Football singularity-Chapter 494 Gamble or Genuis
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[Location: Rose Isle, Orlando | Date: 24/12/2019 | Time: 18:20 | Christmas Eve Dinner]
The Rex dining room looked like it belonged on the cover of a luxury home magazine. The long mahogany table had been extended with gold-trimmed runners placed neatly over a snowy white linen base. Each place setting had name cards written in elegant cursive, courtesy of Lisa, alongside polished silverware, folded cloth napkins with cranberry sprigs, and crystal goblets already half-filled with chilled sparkling juice.
Soft instrumental jazz played in the background, blending holiday warmth with a relaxed atmosphere different from the usual Christmas carols. The tree in the living room glowed a soft white and gold behind them, casting an ambient shimmer over the entire dining space. Lisa had freshened up, changing into a deep‑green velvet wrap dress that picked up the glow of the chandelier above the twelve‑seat mahogany table.
A couple of moments later, the table was filled, each person having comfortable spacing, and 4 of the 12 seats were removed. On the porch outside, Zeus munched on a large bison leg, ravishingly enjoying the meat. Ben had procured it from the estate's high-end butcher, which slaughters animals based on demand, not for volume, with most people having to preorder a day before if they wanted something specific.
(Ding Ding Ding) Before they could dig in, the ding of Ben's glass at the head of the table drew everyone's attention as he rose to his feet. "First, thank you to my lovely wife for preparing this heartwarming meal. We appreciate your efforts every day of the year, more so on holidays." He said with a warm smile as he grasped Lisa's hand, giving it a gentle squeeze.
"Let's keep this sort since I can already hear some of your stomach protesting for a bit." He added with a light smile as he sent Emma a wink, causing her face to turn a shade of red before sending a glare his way. He didn't mind, though, as he raised his glass into the air, "to family, friends, health… and a good slide into the new year,"
"Cheers," the table echoed in unison, glasses clinking gently under the chandelier's warm light.
As everyone took their first sips, plates were passed around with messy hunger-filled fluidity. They were all hungry and didn't know where to start. May reached for the butter-roasted potatoes, her hands crisscrossing with Emma, who was after the red cabbage and gravy sauce.
Ben busied himself slicing up the lamb and roasted chicken, which was seasoned to perfection. Soon plate began to be filled, and the sounds of pleased food moans resounded as they took their first bites. Shortly after their hunger was satiated, Laughter began to bubble up between mouthfuls and shared plates.
The clink of cutlery danced with the jazz in the background as conversations around the table flowed. "Lisa, what do you call this sausage and bacon thing? I don't think I've ever had anything quite like it," Evelyn said after taking a bite of the tiny roasted sausages wrapped in bacon.
"Oh, that its something we call a pig in a blanket over in the UK. I wouldn't recommend eating it regularly, but as a delicacy for an occasion, as this their quite delicious," Lisa commented with a light smile as she proceeded to tell the woman stories of her grandmother's shocked expression when her mother served it at a Christmas dinner one year.
"The woman almost had a stroke, glaring at my mother for the entire dinner since she grew up only eating the proper dishes. However, one taste and it has been on the menu ever since. Now we try a new dish each Christmas Eve, and this year it's chicken and dumplings" With that's she motioned for a medium-sized ceramic bowl filled with white dumplings and small chicken strips floating in a creamy white liquid.
"How are you feeling, sis, after completing your first semester at Cambridge? Is it everything you imagined it would be?" Rakim asked on the other end of the table as he savoured a slice of lamb roast on his plate.
"Yeah, what's it like in one of the ivy's of the college world?" Reece asked in genuine curiosity as he had been visiting colleges since the start of the year looking for the best fit. His mother wanted him to consider an Ivy League school, but he wanted a more competitive D1 program.
Emma gave a small, knowing laugh as she dabbed the corners of her mouth with a napkin. "Cambridge is… intense. Inspiring too, don't get me wrong—but between lectures, tutorials, clubs, and the workload, I'm convinced the library sees more of me than my own bed."
Everyone chuckled, and Reece leaned in, clearly intrigued. "So, what's the vibe like? Is it super posh? Or do people chill out?"
