"Cheers to baby Michael Lee," announced Amalia.
All raised their cups: "Cheers!"
"And to the continued success of Zion," announced Alfred.
"Cheers!"
"Let us give a round of applause for Aaron, for his hard work, and for the Zion Group," Alfred's voice resonated in the banquet hall.
All clapped their hands.
Aaron and Isabella were in the middle of the hall.
Suddenly, everyone's excitement was interrupted by a shattering sound against the marble floor to the shock of every guest.
"Where was that?"
"What is it?"
"Phantom of the Opera!"
I was amused.
"Wow!" said one visitor in an ironic tone.
They realized it was the chandelier in the country room.
"Luck!" Isabella said.
"True. Luck," Fr. Robert agreed.
Others thought the thing gave the party an eerie atmosphere.
Others thought it was intended to make the party livelier.
"Ew!" Josh exclaimed. "What a…"
"What the…" Evan did not continue.
"… heck!" Yuri supplied the missing word.
Suzy looked at him.
But here was baby Michael coming out from his bedroom, carried by Zen—composed like his nanny. Following the nanny was a shih Tzu dog, Jackson, and a furry cat, Zoraida. They were sauntering down the spiral stairs toward the hall as if nothing happened.
Do you think they got the visitors' attention?
Yes.
Isabella was the first to break the ice. "Let's give a toast to baby Michael."
You can't paint Aaron's face.
The guests raised their glasses again and applauded.
Back to the baby—he was cool, unaffected—greeting people with a smile like an angel. Zen was her usual calm, true to her name. But Jackson? He barked loudly as if he was seeing something that could not be seen, and Zoraida meowed, to everyone's laughter.
People went back to their celebration. There was soft music in the background. The houseboys were quick to clean the broken crystals on the floor.
BTW, no one was hurt because the guests were in the hall for the much awaited toast that time.