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Three Days Later
Mirabel and Tracy had dyed their hair, and the family was now preparing to travel to California.
"Grandpa, bye! I'm going to miss you," Cherry said, hugging him tightly.
"Grandpa, I'll miss you too," Emily added with a pout.
Charlie, on the other hand, didn't care for the emotional scene. He disliked all the "romantic stuff" they were doing, so he simply walked to the car without saying a word. Dennis noticed his attitude, shook his head, and gave a wave to their grandfather, who waved back warmly.
The guards struggled with Cherry and Emily's luggage; they had gone shopping excessively during their stay at Roshan's house. They had even dragged their grandfather along with them.
Cherry had bought piles of clothes for herself and plenty of outfits and toys for little Leo. Emily, not to be outdone, had also bought a huge collection of clothes, dolls, a dollhouse, and mountains of toys.
Dennis and Charlie weren't interested in clothes. Dennis had bought a VR headset and some games, while Charlie loaded up on horror titles: Lone Survivor, Little Nightmares, Amnesia: The Dark Descent, Until Dawn, Bloodborne, Dead Space, SOMA, F.E.A.R., and Condemned: Criminal Origins.
"Emily, baby, let's go. You'll see your great-grandpa soon," Mirabel said gently.
"Okay, bye Grandpa!" Emily and Cherry chorused as they ran into the car.
Mirabel waved back one last time before she, Mike, Flora, and Tracy followed the children inside. The driver then took them to Roshan's private jet.
Inside the plane, Cherry and Emily sat together, giggling. Charlie sat alone, already lost in his games. Dennis dozed off by himself. Mike, Flora, Mirabel, and Tracy took seats toward the front as the jet lifted off the runway.
"Sister Cherry, I'm hungry," Emily whispered.
"Don't worry, that's why I'm your eldest sister—I'll take care of it," Cherry replied proudly. She called a flight attendant over. "Ma, we're hungry."
"Alright, what would you like?" the attendant asked politely.
"I'll have an ube brownie and white chocolate brittle. And she'll have gourmet chocolate with rice pudding," Cherry ordered confidently.
The attendant nodded. "It'll be ready in twenty minutes."
"Okay, thank you, ma."
As the attendant left, Cherry sighed in relief. Thank God Grandpa told me about these sweet ingredients, or I would've been in trouble. Ube brownies and rice pudding? I don't even know what those are…
Meanwhile, Mirabel spoke quietly to her siblings. "I'm planning a surprise birthday party for the twins. It's going to be different from any birthday they've had before."
"What do you mean, sister?" Mike asked. "Their fifth birthday was already very memorable, right, Tracy?"
Tracy turned her face away, pretending not to hear.
"Flora?" Mirabel pressed.
"It was good, but honestly… it was a little too much," Flora admitted.
"No, it wasn't!" Mirabel argued.
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Flashback:
For the twins' fifth birthday, Mirabel had turned the entire house into Candy Land. Even the swimming pool was filled with chocolate. The cake was loaded with candy, and when it was cut, more candy spilled out from the inside. While the children had the time of their lives, Tracy and Flora had to apologize to the guests' parents afterward for the sugar overload.
End of Flashback
"It wasn't too much," Mirabel insisted stubbornly. "I just wanted to give them the best birthday ever."
Mike chuckled. "Nobody complained, but… yeah, it was a bit overboard."
"Hmmm… fine," Mirabel muttered. "Maybe just a little too much."
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