The lively party at Old Parker's house continued!
Aside from Anton, that idiot, constantly giving his own father dirty looks and getting beaten up for it, everyone else was having a great time.
When Frank drove back to the party with Aunt May in the car, dressed up from head to toe by Shirley, the whole place lit up.
May had always been quite pretty. Shirley had taken her away two days earlier, and after a few glasses of Dragon Bone Wine, she'd worked something close to sorcery with her makeup.
The gentle, composed old lady had suddenly become a mature, elegant woman. Once the wrinkles on a woman's face disappeared, as long as she didn't speak, you could tell people she was any age and they'd believe you...
Old Parker looked at his wife in a pleated gown and brown wig. Her face, done up for the ball, no longer showed any trace of her age. He walked over in astonishment and stared at May. "What happened? Why are you dressed like this?"
Aunt May had already been feeling a little self-conscious. Now she seemed disappointed. "Do I look strange? I'll go change back in a minute..."
Shirley, standing nearby, was about to stand up for Aunt May, when Old Parker placed both hands on May's shoulders. He shook his head, his expression strange. "No, don't. You look wonderful! You're truly beautiful tonight.
"But tonight is your birthday!
"So why do I feel like I'm the one who got the best present?"
As soon as Old Parker said that, the brief silence caused by his earlier reaction vanished. Applause and whistles rang out all around the party.
Old Cage clapped hard and shouted roughly, "Parker, you hit the jackpot! Better protect your 'present'—there are plenty of people here who'll