New year's dinner

As promised, Michael texted Gabby almost every day. He even sent Gabby photos and videos of his snow skiing, along with messages like, "You must be jealous, right?"

Time flew so fast. They would celebrate the new year soon. Early in the morning, Agnes woke Gabby to shop at the supermarket. During the trip, Gabby could see many people selling fireworks.

Arriving at the supermarket, Gabby's eyes fell on the fizzy drink. She casually picked it up and put it in the shopping basket. Agnes frowned when she saw the drink.

"What is this?" Agnes took the bottle from the basket.

"Soft drink?" Gabby replied casually.

"Don't drink too much sweet stuff!" Agnes returned the bottle, "Find another .."

"My wife, it's the new year! Let Gabby drink whatever she wants." Daniel put the bottle back in the basket, "Gabby, just buy whatever you want."

Hearing this made Gabby grin. Gabby walked ahead of her parents so that she couldn't hear her mother's nagging.

"Our daughter will become fat, you know?" Agnes growled.

Daniel shook his head, "Never mind, you are too much."

-

After lunch, Gabby and her parents cleaned their house. Remembering Coach Hendrik's service, Gabby's parents invited him to dinner together.

Gabby was very excited today, as if this was Gabby's first time celebrating the new year. The girl helped her mother cook and wash fruits. She was so excited that her face was covered in flour and made her mother laugh.

At exactly eight o'clock they had their dinner together. Gabby's dining room was filled with laughter. Coach Hendrik had repeatedly praised her mother's gastronomy. The woman blushed then nudged her husband's arm.

"You don't praise my cooking either?" Agnes whispered.

"Delicious." Daniel replied briefly.

Apart from the sound of laughter, the dining room was also filled with music from the radio. Three adults and one teenager enjoyed the dinner happily. One of the things that got Gabby up was that she got three envelopes. When the girl felt that no one was looking, she opened the envelope.

Gabby couldn't help smiling as she looked at the red money on the envelope. She closed the envelope again and put it in her trouser's pocket.

After dinner, Daniel invited Gabby to accompany him to the backyard. It turned out that Daniel set off firecrackers which made Agnes tell them to go back inside. Like children, Daniel and Gabby entered the house with their heads bowed.

At ten at night, Gabby walked to the kitchen's window. The girl supported her chin and looked at Michael's house. His house was still dark, indicating that her friend had not returned.

While exhaling, Gabby took the cell phone from her pocket. The girl saw that Michael had not replied to her message this afternoon. After thinking for a long time, Gabby finally decided to send messages again.

"Michael, what are you doing now?"

She put the cellphone in her pocket and walked into the living room. There, Gabby could see her parents watching an event. At nine o'clock last night, Coach Hendrik said goodbye to go home. He didn't come home empty handed. Gabby's mom insisted on giving him leftovers from the dinner.

"What event is this?" Gabby asked as she sat on the sofa next to her parents.

"Honestly, you don't know either." Agnes changed the tv channel, "There are no good shows to watch."

"Hmm." Gabby nodded her head. The girl covered herself with a blanket and then leaned her head back.

It wasn't long before Gabby fell asleep on the sofa to the sound of her parents.

-

"Oh, unfortunately Gabby is sleeping." She heard her mother's voice from a distance.

Gabby opened her eyes, then closed them again, feeling that she was still dreaming. The girl opened her eyes again when she heard a deep voice that she had not heard for a long time.

"Then tomorrow morning I'll be here auntie." The voice sounded very familiar.

Gabby blinked repeatedly, trying to remember the owner of the voice. When her memory returned, the girl quickly got up from the sofa. Without looking at her appearance, Gabby rushed to follow the source of the voice.

Near the entrance, Gabby could see two black suitcases. Near the trunk, Gabby's eyes found Adam, who looked tired, but still smiling graciously. Shifting her gaze to another direction, Gabby could see the person she missed so much.

"Michael!" Gabby shouted, running towards Michael.

