Chapter 273
Chapter 273
The Rodriguez family didn’t have a tradition of staying up late for the Ember Festival . By the time Celeste and the others got home , Betty was already asleep ,
When Celeste went upstairs , the clock struck midnight .
Her phone had been vibrating nonstop .
Matthias , Beck , and several colleagues from YodaVision had sent her Ember Festival greetings , including Theodore and Harold .
She replied to each of them , including Beck , before sending greetings of her own to Zachary and Lottle .
Just then , Theodore sent another message , asking if she had time in the next few days . He mentioned that he’d been too busy with work to properly thank her last time , and now that he had a break , he wanted to take her out for a meal .
After finishing her chat with Theodore , Celeste set down her phone and went to take a shower .
Whether they visited or not , seeing Isabelle was always painful for the Rodriguez family .
But on a day like this , how could they truly not go ?
Every year , on the morning of Ember Festival’s first day , Celeste and Betty would prepare a feast , pack it up , and take it to the nursing home .
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This year was no different .
Hence , on the first morning of the Ember Festival , Celeste was up early .
Betty , Ivan , and Adeline were already awake when she came downstairs .
Seeing her , Betty and Adeline both handed her a gift box .
Betty gently cupped Celeste’s face and said warmly , “ May everything go smoothly for you this year , Cel . ”
“ Thank you , Granny . ”
After breakfast , Celeste and Adeline headed into the kitchen to prepare the ingredients .
Both Betty and Ivan were skilled cooks , but when it came to making food for Isabelle , they could only assist because Isabelle could always tell who made the food , and it would trigger an emotional episode .
So , for years , this had always been Adeline’s task .
Over time , as Celeste learned to cook , she and Adeline began splitting the work
In truth , she had wanted to learn how to cook ever since she was a child – for Isabelle’s sake .
But Betty wouldn’t allow it .
Betty believed Celeste was too young . If she learned to cook at an early age because of Isabelle , it would mean taking on that weight far too soon .
Celeste’s childhood had already been difficult enough . Betty wanted her to have as much happiness as possible without being constantly tied to the past .
Two hours later , a table full of dishes was ready .
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Jamie and Hector helped pack everything up .
With the Ember Festival gifts in hand , the six of them made their way to the nursing home .
They had also prepared small gifts for the doctors and nurses who looked after Isabelle .
Isabelle was still as frail as ever , her eyes vacant .
Celeste , Betty , and the others stood where Isabelle couldn’t see them , watching as she showed no reaction to the gifts the doctors had brought on their behalf .
The nurse placed the gift box prepared by Betty in Isabelle’s hands , but she barely seemed to notice it . After glancing at it briefly , she let it fall to the floor as if it meant nothing to her .
She had little appetite , Even with a feast laid out in front of her , she showed no interest . Only when the nurse placed a few bites in her bowl did she eat .
Before she had even sampled every dish , she lost interest and withdrew into her own world once more .
Seeing this , the nurse sighed and cleared the table .
Celeste’s eyes stung , but she held it in , not wanting to dampen the mood for others .
But really , they all felt it .
After spending half an hour there , they left .
Chapter 274
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Chapter 274