"Well now, this is a fine piece," Carson Holden said with a smile.
"My granddaughter has much better taste than her father," Mr. Holden said, happily fiddling with the pipe. He had completely forgotten that his son and daughter-in-law had been running around for two weeks to throw him a proper birthday banquet.
"Yes, Ivy is closest to her grandpa." As Carson spoke, he took out his wallet, pulled out a bank card, and handed it to Ivy Holden.
"N-no, that's not necessary." Ivy Holden hadn't expected Carson Holden to give her money. Ever since she'd had a falling out with the family and moved out, she hadn't taken any money from him. This sudden gesture felt a little strange.
"Tsk! Are you still sulking at your dad?" Mr. Holden asked, displeased.
"This is your New Year's money. It's not much, just go buy yourself something you like," Carson Holden said, pressing the card into his daughter's hand.
"Thanks." Ivy Holden didn't hesitate any longer. 'It's a daughter's birthright to take money from her own father, after all. It'd be foolish not to.'
Carson Holden secretly breathed a sigh of relief, then asked tentatively, "Ivy, you're twenty now. What are your plans for the future?"
"No plans," Ivy Holden said aloud, but inwardly, she thought, 'I really should start making some proper plans.'
"I saw Professor Walton from your college before the New Year. He said..."
Ivy Holden was instantly repulsed and asked with a cold smile, "Does taking your money mean I have to do what you say?"
"You child! He's your father. Shouldn't he be concerned about your future?" Mr. Holden glared at Ivy Holden again.
Ivy Holden just smiled nonchalantly. "Well then, thank you for your concern, Dad."
"I read the book you published before the New Year. I think..." Carson Holden was an influential man in his own right, yet facing his daughter, he found himself at a loss for words.
"I'm already twenty. I can plan my own life. If you want to be my life coach, I'm sorry, but you're too late." With that, Ivy Holden stood up and shouted upstairs, "June! Let's go!"
"Go where?! It's time to eat!" Mr. Holden placed his beloved pipe back in its box, shutting the lid with a SNAP. He glared at his son. "If you want to exercise your parental authority, do it at your own house! Don't show off here!"
June Grant had just come downstairs and hadn't even spoken when a cheerful voice came from the front door. "Grandpa! I'm back!"
"Is that my Nathan?" Mr. Holden's face immediately broke into a smile. "Did you all plan this today? We have more people here than we did for New Year's."
"Grandpa!" Nathan Rowan burst through the door and happily bounded toward Ivy Holden. "Well, well, well, our great author is back from her vacation! Did you bring me a present?"
Seeing him joking around the moment he entered, without bringing up the matter with Ezekiel Aldrin, Ivy Holden was quite pleased. She laughed and said, "You're a big boss raking in money hand over fist. You should be glad I haven't come to you for a handout. You have the nerve to ask me for a present?"
"Nathan's here." Carson Holden wasn't particularly pleased with this nephew either. 'A top student from the music department, and instead of honing his craft, he had to go and open a music bar!'
The moment Nathan Rowan saw Carson Holden, he immediately dropped his jokester persona and greeted him respectfully, "Hello, Uncle."
Brooke Morrison came out of the kitchen, wiping her hands as she smiled. "Nathan, you're here? Go wash your hands, dinner's ready! Mrs. Lynch made your favorite fried sweet potato sticks."
"Hi, Aunt," Nathan Rowan waved at Brooke Morrison. His eyes lit up when he saw the fried sweet potato sticks on the table. If Carson Holden hadn't been there, he would have pounced on them and grabbed a couple to eat right away.
"Everyone, go wash your hands! Time to eat, time to eat!" Edison Holden stood up and took the pipe from his dear granddaughter into his bedroom for safekeeping.
Ivy Holden pulled June Grant over to the sink. Nathan Rowan carefully sidled up to them and asked in a low voice, "Why are my uncle and aunt here? If I'd known, I wouldn't have come back."
"It's not too late to leave now," Ivy Holden said, pressing the soap dispenser and carefully lathering her fingertips.
"No way. I have something tomorrow, so I can't make it to Grandpa's birthday banquet. If I just leave tonight, Grandpa will skin me alive," Nathan Rowan sighed, his face a mask of misery.
