Escape from Mr. Whitman (Emma and Theodore) novel Chapter 565

The holidays were fast approaching.

Even though they were living abroad, the holiday season was still the most important time of the year for the Bennett family.

Her grandmother, especially, insisted on keeping all their cherished traditions alive. The house staff wasn't familiar with these old family recipes, so Emma, her aunt, and her brother spent their days in the kitchen, helping her grandmother prepare for the festivities.

Since her university classes hadn't started yet, Emma had plenty of free time to pitch in.

They spent hours baking batches of holiday cookies, hanging festive wreaths around the house, and Emma even managed to track down an old-school hand-crank pasta machine to make fresh ravioli from scratch.

No one complained. No one said, "We have a fridge full of imported gourmet meats, why are we baking our own?" or "You can buy fresh pasta at any Italian deli, why go through the hassle of cranking it by hand?" Everyone was more than happy to indulge her grandmother's festive spirit, and honestly, they were genuinely enjoying the process.

Larson, in particular, was absolutely fascinated by the pasta machine. He spent hours watching tutorials online. One morning, he woke up incredibly early, churned out a massive batch of fresh dough, and made artisan fettuccine. He couldn't stop marveling over it. "Homemade really is on another level, this is incredible!"

His enthusiasm had her grandmother laughing until she couldn't breathe. That evening, she took the leftover pasta scraps and fried them up into a crispy, savory snack. Larson's eyes practically popped out of his head. "What is this? I've never had anything like it!"

He ended up devouring half the bowl by himself.

Seeing the radiant joy on her grandmother's face made Emma's heart swell. Having a family that wholeheartedly supported each other's happiness was a profound blessing.

The holiday preparations proceeded smoothly. Emma and her grandmother fell into a comfortable, predictable routine: bouncing between the grocery store, the shopping mall, and the house.

One afternoon, Emma and her grandmother finished a shopping trip at the mall with Alan accompanying them. They headed down to the underground parking garage to head home.

As they stepped into the elevator, Emma's phone rang. It was Anna.

Just as she answered, the elevator doors slid shut, completely cutting the signal. She couldn't hear a word Anna was saying.

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