Visiting Sally at the nursing home was a painful experience for the Miller family, especially during the New Year, but they couldn't avoid seeing her on such an important day. Every year on the first day of the New Year, Freya and Old Lady Miller would prepare a sumptuous meal for Sally and bring it to the nursing home. This year was no different.
So, early on New Year's Day, Freya woke up. When she went downstairs, Old Lady Miller, Sally, and Helen were already up. Seeing her come down, Old Lady Miller and Helen both handed her gifts. Old Lady Miller gently touched Freya’s face and said with a kind smile, “In the new year, may our Freya be smooth and successful.” Freya smiled and said, “Yes, thank you, Grandma.”
After breakfast, Freya and Helen went into the kitchen to start preparing the ingredients. Old Lady Miller and Jason were both excellent cooks, but when it came to cooking for Sally, they could only assist. This was because Sally could taste their food, and that could easily cause her to lose control of her emotions. So, in the early years, this task was mainly handled by Helen. Later, when Freya learned to cook, she began working with Helen, dividing the tasks between them. In fact, Freya had wanted to learn to cook for Sally when she was very young, but Old Lady Miller had stopped her. She didn’t want Freya to learn to cook so early because that would mean taking on the burden of caring for Sally too soon. Freya’s childhood had already been hard enough. Old Lady Miller hoped she could have a more carefree and joyful childhood, without being constantly affected by past events.
Two hours later, a table of delicious dishes was ready. Xavier and Hugo helped pack the food. With the New Year’s gifts they had prepared in advance, the Miller family of six set off for the nursing home. They had prepared New Year’s red envelopes and gifts for the doctors and nurses who took care of Sally.
Sally still looked as emaciated as ever, with vacant eyes. Freya and the others stood in a place where Sally couldn’t see them, watching as she remained oblivious to the gifts the doctors had brought. The red envelope from Old Lady Miller was handed to her by a nurse, but Sally barely glanced at it before dropping it to the ground. She didn’t seem to have much of an appetite. With a full table of food in front of her, she didn’t bother to eat. The nurse had to put some in her bowl for her to eat a few bites. Before she could taste all the dishes, she lost interest again and withdrew into her own world. The nurse had no choice but to take the food away. Freya’s eyes had long turned red, but she didn’t show it, afraid of affecting everyone’s mood. Actually, Old Lady Miller and the others felt the same.
After staying at the nursing home for almost half an hour, they left. It was already close to noon. They didn’t feel like cooking lunch at home. In fact, no one really felt like eating lunch. But food had to be eaten, after all. Freya said, “Let’s eat outside.” Old Lady Miller nodded, “Okay, Freya, you decide.”
At the restaurant, after they parked the car and got out, they saw the Brown and Green families. They were also there to eat. Just as they arrived, someone recognized Raven and Logan and enthusiastically approached them, wanting to invite them to join for a meal. The Brown and Green families also noticed the Miller family. Old Lady Green sneered at them. Janice only glanced at them once before looking away. Raven was the same, completely ignoring the Miller family as if they didn’t exist. At that moment, the restaurant manager hurried out to greet Raven. “Miss Brown, the private room that Mr. Wilson always uses has been prepared for you. Please, follow me.” Raven nodded, didn’t spare a glance for the Miller family, and said to the person who had invited them, “Sorry, Mr. Liam, today is our family gathering. Let’s have a meal another time.” Mr. Liam didn’t dare to say anything more and quickly responded, “Of course, I won’t disturb you, Miss Brown. Enjoy your family time.” Raven didn’t look at him again and followed the manager into the restaurant.
Freya didn’t expect to run into them. She held Old Lady Miller’s hand, hesitated for a moment, but Old Lady Miller patted her hand and said, “Let’s go in.” Freya nodded, “Okay.” Just as they stepped into the restaurant, a staff member came over and said, “Sorry, our restaurant’s private rooms have all been reserved, and there are no available seats. Please leave.” Freya had been to this restaurant before. It was rare for them to not have available seats. Freya immediately suspected that the Brown and Green families were behind this. Freya pursed her lips. It wasn’t just her. Jason and Old Lady Miller also guessed what had happened.
“Miss Miller.” Freya turned around and saw Jimmy Hall. She greeted him. “Mr. Hall.” Jimmy glanced at the increasingly uneasy staff member before asking, “What happened? Why aren’t you going in?” Freya said lightly, “The staff here said that all the private rooms are reserved, and they asked us to leave.” Jimmy looked over. “Oh? Is that so?” The staff clearly recognized Jimmy. Moreover, the Hall family, especially Jordan Hall, was currently dining in their restaurant. Seeing that Jimmy seemed ready to speak up for Freya, the manager of the restaurant hurried out and said, “We’ve just received word that one of the tables will no longer be coming, and now there’s a private room available. Please come in.”
Freya didn’t move, instead looking at Old Lady Miller. Old Lady Miller said, “Let’s go to another restaurant.” Freya agreed, “Okay.” She turned to Jimmy and said, “Thank you, Mr. Hall.” Jimmy replied, “No need to thank me.” After a pause, he greeted Old Lady Miller and the others. The Miller family left.