Chapter 76 Didn't Your Boyfriend Come back with You?
Heather snickered, her eyes darting to the pile of fruit Alistair had brought. "Bella, did you guys snag some cherries too? Why do they look tinier than the ones Donna got?"
Bella's smile wavered a bit, but she kept it cool. "How can my budget compare to Donna's?"
Heather cracked up. "True that!"
Camilla smirked, playing it cool. "Heather, what kind of fruit did you grab?"
Heather's grin froze.
Camilla acted clueless and, since the bag was right by her feet, she casually dug through it. "Let's see, we've got apples, pears, and oranges."
None of the fancy stuff.
"Heather sure knows how to pick 'em, all the everyday stuff."
Heather found the comment annoying but couldn't really argue with Camilla's words. "Yeah, yeah, I figured I'd get stuff everyone likes."
Heather came from a decent background. Her folks both worked at the power company and had some minor official gigs. Being the only kid, Heather had a cushy life, never short on cash.
But Heather was pretty tight-fisted and not exactly generous, especially towards her family..
Camilla said, "Heather is really thoughtful."
Heather stayed quiet.
Donna cleared her throat. "Stop yapping and eat some fruit."
"Okay, thanks, Donna." Camilla grabbed a cherry and popped it in her mouth, "It's super sweet."
Heather, though, found her fruit bland.
Feeling awkward, she turned to Jared, hoping he'd say something nice.
But Jared didn't even look her way.
"Mom, have some more, they're really crisp and sweet!" Patricia urged her to hurry, or they'd be gone soon.
Heather felt stuck.
"All you two do is eat! You're here just to bug me!"
Patricia and Jared were both speechless.
Soon it was noon, and the housekeeper had popped out of the kitchen a few times to ask when they could set the table. Donna said, "Let's wait a bit longer, Maurice isn't done yet."
Zoey nodded right away. "Let's wait till everyone's here."
Another hour passed, and Donna started glancing towards the upstairs study. "Should we start eating? We can't let everyone starve, right?"
"It's cool, I'm not hungry anyway. Ryan, you hungry?"
"Nope."
"Anyone hungry?" Zoey looked around.
Silence.
"Alright, let's wait a bit longer then." Zoey decided.
Suddenly, a female voice came from the entrance. "Wait for what? Wait for me?"
She took off her down jacket, revealing a black suit, her hair neatly tied up.
"Laura!" Zoey jumped up from the couch, looking at Laura. "Didn't you say you had to work and couldn't make it?"
Laura was the manager of a bank branch and had to work during holidays. She had told Zoey earlier she couldn't come.
"I got someone to cover for me, just left for a meal, no biggie." Laura said as she changed her shoes.
Laura started greeting everyone, and then her eyes landed on Camilla. "Camilla, you're back?"
"Laura." Camilla greeted her.
"You've grown up and gotten prettier, but..." Her eyes scanned Camilla's face and then the bag by her side, frowning a bit.
"Laura, come have some fruit." Donna warmly invited.
Laura smiled and pulled out a small box, handing it over. "A gift, Donna, you've worked hard for the family all year."
Donna looked surprised. "For me?"
"Of course."
"You're too kind!" Donna took the box and set it aside, planning to open it later.
But Laura chimed in herself. "It's a gold bracelet. If you don't dig the style, you can swap it."
Heather's eyes widened. "Laura, you're so generous, giving a gold bracelet as a gift."
Laura raised an eyebrow, looking a bit smug but still humble. "Oh, it's nothing. Donna's seen all kinds of fancy stuff. This is just a little something."
"Donna has, but what about Bella and me?" Heather joked, but there was a hint of seriousness. "You're a bank manager now, dealing with big clients all the time. You should know these social niceties, right?"
Laura didn't hold back. "Heather, are you hinting you want one too?"
Heather's smile stayed put. "Who wouldn't want a gold bracelet? Bella, you want one too, right?"
With the spotlight on Bella, both Heather and Laura stared at her.
Bella stayed quiet.
"Bella, say something?"
At the crucial moment, Alistair jumped in. "She doesn't like wearing jewelry. I've never seen her wear anything I've given her."
Heather pursed her lips, thinking Bella was such a bumpkin for not liking gold jewelry.
"Bella doesn't like it, but I do!" Heather shamelessly said, "Laura, you wouldn't play favorites, would you?"
Laura shot back. "Sure, then you can treat everyone to a meal at your place sometime. Aren't you afraid you won't get any gifts?"
Heather's face darkened.
Her house wasn't big enough to host such a large group.
"If you think your house is too small, you can treat everyone to a meal at a restaurant." Laura seemed to read her mind and blocked her escape route before Heather could make an excuse.
Heather stayed silent.
She thought, 'Are you kidding? With such a large group, wouldn't it take two or three tables? And the restaurant can't be too low-end, it has to be presentable.
'How much would that cost?
'Getting a gold bracelet would probably cost me more in the end.'
"Oh, I was just joking, Laura, you took it seriously."
Laura rolled her eyes.
"It's almost two o'clock, are we eating or not?" Heather, trying to ease the awkwardness, found something to say.
But that only made things worse.
Zoey's face darkened. "Didn't you have breakfast? Are you that hungry?"
Heather was at a loss for words.
Camilla watched everyone's expressions and glanced at the clock on the wall. At this point, making people wait either meant he was really busy or just putting on airs.
Just then, a voice came from upstairs.
"Why haven't we set the table yet?"
Maurice came down the stairs, wearing a polo shirt and light-colored casual pants.
Though he had gained weight in middle age, sporting a big belly, his face still showed signs of his youthful handsomeness.
Heather heard this and secretly rolled her eyes, thinking, 'Who would dare eat without you?'
Donna, seeing Maurice was done, smiled and went to greet him, explaining, "We were planning to start, but everyone said to wait for you. It's more fun when everyone's here, so..."
"Why wait for me?" Maurice frowned, "Letting everyone go hungry? Especially Mom and Dad, they're old, can they handle being this hungry?"
Donna felt a bit lost, wanting to explain but not knowing how.
"Maurice, why blame Donna? We asked her to wait. How can we start a meal without the whole family?" Zoey immediately defended Donna.
Laura nodded in agreement. "How can you blame Donna? Eating a bit later is ok."
Maurice's expression softened. "Alright, let's not delay any longer, let's eat."
At the dining table.
Heather's gaze fell on Camilla. "Camilla, didn't your boyfriend come back with you?"
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