Emma smiled wryly. "It's a bit of both, actually. You've got your tweed-wearing debaters who sound like they were born for a career in politics. Law students practically run the campus, but it's the theatre troupe who everyone wants to be around on campus, especially for parties, night outs or simply chill with."
"How so?" May asked with genuine curiosity as she stopped eating for a moment and turned her attention to her friend. "Don't tell me your flatmate managed to convince you to audition for one of their street performances?"
Emma laughed, shaking her head. "God, no. I'd die of embarrassment before stepping onto the street, Oxford Street in London, to perform a play for strangers, but some of the actors in my building actually love it. There's this one guy—Freddie—who does monologues in front of Tesco for fun. Complete lunatic, but somehow he always pulls a crowd."
"That's wild," Reece said, chuckling as he reached for a second helping of the creamy chicken and dumplings.
Rakim chuckled. "Sounds like an off-brand Hogwarts, minus the magic and a lot more Shakespeare."
"Well said," Emma agreed, lifting her glass toward him in salute. "And speaking of circuses, the end-of-term parties are no joke. You haven't lived until you've seen future prime ministers, judges, and Ceo's get wild without a care,"
Rakim smirked, swirling the sparkling apple juice in his glass. "Sounds like you're enjoying yourself. How is it living with Jenna after all these years?"
Emma raised a brow, lips curving into a sly grin. "I didn't say I wasn't, and it's basically like being on a school trip with a friend. It does help that we can do most things together, as most of our classes are the same."
"Haha, I can't believe that happened on your honeymoon, what did you end up doing?" Evelyn asked mid-mid laughter that was echoed by the rest of the group of adults.
"So, get this, after a 17-hour flight, we reached our honeymoon villa on the island." Ben explained with excitement, "Keep in mind we were slightly buzzed from the wedding, so all we did was sleep off our jetlag on the first day."
"However, instead of waking up in paradise, we were rudely awoken by a blaring alarm. My dear Lisa was cranky, to say the least, as she charged out guns blazing with a bird's nest on her head, ready to throw a string of explicit at the manager and staff." He continued with a smile, using his hands to outline just how crazy Lisa's hair was at the time.
"Hey, I didn't look that bad, did I?" Lisa questioned, pouting her lip in displeasure, but her husband merely chuckled at her expression. "Honey, I have photo proof plus the workers called you Vahine Maamaa (Crazy Lady) after that day,"
His words immediately caused the Parker couple to chuckle in amusement as Lisa lightly punched his shoulder in annoyance. "Where was I? Ah yes, my dear wife ran out in her bathrobe robe hair looking like it had been through a blender, only to hear someone shout. 'Ma'am, you need to go to the caller. Brender is coming, the Big one.' before running off as if his life depended on it."
Ben paused dramatically, letting the room simmer in anticipation. "Turns out, a bloody typhoon had changed course while we were knocked out and decided to visit us. All other visitors had been warned and ushered to the sheltered, but little did we know as we counted Zs in our sleep. The entire resort was on evacuation protocol, and we were one of the last people still not taken to a shelter."
Lisa took over the story, her voice tinged with exaggerated disbelief. "I barely had time to change into a pair of tracksuits and grab my phone before Ben carried me to the shelter after seeing I was taking too long. I managed to grab Ben's Nokia brick before we ended up in this underground shelter packed with people from all walks of life."
The table erupted into laughter as the kids managed to catch the end of their conversation, pretty much grasping the gist. "You mean to tell me," Reece gasped between chuckles, "that your honeymoon turned into a disaster movie?"
"It was The Day After Tomorrow, beach edition," Rakim added, earning a wheeze from Emma as another round of questioning ensued. Victor chuckled too, but it was noticeably shorter as he once again excused himself for what was the 5th time since they started eating.
The man's phone screen had been lighting up more than a rave with a DJ looking to cause you seizures with all the lights. Victor rose from his seat, pressing a napkin to his mouth as he offered another polite, vague apology. "Sorry, everyone, I just need to take this—one of my overseas clients. Time zones, you know how it is."
They did not know, well, except maybe Ben, given the size of his business ventures, but he merely frowned at the man's expression before continuing his story. "So, we came to surf and enjoy the beach but ended up building houses...."
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To Be Continued...
