Elmo. "Zipporah?" she said. "Set the table for an extra place, will you? We've got company coming over."