Chapter 159 - Family Reunion and Holiday Celebration (PART 2)
Luke couldn’t avoid telling his parents about the Nakatomi Corporation case, but he didn’t say anything about the gunfight which he had been involved in back in New York, in case they worried about him.
He simply entertained Catherine with some of the funnier cases he had worked on, like the one where a woman quarreled with a clerk, and in a fit of fury, threw her excrement at the latter.
Catherine immediately hit him angrily.
It was a good thing they were only drinking then, or they might have thrown up at that story.
Luke could only change the subject and talk about a woman who climbed a fence to take a shortcut, only for her underwear to get stuck in the fence, and she had to call the police for help.
Catherine was unconvinced. “What underwear was she wearing?”.
Robert was also suspicious. “Was her ass not swollen?” But Catherine looked at him angrily, and he hurriedly shut up.
Luke shrugged and said, “I have the same doubts. It’s a story from the University of Southern California. I don’t know if it’s true.”
Time passed by quickly.
Everybody, including Selina, stayed at the villa that night. There was even a free room, because Claire insisted on sleeping with Selina.
Luke had no idea what they wanted to do. He simply told them not to sleep too late because they would be going out the next day.
At nine in the morning, when everybody got up and had breakfast, someone knocked on the door.
Catherine told Claire to go and open the door. Claire soon exclaimed, “Luke, you prepared a car for us?”
Luke was at a loss. “What car?”
Claire said, “A limo.”
Puzzled, Luke walked to the door, only to see a familiar face. He thought for a moment, then ventured a guess. “Did Mr. Takagi ask you to come?”
The short black guy smiled pleasantly. “Yes, sir. I know that Mr. John and you caught those robbers together.”
Luke nodded his head. “You were in the garage?”
The black guy said in embarrassment, “I’m only a driver.”
Luke didn’t ask him why he hadn’t stood up to the robbers, or why none of the fifty hostages had resisted, either.
He simply smiled. “It’s our responsibility, not yours, to catch the criminals. Right, why did Mr. Takagi ask you to come?”
The black guy said happily, “I’ll be at your service while your family is in Los Angeles. I can drive you anywhere you want to go. I know all the fun places in L.A..”
Luke finally remembered that he had mentioned this to Takagi before, but he hadn’t expected Takagi to provide him with a tour guide after already giving him such an expensive villa.
He couldn’t help but feel that he owed Takagi for this; he would have to help the man out at least once, as long as it didn’t violate his principles.
The favor that Luke owed Takagi wasn’t worth much now, but what about five or ten years later?
It had to be noted that Luke had defeated fifty armed bandits when he was only an ordinary young man half a year ago.
Takagi definitely had no doubt of Luke’s future prospects.
Of course, there was the possibility that Luke might be an ungrateful person, but even if that was the case, Takagi wouldn’t be losing out on much anyway.
Luke informed everyone of the limo and their exclusive driver for the upcoming days.
Claire shrieked excitedly. “Ahhhh! Disneyland, Hollywood, Beverly Hills, and Sunset Boulevard! I’m coming!”
Luke didn’t tell her to pipe down since she was only excited.
Catherine said hopefully, “Can we drop by the Getty Art Center?”
Luke nodded with a smile. “Of course.”
Joseph asked, “Can we watch a movie? I heard that Aero-Troopers: The Nemeclous Crusade is showing at Christmas.”
Luke said, “Of course. You can discuss the specific time with Claire and mom.”
Robert had been silent the whole time. Luke grinned and whispered to him, “Should I ask the driver to take you to San Fernando Valley on your own?”
Robert snapped, “Get lost!”.
After gathering everyone’s opinions, Luke asked the driver how they should arrange their itinerary.
The driver asked, “How many days are you going to be here for?”
Robert thought for a moment and said, “Five days, maybe.”
Luke said, “You can stay for a week. An exclusive car for us like this isn’t easy to come by.”
Robert said, “I only have five days of leave.”
Luke could only give up on the idea.
After all, it wouldn’t be safe for Catherine to travel on her own with Claire and Joseph.
After confirming the duration of their stay, the driver quickly proposed, “You don’t want to visit Disneyland at Christmas; there are too many visitors during the holiday. You’ll have to wait forever in line.”
Reluctantly, Claire dropped the idea of visiting Disneyland.
The other places weren’t as popular. Joseph’s wish to watch a movie, for one, could be satisfied at any time.
As for Robert’s San Fernando Valley… Well, it wasn’t on the list.
In the end, they decided to visit Universal Studios, which was similar to Disneyland but less crowded.
As for the Walk of Fame, Beverly Hills, and the movie, they could do those in the following days.
Of course, the most boring part would probably be the visit to Beverly Hills, because the things there were too expensive.
Luke’s and Robert’s annual wages combined probably wouldn’t be enough to cover even a few items of clothing there.
But Claire and Catherine were obviously keen on visiting the place, and so was Selina. Were they going to go shopping without actually buying anything?
Luke secretly whispered, “I can shell out ten thousand dollars for Catherine, Claire and Selina to buy something they want. What do you think?”
Robert gritted his teeth. “I’ll cough up seventy-five hundred, and you’ll put in the same amount. Catherine is my wife, Selina is with you, and as Claire’s brother, you’ll pay half of her share. So, each of them will have five thousand dollars to spend.”
Luke chuckled. “Deal.”
He then secretly whispered to Selina about the arrangement. Her eyes immediately widened. “Really?”.
Luke said, “Everybody has a Christmas gift, but I haven’t gotten you anything yet. You’re family to me, too.”
Selina hugged him and kissed his cheek. “Okay, you’ll be my little brother in the future.”
Luke was lost for words.
As for exactly what the three ladies bought, Luke had no idea, but they were clearly in a great mood after shopping.
Claire and Joseph hadn’t traveled far from their hometown much, and had a great time.
