Festive time

Joseph looked at the three people who were grinning and felt completely puzzled, not understanding what was happening. However, he had no intention of intervening in their conversation. At first glance, he noticed the red costume in Alex's hand and decided not to inquire further about their conversation. Instead, he gestured towards the costume and asked, "What is this?"

"It's for Halloween!" Alex raised the costume in his hand and cheerfully exclaimed. Clearly, 20-year-old Alex had been eagerly anticipating Halloween. "Look, I specifically picked up this outfit from a thrift store. Isn't it great? Isn't it great?"

"What... is this?" Hugo looked at the bright red jumpsuit, filled with question marks in his mind. "Is it tight-fitting?" Hugo examined the material of the clothes and strongly doubted the effect it would have when worn.

"Yes," answered Charlize, her firm tone showing her expertise, but the look of horror on her face wasn't as amusing. Hugo and Charlize exchanged a glance, involuntarily twitching their lips.

"It's Spider-Man! Can't you all see?" Alex refused to give up hope and continued with hopeful eyes, his gaze shifting between Charlize, Hugo, and Joseph.

Hugo immediately had a puzzled expression. He could guarantee that if Spider-Man wore such an outfit, he would definitely be mistaken for a non-mainstream individual, especially considering Hugo had seen the live-action movie "Spider-Man" released in the 21st century. So, this outfit seemed even stranger.

Joseph's reaction was slightly better. He carefully looked up and down, nodding reluctantly. "Although it's different from the feeling in the comics, why didn't you choose blue pants?"

Alex regretfully tugged at the bright red pants. "Because of the price..."

"Oh..." Joseph and the others suddenly realized, then Joseph pointed to the part of the sleeves and asked, "So, what are you going to do about the spider web? It wouldn't be Spider-Man without it, even though the costume has a spider symbol on the chest."

"I have a plan..." Alex saw Joseph responding to him and immediately began excitedly explaining, with a long-winded idea.

"You must have been eagerly anticipating Halloween," Hugo couldn't help but exclaim. Although he had participated in Halloween activities before, he rarely saw someone as enthusiastic and proactive as Alex. Perhaps it was because Halloween didn't have a strong tradition in Asia, so the atmosphere in that regard wasn't as intense.

"Of course! I've been looking forward to this day for a long time!" Alex's eyes were practically gleaming. "Don't tell me none of you are prepared?" Alex noticed that none of the three people in front of him responded, and his surprised tone almost reached a breaking point.

"Prepared for what?" Charlize curiously asked. She didn't have enough understanding of American customs and habits. "For candy? But you're already past the age of 'trick or treating'." In fact, many college students still played "trick or treat" games on Halloween, but compared to candy, the most important thing was to enjoy the atmosphere. Of course, pranks were also part of it.

"It's a festive party, age has nothing to do with it!" Alex explained excitedly but still didn't receive any response. "Oh, my God! You're all a bunch of boring people! Boring!" Alex couldn't understand why someone wouldn't like Halloween. "You didn't even prepare for Halloween, it's appalling."

Alex complained angrily and walked back to his room with his costume. Watching Alex's rigid figure, Hugo and the others exchanged glances and couldn't help but burst into laughter.

"That reminds me of my little sister, Mary, and her anticipation for Halloween," Joseph recalled his family, and a smile involuntarily formed at the corners of his mouth. "She would always sit in front of the pumpkin, waiting for us to carve it together. But once the jack-o'-lantern was decorated, she would get scared and want to hide behind me. She insisted that I accompany her to go trick-or-treating, even if my brother Peter volunteered to go with her. So every year during Halloween, I am always busy."

Joseph's words brought smiles to the faces of Hugo and Charlize as well. It was always like this when they talked about their families.

"What about this year? Are you going back?" Hugo asked, recalling that Joseph didn't seem to have gone back last year for Halloween, Thanksgiving, or Christmas.

Joseph sighed. "Mary has grown up. It's been a few years since she needed me to go trick-or-treating with her." He said it with regret, filled with melancholy. "Besides, we have promotional activities for Halloween. But Thanksgiving has holidays. Are you planning to go back?"

As Joseph asked the question, Hugo's immediate reaction was to look at Charlize because he didn't think it was directed at him. It had been ten years since he had been home, and, more importantly, he had no "home" to return to here. He couldn't go back.

