Sweet Mischief’s Rollercoaster Romance

The sisters' hands were a kaleidoscope of sparklers, as they danced through the night air with their incandescent wands. "Lighting up the night for ya," they chimed together. Leo rolled his eyes. "How utterly pointless."

The Cedillo family's living room buzzed with the chatter of a sitcom, the interior as cozy as a warm hearth.

Outside, the biting wind whistled, but the clear glow of the porch light shone brightly, casting long shadows of everyone in the yard, intertwining then parting.

Andre, eager to show his wife the snowman he'd built, had thrown himself into the task with gusto.

Despite the winter chill, he'd shed his coat and was bustling about in the yard, devoid of his usual CEO demeanor.

At that moment, he was simply Andre-Hansen's son, Mia's husband, Henry's dad. No matter how imposing he might appear, he couldn't escape the simple human joys-the smoke from a chimney, the laughter of his family. Oh, and little Henry was snuggled up in the arms of their trusted nanny.

Because his mom was about to set off fireworks!

One arm cradling a child does make it a bit harder to celebrate.

When the sparkling display was done, the sisters whipped out the secret stash of skyrocketing rockets, fizzling and popping all around the yard. Mia ran to ask her husband for a lighter, "Honey, I wanna set these off, gimme your lighter, will ya?" Before marriage, Mia would have asked her father for a lighter; now, it was her husband's turn.

Andre patted his pockets, found none, and handed her the car keys instead. "Check the car."

Finding the lighter, Mia and Molly set to work, igniting each firework.

Little Henry watched, wide-eyed and pajama-clad in his mom's fluffy coat and the extra blanket his aunt insisted he wear, his tiny tiger hat and a scarf wrapped around his face, leaving only his sparkling eyes visible, full of curiosity. Chad had tried calling Molly several times to no avail.

Eventually, he let it go and continued his night shift.

Last year, she'd brought him dumplings; this year, she seemed to have forgotten him.

Chad chuckled to himself. "Oh well."

home was quiet,

Aubree and Grandpa Elmer missed their granddaughter, "Molly doesn't even come to visit us

always blunt, remarked, "Mom, you might as well enjoy the peace this year. Once Molly and Chad get hitched, you'll

immediately began to dread the end

Cedillo's, Andre abandoned the snowman

given baby Henry quite the

arms. Why set off fireworks if

Mia had her fill of fireworks, she finally remembered

dashed over to scoop up her

the snowman was finished, and the fireworks were

while Mia prepared to

this going on?" Molly puzzled over her

replied, "The lipstick's dry; it

the red ink in her husband's study. "Molly, wait here. I'll

rebuke, Mia scampered off and soon reappeared, triumphantly brandishing

sighed as he watched from a

she's using your ink! Aren't you gonna

didn't say a

Molly had already begun painting the snowman's lips. "It's just using

That ink took Uncle six years to acquire. It's ageless, even emperors used it. Think about it, what could make a man like Uncle wait so long?" Mia was stunned, looking

That ink's

hand felt a thousand times

puppy-dog eyes, "Honey, I messed up." Andre didn't scold her on the holiday. He just smiled, "It's okay, have fun. That's what matters." Mia was near tears, "Honey, can you please not let me see your valuable stuff anymore?" Everyone in the yard

as you're happy,

they returned

looked at their snowman, now seemingly