BuzzNovel“What's wrong, Mom?” Alessia asked, seeing how flustered Karen looked. She half-expected something serious
had happened.
“Here, gifts. | was going to give them to you tonight, but in case you two get back late, | thought I'd hand them
over now.” Karen pressed a small box into each of their hands.
“Thanks, Mom.” Alessia accepted hers without fuss, smiling warmly.
Cole, on the other hand, stood there awkwardly, gift in hand, unsure what to do.
“What's got you frozen?” Karen teased, glancing at Alessia. Alessia just nudged Cole’s sleeve, encouraging him.
“I just didn’t expect you'd have one fortoo. Thank you, Mrs. Morton.” Cole’s words were polite, but a touch
uneasy.
For a moment, he was transported back to childhood-after every holiday meal, his parents would hand out gifts
and pocket money.
Back then, he and his siblings didn’t care much about money. What mattered was that these were gifts from
their parents.
“What are you saying? Aren't you one of the kids?” Karen patted his arm, as if it was the most natural thing in
the world.
“Exactly. When have you ever seen a kid without a present, or a bit of pocket money?” Brendan wandered over,
having just finished the dishes.
“With your gifts in hand, may the new year bring you safety and happiness.” Karen's smile was warm, her
Follow on NovᴇlEnglish.nᴇtblessing wrapping around the two of them like a soft shawl.
Cole ran his fingers over the box, then smiled and thanked the Mortons. Alessia watched his hand, studying his
profile-she could guess exactly what he was thinking.
By the tthey arrived at the restaurant, night had already fallen. Winter days were short, and outside,
darkness wrapped itself around the little side street.
Children darted in and out of the shadows, waving sparklers. Red lanterns-now replaced by strings of fairy lights-
hung overhead, castin
g a cheery glow.
“We used to play like that, remember?” Cole said, steadying a little boy who nearly tripped.
1/3
12:38
The boy mumbled a quick thanks, then dashed off as his friends called his name, disappearing into the end of
the lane.
“Back then, the whole street echoed with parents calling their kids hfor dinner. Mr. Whitley would shout
himself hoarse and we'd still pretend not to hear. Ms. June always said Mr. Whitley was playing hide-and-seek
with us-made us hide for a whole hour just to see if he'd give up.”
Cole grinned, tucking Alessia’s hand inside his coat pocket to keep her warm.
“Yeah. And in the end, the three of us stood in the yard getting a lecture from Dad for half an hour, only for Mom
to swoop in, put on a show, and save us.”
Alessia nodded. “You almost ledthe wrong way, too.”
Cole scratched his nose sheepishly, lips twitching in a smile.
Back then, he hadn't even known the way home; he'd nearly gotten them lost. In the end, it was Alessia-who’d
just moved there-who led them back to the clinic.
Jade June had teased him about it for a decade. Every New Year's, she'd bring it up. They reached the house, the
front door left open for them.
“Happy New Year, Grandpa!”
“Cole, Lessie.” Six Dawson greeted them:
They stepped inside. In the yard, Xander bustled about, directing Six as they moved a table indoors. When he
saw them, he abandoned the table and hobbled over, leaning on his cane.
It struck them then—while they'd been
growing up, the older geneation Had
[
beep adety Jrwing older, too. The
content is on novelenglish.net! Read
the latest chapter there!
“You're here-cin, cin. Dinner will be here soon.”
Most years, Cole's father, Parrish,
would have been in the kitchen: yer
since the Whileys! YolBies though,
theif So-called holiday feast came
from the best The content is on
novelenglish.net! Read the latest
chapter there!
restaurant in town.
“Oh, and my mom baked these for you this afternoon.” Alessia handed Xander a box of homemade cookies.
Cole stepped in to help Six with the table.
Xander's eyes turned glassy as he
took the cookies, his hands irgnbling
sont past gears, Gage would
always uy him a special treat for the
holiday. Now, those The content is on
novelenglish.net! Read the latest
chapter there!
213
12:38
days were gone.
3/3
Visit our social media platform to read fascinating stories every day and connect with the community!
