Part 2
4:00p.m. On the same day. At Erik(Germany)'s house
They sat side by side on the sofa, leaning slightly into each-other, Leo(Italy) was doodling on his lap when a familiar figure outside the living-room window caught his eye,
"He's here, you were totally right." He gently prodded Erik's side,
"Alright, you owe me-" Erik raised an eyebrow in thought, but Leo interrupted,
"That bet was not serious, I don't owe you anything." He said, giving Erik a small shove,
"At least paint me a picture or something…" Erik reached over to ruffle Leo's hair. At that moment, there came a knock on the door.
They opened it to find Gray(Japan), standing with several gifts in his hand. He certainly seemed surprised to see the both.
"おはよう(morning), Germany-san, Italia-san, I've stopped by to wish you two an early/late Happy New Year." He gave a bow, and handed over the gifts.
"Thank you, wanna come inside?" Erik asked, taking them.
"Sure. But only for a moment."
…
"How did you two know I'd arrive?" Once inside, Gray asked them the question,
"Because you do this every year, well, you have done for the past couple years-two sets of presents, one given to us at our New Year's party, the other taken to us at 4:00pm in the afternoon a day before the Spring Festival, and you always bring mine around to my place first, so this year we thought we'd spare you the trouble of going to Leo's place. And now he owes me a painting because I placed a bet on your arrival." Erik explained, glancing down at his watch,
"4:00 sharp, you don't like to be late, do you."
…
"It was nice talking to you two. Hope you guys can enjoy the new year, じゃね(see ya)."
"Ciao ciao" Leo waved to him from the door,
Gray left, like he had done last year, and the year before.
"I won this bet, we're even." Leo turned and said to Erik,
"Yeah whatever, I was stupid to think he'd stay for dinner…" Erik muttered,
"He nearly did, once. I reckon something had been going on with him and Allen that time. He came, gave me the present, phoned you and told you to come over, and acted as if he was going to have dinner with us, as if there was another dinner he was trying hard not to think about… but in the end, he still left. It was 6:30. He glanced at the clock, stood, apologized, and left without another word…" Erik recalled,
"You and I both know he'll never stay, not for this dinner, not in a million years." Leo shut the door and returned to the sofa,
"I'll still paint for you, if you want."
Meanwhile. At Allen(China)'s place.
"Where is everybody? Don't they know I'm not good at doing this kind of stuff?" Tessa complained to no-one as she went over the plans for that night for the fourth time.
So far, she and Allen were the only people actually preparing for anything. He was currently at work in the kitchen, she on the events following up to the dinner, and小澳(Macau) was fiddling with a deck of card at a nearby table. The others were no-where to be seen.
"What do you mean you're not good at this? You're the one who organizes it all." 小澳 glanced up from his fan of cards,
"I know that, I just needed you to remind me so I can calm down." She replied, raising an eyebrow at him,
"Who are you even playing against, yourself?"
He smiled in reply and put his cards face down on the table,
"It is quite an interesting thing, to play oneself in a game of cards. Who is the actual winner? Is it me? Or is it…Me?" He said absentmindedly,
"孩子,你中毒了。。。(You're in way too deep…)" Tessa shook her head and returned to the matter in hand. After making sure he was back to his cards, she left her work on the table and took her phone from her pocket, flipping to a particular picture, she realized the real reason of her anxieties.
The gift… would it work? Would they like it?
Was it a childish thing to do?
After staring at the picture for what felt like an eternity, she forced herself to put it away.
Soon Jade returned with a gigantic array of fireworks, at 5:30 Gray arrived, and they set the tables and chairs out on the lawn, next to a small pavilion. The evening sky hung high above their heads, with the faded orange and purple lights of the west and the eastern sky already beginning to show stars. The air was cool and crisp with just a tiny hint of spring.
At 6:00 Lynn(Vietnam) arrived and everyone was ready to begin eating.
"Hang on." Allen was first to notice the problem as he placed the final dish upon the table and glanced around at everyone else seated around ,
"Where's Korea?"
"Maybe he's on his way." Tessa replied without looking up from her phone. Jade nodded in agreement from the middle of a round with 小澳。
"I certainly hope so." Allen turned to go back into the house, hiding his expression from the others.
They weren't very close, his family, and he couldn't deny that. They rarely got together for anything, sometimes they didn't even argue, sometimes it would be just plain awkward.
But every year, there's at least two dinners he can count on. Two dinners at which they'd all show up. During which they'd set aside their problems with each-other, and willingly let go of the grudges.
One on the night of the moon festival. Another is tonight's.
The reunion dinner.
He remembered one particular year some time ago, when Gray had arrived late and they'd waited for him. All of them trying their best not to look at his empty chair. It had been about, the ownership of an island, he recalled. They'd argued about it the day before. It had seemed like such a big deal… Soon, the rest had started the conversations. Talked as if no-one were missing. Tried not to think about it. However, none of them could hide their joy and relief when Gray finally showed up.
New Year's Eve, has a special ability. It washes away absolutely everything. A new year, is always a fresh start.
This time, it was Korea's turn to not show up.
Allen passed a hand over his forehead and returned to the table.
Same drill. Act as if no-one were missing.
Sigh.
...
Exactly five minutes into their conversations, Tessa suddenly looked up from her phone
"Oh God, I think I know where he is."
