"Alright, let's not say any more."
Latham let out a quiet sigh. His wife always lost her cool as soon as anything involved their daughter.
"We're heading to the countryside tomorrow. That's settled."
When Latham made a decision, Octavia rarely ever changed his mind.
"Fine, if you say go, then we'll go," Octavia said, a little defeated and gave up trying to persuade him.
"Take Cindy out to pick up some gifts for the holiday. If we're going to visit, the least we can do is bring something nice."
With that decided, Octavia had no choice but to get on with it. In the afternoon, she took her daughter out shopping for presents.
James Village was always lively in the afternoon, but today the whole place buzzed even more than usual. The ancestral hall was getting ready for an evening ceremony.
For Claire, it was her first time taking part in the holiday ritual as the young head of the family.
She stuck close to Pandora, moving through the crowd as everyone made room for them.
No one gave Claire a hard time for being young or a woman. In fact, everyone was warm, respectful, and even a little deferential.
Maybe that was because she'd earned her place in the village by saving Jim right after becoming young chief, or maybe it was just down to Pandora's reputation.
Claire picked up on it pretty quickly. In James Village, whatever Pandora said was the rule. Her word was law.
The ceremony itself was solemn but didn't drag. Everything moved along smoothly, and it was all wrapped up in half an hour.
Pandora stood at the front, Claire a step behind her, while everyone else lit incense and knelt to pay their respects.
"We wish every villager of James Village long life and happiness."
"We wish our children peace and joy."
"Our third wish..."
Pandora's presence was impressive, and Claire made sure not to mess around or look distracted.
When it was over, Pandora divided up the fruit offerings for all the kids.
Each child got their own special treat, and the whole hall lit up with happy faces.
Jenny was there with her camera, catching every smile, every laugh.
She waved Claire over. "Come look at these, Claire! They turn out so great."
Every kid's happiness in that moment was perfectly captured.
Jenny had a good eye-her photos always looked fantastic.
She caught the tiniest details, too.
"We should print them out later and give them to all the village kids. I bet they'd really love that," Claire said with a smile.
"Totally!" Jenny agreed, as cheerful as ever.
Honestly, she'd never expected Solenia's holiday celebrations to be so lively and
fun.
Jenny grabbed Claire's hand and pressed it against her own tummy. "Look, I think I've put on a little holiday weight already."
"Don't worry about it. Once the new year rush is over, it'll all go away."
"You're not going to stay
Solenia
forever. When you go home,
won't have all this delicious food i
front of you
Claire teased, mak
Jenny pout.
“You're making me seriously consider staying,” Jenny joked.
"Maybe SUNNY could promote someone else," she mused.
"Or we could just move the whole company headquarters to Solenia."
Suddenly, her own idea made her grin.
"I'm cool with that. If you can convince everyone else to make the move, I won't stop you."
"If not, you'll just have to start a new team out here," Claire pointed out gently. It wouldn't be easy.
“I'll think about it,” Jenny said, scratching her head and laughing.
Where there's a will, there's always a way.
"Be honest, though," Claire said, glancing over to where Edison was standing. "Are you really staying for the food or is there someone else you're hooked on?"
Edison looked especially cozy today, dressed in a black turtleneck and jeans.
He chatted with the elders over drinks, cheeks slightly flushed, but still every bit as handsome.
Honestly, Claire couldn't blame
Jenny for being into him. A guy like Edison steady, mature, but with just
a little bit of wildness could sweep anyone off their feet.
"Why can't I have both the food and the guy?” Jenny shot back, her Chinese clear
and confident. She always knew how to keep up with Claire.