Michael looked away and saw the young girl who was running towards him. He opened his arms wide, ready to embrace Gabby.

Seeing Michael's action made Daniel's eyes bulge. The man turned around and stood in front of Gabby, his arms folded in front, "Don't do anything reckless."

"Mom, what's wrong with dad?" Gabby walked past her father.

Agnes chuckled irritably then walked to her husband, "Don't mess around with that."

Gabby smiled again when she saw Michael. The girl walked with a slight jump, like a rabbit, towards him. Arriving in front of Michael, Gabby could not help feeling happy.

"Hi," Gabby grinned, "When did you get here?"

Seeing Gabby's eyes sparkling made Michael want to hug her. But when he saw Gabby's father's face he stopped his mind.

"Just arrived." Michael smiled back at Gabby.

"Michael, Adam, have you guys eaten?" Agnes walked over, "If not I will heat up the rest of the dinner last night."

"Don't bother madame," Adam shook his head, "We've eaten earlier."

Daniel was watching the interaction between Gabby and Michael when he felt his wife's gaze. He then looked away and raised his eyebrows, as if to ask, 'What?'

Agnes walked over and whispered, "Warm the food, I want to talk to Michael and Adam."

"Huh?!" Daniel asked incredulously.

How could his wife tell him to do that? Why didn't Agnes do it herself? But because of the great fear of his wife, finally Daniel did as Agnes ordered.

Daniel sighed and then walked into the kitchen.

"Today's food is delicious, you know," Gabby whispered, "It's better than food in America."

Michael laughed at what Gabby said. He nodded his head then replied, "Let's see."

-

"Michael." Agnes took an empty plate, "Eat a lot, okay."

Michael nodded his head then ate the food in front of him. Even though Daniel didn't like the idea of ​​Michael being his future son-in-law. But somehow, Daniel felt happy when he saw the man eating well.

Daniel walked to the refrigerator and took out a kebab and tart. At first, he didn't want to get the food out because Gabby really liked it. But because the food on the table ran out so quickly, Daniel couldn't help but take it out.

"Is it good?" Gabby asked, sitting across from Michael.

"Hmm," Michael looked up, "It's delicious."

Gabby saw the grease in Michael's mouth. The girl then took a tissue and wiped Michael's mouth. Michael's eyes widened in shock and he could feel his face turning red. But when Michael saw her, Gabby looked normal.

The one who looked happy and embarrassed instead was Gabby's mother, and not her child. Adam, who saw Gabby's action, immediately drank a glass of water to wet his throat.

Not long after, Agnes stood up and left the dining table. She walked over to her husband who was in the kitchen. When she saw her husband, Agnes tapped Daniel's shoulder lightly.

"They seem to be dating." Agnes smiled broadly then shook her head.

"Huh?!" Daniel looked at his wife, "Who?"

Agnes glanced at her husband then sipped a glass of water, "Who else?"

"Us?" Daniel asked.

"Gosh..." Agnes narrowed her eyes and walked away from Daniel, "Whatever."

-

After dinner, their stomachs felt very full. The two teenagers were not allowed to help Agnes wash the dishes. At first they helped, it's just that they were too busy playing with water instead of washing dishes.

"You two, that's enough." Agnes chuckled irritably, "It's a waste of water."

This made Gabby invite Michael to stand by the window and look at the firecrackers. As they looked at the dark sky dotted with firecrackers, a brilliant idea popped into Gabby's mind.

"Hey, do you want to play fireworks?" Gabby turned, her eyes sparkled.

"Fireworks?" Michael asked. His tone indicated that he didn't know what Gabby meant.

"Ouch, you don't know, do you?" Gabby smiled mockingly, "Fireworks! You really don't know? Sparkles?"

Michael shook his head.

"You hold it and let it shoot firecrackers!" Gabby still couldn't believe the boy didn't know what fireworks were.

"Yes, I don't know what you mean." Michael shook his head.

"Follow me!" Gabby grabbed Michael's hand and ran out of the house.