Chapter 143
The Christmas atmosphere didn't really hit us until the housekeeper came over to help with the decorations.
Oscar looked at the decorations on the front door and chuckled."The door looks fine on its own. These decorations look kind of weird. Can we skip them?"
"No." The housekeeper and I spoke almost at the same time.
The housekeeper smiled and explained, "It's our tradition. Dinner is ready at the house. You and Ms. Wilson should head over early. Mr. Robert Lopez has been waiting for quite a while."
Oscar nodded. “Alright, we’ll get ready and come over in a bit.”
We quickly got ourselves together and went next door.
Dinner was quite a feast, but the atmosphere in the room wasn't great.
William frowned at Oscar and said, "Oscar, could you make some calls and ask around? Why did Gregory suddenly go silent? He's been in Solstice for over ten days now. At first his phone was working, but now we can't reach him at all."
Oscar smiled reassuringly. "Gregory's not a kid. Maybe he lost his phone and it's hard to get a new SIM card there. After all, the security situation isn't great. Don't worry, I'm sure nothing serious happened."
Grace looked very anxious. "He's such a thoughtful boy. Even if he lost his phone, he would find a way to let us know. Oscar, you know a lot of people there, and you're the one who introduced him to go there. Could you please ask around? I'm worried something really happened to him."
Oscar nodded, "Okay, I'll ask around. But didn't he go with Jasper? Have you tried contacting Jasper?"
William and Grace quickly exchanged glances. When Gregory left, he didn't tell anyone, and he and Jasper traveled separately on purpose, afraid I would be upset if I found out.
They probably didn't expect that despite being so careful about hiding it, it would still be discovered.
"Please don't get the wrong idea." Grace quickly put on a smile and explained, "We only found out about Gregory going to Solstice later. He happened to run into Jasper at the airport. Jasper was going there for business, so they were just traveling at the same time, not really going together."
I smiled faintly, "Actually, you don't need to explain. What's between me and them has nothing to do with you anyway."
Grace explained again, "We're family, we should support each other. Gregory really did just run into him by chance."
Oscar cut her off, "I was just asking you to check on The Brown Family's movements, nothing else. It's Christmas, everyone should be happy. On a day for family reunions like this, we should cherish it."
There was one thing Oscar didn't say - maybe there won't be a next time.
Robert was wheeled out. He looked much better, and seeing us sitting together, he even smiled, "You're all here? Where's Gregory? Why didn't he come back?"
Everyone looked at him in surprise. William quickly said, "Gregory's busy with work, he'll be back in a couple of days. Dad, do you remember? Do you recognize me? Who am I?"
Robert looked at William and smiled, "You think I've lost my mind? You're William, aren't you?"
Everyone was shocked, especially Grace, "Dad, you're better? Yesterday you didn't recognize anyone. Do you know who I am?"
"Grace, stop it. You've been part of the Lopez family for thirty years. How could I not know who you are?" Robert smiled. Half of his face was still a bit numb, still crooked, but his mind was remarkably clear.
The housekeeper smiled and said, "I guess the Christmas cheer drove away all the bad luck. When I was preparing dinner this afternoon, Mr. Robert Lopez asked me to invite you all over. That's when I realized Mr. Robert Lopez seemed to have recovered."
The joy in Oscar's eyes outweighed the shock, but he quickly and carefully hid it.
Robert smiled, "I was confused for a while, couldn't remember anything. But today is Christmas Eve, and our whole family can still sit together for dinner like this. I'm very happy. Everyone eat up. Housekeeper, fill the glasses. I'm happy today, I'll have a couple of drinks too."
Oscar quickly said, "Maybe you shouldn't drink? You're not fully recovered yet."
Robert waved his hand, "It's fine. I can hold my liquor. Just two glasses, like water. William, pour another glass. Even though Gregory didn't come back, we should set a place for him and pour him a drink."
William had Grace set utensils at the empty seat next to her and pour a glass of wine.
Robert raised his glass and smiled, "This year, Oscar came back and brought back a fiancée. Seeing you all settled down makes me truly happy. Come on, everyone raise your glasses. I hope you two brothers can get along. If I'm gone, remember you're both members of the Lopez family."
William quickly said, "Dad, don't talk like that. You're fine now, where would you go? Oscar and I get along great, don't worry."
Robert drank his wine in one gulp and had the housekeeper pour another, "I'll share this glass with Oscar. I've always wanted to say I'm sorry to you. All these years you and your mother were out there, you must have suffered a lot. When I die, I'll go find your mother myself and apologize."
Oscar's brow furrowed slightly, "That's all in the past. I'm back now. Let's not bring up old things."
Robert sighed softly, "Now that I can see you and Emily doing well, I can rest easy. You don't have to drink this glass, I understand, but I have to."
Before we could stop him, Robert had already tilted his head back and finished another glass.
Perhaps he knew that Oscar had always harbored resentment toward him and never truly accepted him.
I glanced at Oscar. His hand holding the wine glass trembled, but in the end he raised his head and drank it all in one go.
I looked at Robert with concern and smiled."Mr. Lopez, everyone's very happy that you've recovered, but you don't have to express happiness only by drinking. You should eat something light. This chicken soup looks pretty good. Let me get you a bowl."
Robert smiled at me and took the bowl from my hands, then slowly poured himself a third glass of wine and said at an unhurried pace, "Next, while I'm still clear-headed, let me talk to you about the inheritance."