Chapter 377 – Beginning with a Daring Encounter

“I guess the vacation is over. I had a swell time with the lot of you,” Andrew said as he stood by the car with his wife, where Adolf was waiting to take them to the airport.

“This wasn’t a vacation,” Janet said, elbowing his side. They had come to be here for Celsie because of the scandal but had ended up spending time with Benne’s family after all.

“Then we should plan a family vacation for us all. Preferably at a time when all the kids will be available like now,” Evelyn piped up, thinking that it would be great to spend time with them all again.

“Yes, let’s do that,” Desmond nodded in agreement.

“I think Christmas would be the best time for such a family vacation. What do you think?” Sonia suggested, thinking that it would fit into her story perfectly.

“Christmas is still so far away,” Desmond complained.

“Maybe. But hopefully, Lucas would be fine by then so he can join us, and we would have taken care of that brat, Anita, and everyone else we need to handle,” Sonia pointed out.

“That’s correct,” Janet said with a nod.

“Jady, is that okay with you? Do you think you’ll be available for a Christmas vacation?” Desmond asked Jade hopefully.

Jade smiled at him, “I should be. Let’s hope I can wrap up this case by then,” Jade said, and Evelyn turned to Bryan.

“What about you, Bryan?”

“I will try to leave that period work free. Benne is now my boss, after all, so I’m sure he won’t mind,” Bryan said with a grin.

“What about you, Sonia?”

“As long as I’m there, she will be there, right baby?” Bryan said, and Andrew rolled his eyes.

“Let the girl speak for herself, Mr. Lover boy,” Andrew said dryly, and the others laughed when Bryan scowled at him.

“Let the boy be, Andy,” Janet scolded.

“I’m the one that suggested Christmas. Besides, I work remotely, remember? So I will definitely be there with Bryan,” she said with a grin, and Evelyn smiled.

“Good. Now let’s hope that Benne and Celsie will be able to free up their schedule too,” Evelyn said with a satisfied smile, thinking about how great it would be to spend the holidays together.

“Do you think maybe we can include Harry too? He has been working so hard,” Sonia said, and before Jade could respond, Evelyn nodded in agreement.

“Sure. Harry is already a part of the family anyway,” Evelyn said, happy that Sonia was wise and thoughtful enough to include Harry.

“Okay. Christmas it is then. I’m looking forward to it already,” Andrew said as his gaze moved to the door which just opened. He was relieved to see Celsie coming out with Benne.

“Sorry we took so long,” Benne said as they got to where the others stood.

“Princess,” Andrew said as he looked at Celsie apologetically, and she smiled at him as she embraced him.

“Take good care of Lucas, and make sure he doesn’t leave your sight unless, of course, he’s coming to be with me,” Celsie said, and Andrew nodded as he kissed her forehead.

“I’m sorry about earlier,” he said in a low voice, but she shook her head.

“It’s fine, dad. Let’s forget about that,” Celsie said as she stepped away from him to say goodbye to her mother.

Janet still had a guilty expression on her face even though she was glad that Celsie had come to see them off. “Have a safe trip, mom,” Celsie said with a smile as she embraced her mother.

“I love you, baby,” Janet said as she patted Celsie’s hair before letting her step away.

“As much as I hate to say this, I’m going to miss you,” Bryan said, and Andrew chuckled as he clapped him on the shoulder.

“You didn’t have to say it aloud, boy. I know you will. You can’t know me and not miss me,” Andrew said with a smile tinged with arrogance, and Bryan scowled at him.

“I wasn’t referring to you. I was talking to your wife,” Bryan said, making them laugh as he stepped forward to kiss Janet’s cheeks.

“Ever heard of the phrase two shall become one? You were definitely talking to me, my boy, and you just kissed my cheek too,” Andrew said as he rubbed his cheeks, and this time even Bryan laughed at the funny comeback.

“You do too much, Andy,” his wife said in amusement.

“Sony girl,” Andrew said as he looked at her with a fond smile, “Make sure you take care of yourself as always. And for my sake, try not to give Bryan an easy time,” he said as he embraced her.

“I vow never to,” Sonia assured him with a grin as she pulled away from him to embrace Janet.

“I barely just said hi, and now I have to say bye. I didn’t even have enough time to fall for your charms,” Jade complained with a pout, and Andrew grinned.

“Don’t worry. You still have another chance to fall for my charms. I will definitely sweep you off your feet when next we meet again,” Andrew promised as he embraced her while his wife said goodbye to the others.

“Thank you for everything, Benne,” Andrew said as he shook hands with Benne, “I believe I don’t need to tell you boys to take care of my girls,” Andrew said, looking from Benne to Bryan and then back again.

“You don’t need to,” Benne assured him before Bryan could come up with a smart response, and with a nod, Andrew held out the car door for Janet to get into the car.

“Wait!” Candace called out breathlessly as she ran out of the house carrying Jamal, who was crying, and Janet turned back to look at them.

“You didn’t tell us you were leaving tonight,” Candace said with a slight frown, even though she knew they didn’t exactly owe her an explanation.

Jamal had grown fond of them during the little time he had spent in their company, so she expected them to have at least said goodbye to the kid that considered them as some sort of grandparents.

She had been reading him his bedtime stories when Samantha sent one of the housekeepers to inform them that Janet and Andrew were leaving, and Jamal had insisted on seeing them.

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