Charlize, on the other hand, didn't catch on immediately. She hesitated for a moment, thinking it was directed at Hugo. But when the question was redirected at her, she responded, "No, I won't go back. I've made plans to go to New York with my mother for Christmas. How about you?" Charlize threw the question back at Hugo.

It was then that Hugo realized that he did have a home to return to here. Hugo Lancaster was not an orphan; in fact, his parents were still alive. However, the problem lay in the fact that he had been in this time for ten months already and had never spoken to his parents on the phone, let alone meet them. His memories of the family were still just vague fragments, except for knowing that his parents were divorced; there wasn't much specific information.

According to common sense, if parents didn't contact their child for ten months, wasn't it obvious? The relationship between parents and child was very strained, regardless of who was at fault, but at least there was no sign of reconciliation. So when Charlize threw the question at him, Hugo was stunned for a moment, taking a few seconds to figure out how to respond.

Joseph looked at the silent Hugo. His knowledge of Hugo's family matters was limited, and people like Ron Meyer or Tracey Jacobus would probably know more. But in the more than a year Joseph had spent with Hugo, Hugo had hardly contacted his parents. The few times they did communicate seemed to be before last Christmas, and they ended on bad terms. Family was not a keyword that frequently appeared in Hugo's conversations.

"Hugo, why don't you try calling your father?" Joseph suggested uncertainly. In the past, Joseph wouldn't have bothered giving Hugo any advice about his personal life because he simply didn't care enough about Hugo. Hugo wasn't worth it. But since this year, Hugo had changed a lot, and their relationship had improved. So Joseph tentatively offered this suggestion.

Indeed, upon hearing the suggestion, Hugo didn't react angrily as Joseph had feared. Instead, he pondered for a moment. "Maybe I should give it a try?"

But what should I say after making the phone call? Not to mention his estranged father, even Hugo hasn't been in contact with his parents for a long time, even before he time-traveled. And even if there was contact, it was always with his mother. Suddenly, Hugo noticed that Joseph suggested contacting his father, not his mother. Was there a reason behind this?

Furthermore, Hugo didn't have the habit of celebrating Thanksgiving. He knew that the tradition of Thanksgiving in the United States was a family gathering followed by complaints and arguments. Many American movies depicted family conflicts erupting during Thanksgiving. Hugo didn't know if the movies were exaggerated or if real life was like that. So Hugo also didn't know what to say after calling his father. "Shall we have a meal together?" or "Should we get together this Thanksgiving?"

Hugo rubbed his temples, feeling a headache even before making the call. Joseph gained some courage from Hugo's affirmative response earlier and continued, "You can just greet him and ask about his plans for Thanksgiving. As for the rest... you'll figure it out during the conversation."

"Phew... I understand," Hugo adjusted his breathing. "The phone number, my father's phone number... do you have it?" Hugo wrinkled his nose. "I don't remember." It was an admission that he had to make because there were no clues in Hugo's mind.

Joseph wasn't surprised at all; it seemed natural. "I remember you had a note in your wallet. If not, you can check the "Dead Poets Society" script. You always tend to mix important information in there or write it down directly." Hugo used to have some superstitions, thinking that "Dead Poets Society" brought him good luck, so he always had a habit of keeping important things in the script.

Hugo frowned. "Okay, I got it. There's still some time before Thanksgiving, so no rush." If he could recall more about his family during this time, it would be even better. At the very least, he wanted to know what was going on between him and his mother. If he could prepare for the conversation with his father, it would be even more perfect.

"So, what are we having for dinner tonight?" Hugo looked at the vegetables on the table. Charlize had been organizing them for a while, laying out all the vegetables but never putting them in the refrigerator.

Charlize knew Hugo was changing the subject, but she didn't expose him. Instead, she lowered her head and looked at the vegetables on the table. "There are some clams in the fridge, so let's prepare spaghetti. Actually, if you buy a few more potatoes, we can make mashed potatoes with gratin. Unfortunately, we only have three..." Charlize helplessly rolled the three lonely potatoes on the table.

"Why did you only buy three potatoes?" Joseph asked with a surprised expression. This immediately brought the topic back to before Joseph entered the room. Hugo and Charlize exchanged glances and burst into laughter.