Gabriel watched Sylvia, her joy as infectious as a child's, but a pang of tenderness touched his heart. He gripped her hand tighter, his voice soft, "Let's go have our New Year's Eve dinner."
"I wonder how our ravioli turned out?" Sylvia skipped a bit, her voice filled with excitement and anticipation.
"Anyway, let's not pick on each other's cooking!"
Sylvia squinted her eyes, smiling.
In the dining room, Mr. Justin had already brought out the ravioli.
The ravioli that Estelle and her group had made were all shapes and sizes, and when served, just looking at them made everyone want to laugh.
But, as Gabriel said, no one should criticize, and since everyone had a hand in making them, even if they looked a bit funny, they were sure to taste delicious.
Besides the ravioli, Mr. Justin had prepared ten other dishes, symbolizing perfection and unity.
Everyone gathered around Old Mr. Jarvis, sitting down together for the New Year's Eve dinner.
Estelle invited Old Wade to join, but he insisted on standing, saying it was tradition to care for Old Mr. Jarvis first before excusing himself.
Outside, fireworks lit up the sky, and lanterns adorned the windows, casting a warm glow that matched the fiery red of the blooming red plums, creating a festive atmosphere.
It was the first time the family had been this complete, and Old Mr. Jarvis's smile never faded.
Seeing Gabriel pouring wine for Old Mr. Jarvis, Sylvia grabbed her own glass, smiling, "Pour me one too, I'll join Old Mr. Jarvis for a drink."
Gabriel looked at her, pouring half a glass.
She raised her glass to Old Mr. Jarvis, "Thank you for spending the New Year with us, giving me the feeling of family. Cheers!"
"We're all family here, no need for formalities!" Old Mr. Jarvis, all smiles, lifted his glass, "Let's all have a drink, except for Estelle. Those who can, take a sip!"
Estelle joined in with juice, while Jonathan opted for red wine.
Distracting everyone, Gabriel firmly pushed down Sylvia's glass and picked up a flattened ravioli, "This has to be yours, eat up!"
Sylvia protested, "Can't you let me save face in front of Grandpa?"
Old Mr. Jarvis laughed heartily, "We're all family here, no one's judging. Let me guess which one Estelle made?"
He picked up a ravioli with a torn edge, "This has to be it!"
Estelle protested, "Why does a tear mean it's mine?"
Mr. Carnes joked, "You're too strong for ravioli dough!"
Everyone burst into laughter.
Jonathan placed a ravioli on Estelle's plate, "This one's mine, give it a try!"

Comments
The readers' comments on the novel: Find me in your labyrinth (Stella and Jonathan)
May we please have more updates. Thank you...
May we have more updates please....
Thank you so much for the updates today. Now that Yvonne knows that Gonzalez has established who's really in charge of the Hansen house hold she and her mother are treading carefully. It will be interesting to see how Jenny will get the information to see if Adrian is paying for Norah....
With Adrian last comment, he's gonna get whipped and wonder what happened. Thank you so so much for the updates....
May we please have more updates. Thank you....
I would like for Norah to secretly have her memory restored and not tell anyone just to observe how everyone is trying to keep mess going....
Janice and Adrian don't want Norah to be with Xavier....
Thank you for the updates. You do keep us in suspense....
Curious as to how, what, when and where Norah will get her memory back of Xavier....
I'm so glad that Gonzalez was able to get Luke, Oliver and all others who wanted to challenge himas the CEO straight. Interesting how Xavier made reference to a girlfriend concerning his gift to Norah, but never did this before her accident. I'm grateful for the updates. Thank you...