Chapter 67:

Breakfast and an Apology

With everything finally unwinding down I was finally able to spend time with Alana properly. Events lately saw that we were apart for too long. I had promised to take her in, and I spent most of my time away. I felt horribly guilty.

Even the small amount of time I did spend with her seemed like nothing. I had to make it up to her, and I hoped today would be the day. She was still in need of clothes. The saree that Padma gave her she was too self-conscious to wear, and thought it was too nice.

"Alana," I called to her as we ate breakfast.

She was currently playing with her food, feeling dejected. Looking up, she gave a small, sad smile.

"Yeah, Uncle?" Her voice lacked energy, though she tried to act happy.

"You're upset?" I asked her, worried and guilty.

"What? No!" Alana got a bit of pep to her words as she exclaimed adamantly; Catching herself, she relaxed and answered a bit softer, "I'm not upset...I just..."

"I've been away a lot, haven't I?" I stated more than asked.

Glancing over at me nervously, she nodded slightly.

"I figured..." Getting up, I walked around the table towards her.

Wrapping my arms around her from behind, I gave her a big, apologetic hug. A soft smile appeared on her face as she hugged my arms.

"I'm sorry, Alana," I whispered.

"It's alright..." She responded, but even if she said that, it wasn't alright. Not to me.

"No, Alana," I said simply, "It's not. I know how it is...being in a new place, with new people. You feel lonely? Out of touch?"

"...Yeah," She nodded, looking up at me, "But, you're here with me. Truly, I'm good."

"Alana..." I coaxed, giving her that look, "Come on."

"...Are you sure?" She asked so softly and innocently that I felt ready to give her anything she asked.

"Of course," Smiling gently, I nodded, "Tell me."

"Okay," Hugging my arms tightly, she looked towards her food and spoke softly, "I want to go out...finally. As comfortable as Yuriko's clothes are, I want some of my own...if that's okay?"

"Anything you desire, Alana," I told her, standing as I placed a hand upon her head, "I was going to see if you wanted to do that regardless."

Beaming up at me, the light returned to her face.

"Uhm, Uncle?" She asked as I walked back to my seat, "Will everyone else come with as well?"

"Do you want them to?" I responded, sitting down to resume my breakfast, "If you don't want them to, I will ask them to remain. Though, Sadia will have to come regardless."

She thought for a moment, understanding that I needed a guard. As I watched her, contemplating what to say next, a small smile crept over her face.

"Yeah," She finally said, "I like Yuriko, and Cecelia...though a bit intimidating, loves you and so I love her. Sadia...I'm getting used to, but what about Rosa? Julius?"

"Ah! Julius," My memory was sparked as I had noticed he was not around and had asked Cecelia about that, "He had to go back to school. The holiday break is over, so he must return to his studies."

"...I see," She seemed a bit disheartened, but cheered up slightly, "He was fun. Cold, and looks scary, but he's really nice."

"That's a tsundere for you," I laughed, taking a bite of my eggs.

It was good to see Alana smiling again and in good spirits. It wasn't the same otherwise.

"As for Rosa, with all of us going..." I stated, swallowing the food I was chewing, "I'm sure she'll come along as well. Is that alright?"

"Mhm," Alana nodded, swallowing her own bite of food before speaking, "She's a bit quiet, but seems nice. I notice her staring a lot though."

"Is that so?" I smiled knowingly, shaking my head at the thought, "Definitely not subtle, Rosa...Maybe I should talk to her. At the very least, I can get them to start talking. They can start as friends."

Currently, it was just me and Alana eating breakfast. Yuriko was still sleeping sounding, and I didn't want to disturb her. She was too cute to wake. As for Sadia, she was with her daughter at the moment getting ready for the day. Cecelia was in her office, dealing with some various business.

It didn't take me much to get everyone on board, and before we knew it, we were on our way to the mall.

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Nikushimi

Don't worry about the Holidays. I have a plan for that. It is unfortunate that they missed most of them, but Yuriko, Julius, and Cecelia will get their gifts. I apologize for dragging that out. The flow of the story has made it where it has been delayed a bit. ^_^;;