"Why don't we see what the kids think?" Avery said. "What we want isn't the most important thing. You can make all the calls if we were traveling alone."
Elliot could not argue with her point.
"Let's wait for Hayden to come back and see what he thinks, then." Elliot compromised. "Has he bought his ticket? When will he arrive? I will go pick him up."
Spotting the excitement on Elliot's face, Avery chuckled. "He hasn't given me his flight details yet! He will let me know once he has booked the tickets."
Meanwhile, in Bridgedale, Hayden was on a video call with Tammy.
Tammy had called him normally first, but, after learning that he was free, she had hung up and called back on a video call instead.
"Hayden, your dad can't stop thinking about going outside these days. That won't do. He can go anywhere anytime he wants—just not on Christmas. They don't know that they are getting a wedding on Christmas day, so they aren't prepared for it! All preparations have been completed by us, and we are all just waiting for Christmas now," Tammy told Hayden with Tiffany sitting on her lap. "Look at Tiffany. Hasn't she become cuter?"
Hayden studied the reluctant look on Tiffany's face gently. "Is she afraid of me?"
"Haha. A little bit. She doesn't see you that often, so she's a little scared of you. She was really chubby when you last saw her, but she's lost some weight now, so I wanted you to see her." Tammy enjoyed showing off her daughter.
Hayden tried his best to tell the difference in Tiffany's appearance but failed horribly. "I think she's always been cute."
"Hayden, telling a girl that she's cute isn't a compliment. Everyone calls Layla pretty, right? Only the ugly ones get called cute."
Hayden tensed nervously for a moment, thinking he had said something wrong.
"Of course, there are cute girls like my Tiffany. She is so chubby and cute," Tammy said while giggling.
After the video call, Hayden sent his flight details to Avery along with a message.
[Mom, I want to spend Christmas at home with you guys.]
Avery immediately showed his message to Elliot.
"It's almost like telepathy. We were just talking about him, and he has sent me a message," Avery said before summarizing Hayden's message. "Our son says he wants to stay home during Christmas, so set your plans aside for now. We can travel on our own next time."
Elliot dared not object, since his son had made himself clear. "Maybe he's too tired from studying and working lately. If only he could be by our side."
"He will never be someone who wants to be tied down. Let him be wherever he wants to be. I won't interfere with the way he lives his life, even if he lives with us," Avery said. "We need to respect them. Layla likes to be with us and prefers that we decide certain aspects of her life for her, so we will."
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