At dinnertime, Godfrey received a phone call. No one knew what he and the caller were talking about, but his expression slowly contorted into a grimace.
After he hung up, he looked as though he wanted to speak, but could not bring himself to say anything. Lydia piped up after gauging the situation. "If it requires us to spend money, we won't go."
"Fred Turner called me. He’s inviting us over to his new house," Godfrey said. A house-warming party meant that they needed to provide a gift, but trying to get money when his wife was in such a state was akin to asking her to commit suicide. However, Fred had personally called him. It would be rude to not show up.
"Did Uncle Turner move?" Yvonne asked.
Fred was an old classmate of Godfrey's. The two had been close buddies before, where Fred had even wanted Yvonne to be his daughter-in-law. The two had grown apart after Samuel married into the Sues though.
"Yep. I heard that he moved into a duplex apartment," Godfrey answered.
"We’ll only be there to become the center of gossip," Lydia said sourly. "We're not going."
Previously, Fred had been close with their family because his son was interested in Yvonne, but they
had not kept in touch over the past few years. Now that he made this sudden call, Lydia could not think of any other reason than that he wanted to show off.
Godfrey knew that this was very likely, but Fred had already made the call. How could he not go? Besides, plenty of old schoolmates would be there. Fred told him that it was practically a class reunion. If he did not go, he did not know if he could show his face on the streets.
"I'll give you the money you need to buy a gift, Dad," Yvonne said. "We'll go."
Godfrey flashed his daughter a grateful look. Lydia harrumphed but did not say anything. She was well aware that they would only go to see Fred Turner showing off, but everyone would gossip behind their backs if they did not show up too.
Three days later, Samuel drove them to the residential area where Fred’s new apartment was located.
The residential area was a pristine little place; one of the more prestigious locations in Cloud City. Each unit went for at least twenty thousand bucks; aside from the villas in Cloudridge Hill, this was considered prime estate in the city.
By the time Samuel and his family arrived at Fred's place, there were plenty of guests mingling about already; their faces strange and unfamiliar.
"Godfrey! You're late. I've finished the house tour, but you can go take a look for yourself. It's a small place, s o there's nothing much to see, really," Fred greeted him in a humble tone.
Godfrey and Lydia were completely stupefied when they heard this. Yvonne, too, did not expect Samuel to make such a ridiculous boast to preserve their dignity. What if he could not follow up with his declaration?
Although Yvonne was the manager of the development of the west side city, her job was certainly not a gold mine. The two cars and the two hundred thousand bucks already came up to an extravagant sum. Now she was going to take money out of the company to buy a house? If Grandmother Sue ever found out about this, they would be ruined.
More importantly, would Samuel be able to top Fred's apartment in his bid for dignity? Even if Yvonne managed to secure some money to turn this lie into a truth, there was no way that they could buy such a luxurious place.
Lydia shot her son-in-law a glare. "Samuel, no one assumes you to be mute just because you don't speak," she said.
"I bought the house a long time ago, Mother. But I didn't tell you because I wanted to give you a surprise,” he replied. "It'll be ready by next month, so let’s get Uncle Fred to visit us then."
Fred's lips twisted into a wry smile. Judging from Godfrey’s expression, Samuel was definitely lying. He should take the opportunity to make a joke out of
them, so he said, "Sure thing. Don't forget about me
then. I must see your new place!"
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