"Then wash your hands and eat," Ivy Holden said, drying her hands with a paper towel and walking out.
"So, uh, can you give me a ride home after dinner?" June Grant winked at Nathan Rowan.
Nathan Rowan immediately found his excuse for an early exit and nodded eagerly. "OK, it's a deal."
In the dining room, seven or eight dishes were already laid out on the table.
Mr. Holden sat at the head of the table, and everyone else, except for Jensen Morrison, had taken their seats. Brooke Morrison stood next to Carson Holden by the table, ladling soup for Mr. Holden.
"Nathan, sit," Mr. Holden beckoned.
Nathan Rowan didn't sit down right away. Instead, he took a box out of his backpack and presented it to Mr. Holden with a smile. "Grandpa, this is the gift I prepared for you. My parents' performance in Budapest isn't over yet, so they couldn't make it back to celebrate your birthday. They told me again and again to apologize to you on their behalf."
"Their careers are at a critical point; it's natural for them to be busy. It's enough that you came in their place. Why prepare a gift? It's not like your grandpa is a child. Am I not going to have a birthday without a present?" Mr. Holden chuckled as he took the box. Opening it, he saw a scroll inside and asked, "What treasure is this?"
"It's a painting I picked up at the Morgan Family market with some friends a few days ago. I don't know if it's authentic or not. You can take a closer look after dinner, Grandpa." Nathan Rowan picked up his chopsticks and asked with a grin, "Uncle, can we eat now? I skipped lunch, I'm starving."
Ivy Holden shot him a sidelong glance. 'Who was that wolfing down food in the small server room earlier?'
Jensen Morrison came back after taking a phone call, an apologetic look on his face. "Grandpa, Uncle Holden, I have something to take care of, so I need to leave first."
"But we're just starting. Have a bite before you go," Carson Holden said, gesturing at the food on the table.
"I had something to eat this afternoon, so I'm not hungry. I won't keep you all company." As Jensen Morrison spoke, he looked only at Brooke Morrison, waiting for her to speak.
"Alright, drive safe and don't stay up too late tonight," Brooke Morrison advised.
"Okay, I know." Jensen Morrison said goodbye to everyone again and left in a hurry.
The housekeeper, Mrs. Lynch, brought out the last soup and said with a smile, "Mr. Holden, all the dishes are served. Would you like a drink or two?"
"Not tonight. I'll drink tomorrow." Mr. Holden picked up his chopsticks and said to his children and grandchildren, "Let's eat."
Nathan Rowan was the first to pick up his chopsticks, grabbing a piece of his favorite candied sweet potato. Ivy Holden placed a chicken wing on June Grant's plate.
June Grant was delighted but said, "Oh, but I'm supposed to be on a diet."
"You need energy to lose weight," Ivy Holden said, then placed a meatball on Mr. Holden's plate. "Grandpa, this is your favorite."
"Our Ivy seems to have grown up so much over the New Year. So sensible now!" Mr. Holden said, taking a happy bite of the meatball.
Carson Holden's eyes flickered. He, too, had noticed that his perpetually rebellious daughter seemed to have suddenly become much more mature.
Although it was a simple dinner, everyone had their own thoughts, making the atmosphere a bit awkward. But Ivy Holden couldn't be bothered to overthink it and just focused on eating—she was exhausted from the day and had no energy to read everyone's expressions.
After dinner, June Grant said she was heading home, and Nathan Rowan volunteered to drive her.
After helping the housekeeper, Mrs. Lynch, clear the leftovers into the kitchen, Brooke Morrison and Carson Holden said their goodbyes to the old man. As they were leaving, Carson reminded his father not to forget his medicine and to get some rest. Brooke, meanwhile, asked Ivy Holden with concern, "Ivy, have you prepared your clothes for the banquet tomorrow? Would you like your aunt to help you prepare something?"
"Thank you, Auntie Morrison, but I'll prepare them myself," Ivy Holden replied with a polite smile.
Brooke Morrison, who was used to constantly clashing with Ivy Holden, was momentarily stunned. 'How is it that this child has suddenly become a completely different person?' she wondered.