New Life : A Second Chance

"The chefs are almost done with dinner," Delilah said, "What time is Keanu arriving?"

Kyle looked at his watch, "It should be soon. I did send a driver to pick him up so that he won\'t get lost."

"Not that he wanted it, though," Kay said with a shake of her head.

"So we\'re pretty lucky you put on your \'distressed maiden\' act to pull at his heartstrings," Kyle replied with a chuckle.

Kay smiled sweetly, putting a finger under her chin while adopting an innocent expression, "My, brother. Whatever do you mean? I did nothing."

Delilah watched this with a shake of her head. When the twins got together and did things, there was always something. But they got the job done.

? Keanu ?

In Country Tz, the Family Dinner would be held on Christmas Eve, rather than on Christmas Day. For those in Country AS, it\'s normally on Christmas Day, so that is why Delilah felt it wouldn\'t trouble to invite Keanu for their special day.

Surprisingly, Keanu did agree.

What they didn\'t know was that Keanu was actually trying to become more positive and to move on. Being more active lately, seeing the good in everything, finding joy in everyone ... all of that contributed to his more cheerful personality and abundance of energy.

No longer would that Sad Keanu meme* crop up that he would need to talk about and explain sometimes during interviews. Lately, it\'s been the \'you are fabulous\' phrase of his that is trending. It wasn\'t that he was a depressed person but he was a very private person.

The more cheerful and open he was, the less likely the press or media were to ask him very personal questions. It was more about the movies, the acting, his co-stars and so forth. Thus, the cycle was broken. The change has worked wonders and he found himself to be much more at peace now as compared to before.**

And happier.

Thus, Christmas Dinner with the Smiths sounded pretty awesome at the moment and he was extremely touched (and honoured) to have been invited for a family dinner on a special occasion. He was seen as part of the family, rather than just \'a friend\' or a \'co-star\'.

That warmed his heart tremendously.

Kyle had told him that he\'d better dress casually, or else he\'d strip him and make him change. Keanu smiled at that memory and thus, he was dressed in T-shirt and jeans. In his hand was a bottle of wine, a gift for the family. He also had a bag of Christmas presents for everyone, for he didn\'t want to come empty handed.

? ? ? ?

Kyle was excited when he opened the door and welcomed Keanu in warmly.

Everyone was excited to see him - not because he was a star, but well, just because. He was a genuinely nice guy that Kyle had bonded with and the family was more than happy to welcome into the fold. They couldn\'t get to see each other often since they lived in different countries, so this was truly special and wonderful.

Seeing the presents in the bag, Kyle led him to the living room. There was a Christmas Tree there, with presents at its base and the tree had been decorated by Sam and Xing Han.

You could tell which one was Sam\'s work and which one was Xing Han\'s. Just look at the nice row of decorations - that was Sam. Xing Han just flung them on, saying it was \'artistic\'. Kyle and Kay didn\'t do much except make the popcorn string.

That particular decoration was placed by Sam. He did not allow Xing Han to touch it at all - mainly because he kept taking bites out of it. There were also miniature candy canes (yes, Xing Han stole some as well) and one special tradition of the Smiths.

Miniature envelopes that held letters of their wishes for the new year. Sealed and not to be opened at all.

Kyle gave Keanu a small piece of paper and the miniature envelope, telling him of this tradition. Keanu was surprised to be included in that as well, and his hands trembled a bit (out of joy, not sadness).

He wrote \'Peace\', folded it and sealed it in the envelope. His name, \'Keanu\' was written in gold ink on the envelope and he looked for a perfect place to put it. He saw the other envelopes on the tree, idly wondering what sort of wishes were on there, before he finally placed his envelope.

He stood back, admired the tree and smiled.