353 Sharing a meal together

Following them were Eric and Melanie, accompanied by Gigi, who kept glancing behind to keep a close eye on the remaining two, Giselle and Lillian.

Under Gigi's sharp watch, Giselle and Lillian couldn't talk freely, so they quietly walked next to each other. With Lia taking the front, it was only Giselle who kept Lillian company. Lillian was feeling grateful for the gesture and never tried anything unnecessary. Together, the group scouted the area for fun.

The school's yearly Christmas celebration comes with a variety of outdoor recreations. Ranging from game booths to food stalls, all matched to the holiday theme, thus, creating several hotspots scattered on the school ground to entertain kids and their families. Since the festival is a recurring event, the school board allowed people from the local community to set up food stalls while the teachers took care of the fun zone.

Carried around by her father, Lia gawked at every passing outlet, gleefully looking for a place to play. Eric and Melanie didn't bother themselves in choosing as they let their precious granddaughter pick for herself. Meanwhile, Gigi's only job at the moment was to be wary of her front and back as she walked.

After spending a while sightseeing, Lia finally chose the first place to visit. It was a simple game booth: The Reindeer ring toss: Two as a team participate where one wears the adorable antlers, and the other had to try tossing the ring onto it. Every team gets three chances to throw the rings, and if they succeed in all try, they will receive gifts.

Ethan and Lia naturally formed a team to play their first game.

The first try ended up aiming low, whereas, on the second try, the ring barely got caught to the left antler. On her final turn, she couldn't make it. Unfortunately, Lia and Ethan's team failed. Facing a defeat right at the start dampened the kid's bright temper.

The family who supported from behind all rushed to comfort Lia, including Lillian. Somehow being surrounded by such a warm crowd helped Lia overcome the disappointment.

Meantime, Lillian looked around to find the next spot that could help Lia cheer up. Several games popped into her sight, but they all lack the humor in it. Seeking for a place where Lia could get it out of her system, Lillian desperately searched when Gigi's voice intervened all's attention.

She pointed at an outlet, saying, "Let's go to that one! Come on, Lia!"

Gigi's intentions were clear and triggered everyone to follow. Ethan lifted Lia again to his embrace, carrying her to the said spot when the rest of the family followed.

"Santa says... Jump three times!" the female host yelled through the microphone.

The crowd obeyed to jump thrice.

Lia and the family guessed correctly that this was the game Gigi pointed out to play next. Seeing the number of people engage actively distracted Lia from sulking any longer. The little girl gawked her eyes again to see if anyone disobeyed the command, long forgotten about the first failure.

"Santa says... Touch your head!"

"Santa says... Touch your shoulders!"

"Santa says... Touch your head!"

"Santa says... Touch your ears!"

"Santa says... Touch your head!"

The repeated commands carried the thrill as a few dared to slip and fail. The play continued until only three left. Those remaining ones followed the instructions intently, giving a tough fight to the host's effort into breaking them. Ultimately, the game ended with a winner, who received a surprise gift. Moving on, the staff prepared for the next batch of participants while the previous crowd dispersed. Since they conduct the play on the spot, anyone interested can give their names directly.

As expected, Lia glanced at her father as they received the message to announce that they will happily join this game, thanking Gigi for her great suggestion at the right time. The two rushed to enter their names.

Meanwhile, Gigi urged the others to join as well. Melanie's week knees warned her to stay away, and she did exactly. In her place, she sent her husband, Eric. Despite his age, Eric was still stronger than his wife.

The eldest daughter was happy to hear her father joining. She then asked Giselle and received a positive answer, which now leaves Lillian alone.

All this time, Gigi gave the cold shoulder to Lillian, refusing her presence grimly. However, right now, the same Gigi went out of her way to invite Lillian Grey.

"You should join us, too!" she said flatly.

Her dull tone, nonetheless of it, still lightened Lillian's mood. Adding Giselle's wild eye signals, Lillian agreed to participate.

For the next set, along with other kids and their families, Lia, Ethan, Eric, Gigi, Giselle, and Lillian Grey, enlisted their names.

Melanie stood by the side to watch, anticipating for a good laugh from her family.

...

The game began with an elementary level as the commands varied, making it easier to follow. Even so, Giselle faltered to fail first. She left her spot to join Melanie when another participant followed her footsteps. Seeing Giselle lose, Gigi voluntarily disobeyed the command, ended up exiting the play. She left her spot quickly to join her sister and mother.

"Thank god, you lost! Such a stupid game!" Gigi grunted as she appeared.

"It's a fun game!" Giselle argued, slightly taken back.

Gigi scoffed.

Seeing her reactions made Giselle suspect why Gigi would recommend such a game. Then it occurred that it was solely for uplifting Lia's downcast mood. Still, she inquired if Gigi had lost the game purposefully.

"Yeah, then where am I going to get a chance to talk to you like this- since she is following you closely," Gigi grunted to reply.

"I invited Lillian. Lia invited Lillian! She is only joining us because we asked her," Giselle responded, feeling slightly bitter from her sister's tone.

"Are you seriously taking her side right now?" Gigi raised her voice in frustration.

Melanie, their mother, singly glanced a look, and the two instantly fell silent. The sisters finally stood side by side next to their mother, in awkward silence. Gigi kept frowning at her sister. More than the game, she wanted to confront her sister privately when there is no one to interfere with them.

Gigi sighed loudly.

"I don't understand you, Giselle!" she began.

"What are you doing?"

"What is she doing here?"

Gigi now faced straight, meaning to learn why Giselle let someone from the past reappear again in her life, since it was due to her she got hurt in the first place.

"And Lia-"

Gigi gasped.

"Don't tell me that she and Lia met already! Why are they playing friendly?"

Gigi didn't let her sister speak and kept hitting with her endless inquiring. Thanks to it, Giselle felt no need to explain, letting her sister vent out as much as she desires.

Just when Gigi hit the break, another one failed.

"Speak of the devil! Doesn't even let me have a nice time with her!" Gigi remarked, seeing the sight of Lillian leaving her spot without disturbing others.

"It was your fault!" Melanie said.

"You kept talking and didn't let your sister respond," she added plainly, glancing at Giselle.

Giselle's lowered her gaze, feeling downhearted. The mother returned to watch the others play, no longer speaking.

From far, Lillian spotted Giselle and the family.

Giselle waved to receive her with a short smile. As soon as she arrived, Lillian sensed the dense mood. She returned the gesture to stand next to Giselle, taking the other side.

The commands kept pouring seriously since then. Eric had long forgotten his age to keep going steadily, executing every order with focus, so did Ethan and Lia. However, it was visible that the child was starting to get tired.

As anticipated, Lia lost in the next few rounds to join the rest of the family.

No longer did the mood suffocated because everyone joined to watch eagerly. Ethan and Eric became strong contenders as there were only three more left with them. The commands began tricky to follow, confusing the participants.

To everyone's surprise, Ethan won at last as he defeated everyone who fought with him into obeying every order with precision. As a reward, he received his surprise gift, which he shared with his daughter, Lia.

No longer was Ethan a stranger to Giselle's family as they all rejoiced his victory with loud cheers and applause, including Eric, who joined in clapping as well.

"Too bad! You were so close to winning," Lillian remarked, looking at Eric.

Her comment drew attention from Ethan to the old guy, who became the real sport today. They all admired him for his great gameplay. Witnessing his heavy pants now, Giselle advised that they should take a break and move to a spot where he could sit down to catch a breath.

The break extended to expose Eric's exhaustion. There is no need to say yet his state already implied that he should retire from today's adventures.

"No matter how passionate you are, you still need to be young to do things like this," Eric sighed.

"That's alright, dear. You were great!" Melanie added to wipe the flowing sweats on his face. His breath finally calmed down. Regardless, he looked tired from withstanding until last.

"You can leave, dad!" Giselle suggested after considering.

Her sudden idea plummeted the atmosphere. Gigi enraged, confronting her sister to be more considerate.

"I am!" Giselle replied.

Both sisters went back and forth, staring hard at each other.

"Enough, you two! Giselle's right! I should leave as well!" Eric finally admitted.

His knees went sick from the game, and frankly, it starts to look bad for him as it could hurt more if he keeps ignoring it for play.

The disappointment returned to all's faces. Lillian had only silently watched everything from the sides. Since it came down to this, she wished to encourage them if the plans are going to change.

"Food!"

The sulking faces instantly turned to face her.

"How about we all have a meal together? I'm sure they have someplace to-"

Lillian said to look around, but there were no restaurant look-alike outlets. The least is they can buy the food to find a place to sit down and eat together. Since the school ground was spacious, it can work well with her proposal.

Even though Gigi hated the person suggesting this plan, still, she couldn't help but agree to it. Lia joined to glorifying Lillian's words. The talk of food evoked their hunger to search for a place to snack at least.

Following their noses to feast at a local delicacy and tasting their deliciously famous Korean bbq popcorn chicken along with their sizzling hot soup dumplings, the family filled their grumbling tummies after a great victory.

..

Giselle took Lia with her to send off her parents and Gigi. Ethan also joined, paying his respects.

"How long are you going to stay here?" Eric suddenly asked.

Ethan shared his vacation details, which helped Eric to reach a decision.

"Then spend this Christmas with us."

His words almost shocked everyone as they overheard the old guy.

"I don't want to sound rude, but here's-" Eric roughly coughed to glance at his wife before speaking again, "We would like to invite you to spend this Christmas with us, Ethan," Eric said.

Even though taken back in surprise, Melanie quickly reacted to support her husband's intention. Ethan couldn't express his rapture as he agreed stiffly. Having gotten a proper answer, the family finally chose to retire.

Before leaving, Gigi approached her sister close to whisper gently.

"We will talk about this later!"

Following her reminder to Giselle, Gigi glanced at Lillian, giving one last piercing stare. Lillian guessed it involved her with the whispering. Still, she waved her goodbye.

With everyone finally gone, the three returned to join Lillian Grey, and the four of them left alone to face the rest of the day.