The Jejune June Café was near-deserted on Christmas morning. After all, why shouldn't it be? It was the only shop open in all of downtown Gaia, and everyone was busy opening gifts at home.

Everyone, of course, except the Keth family.

June had known from experience that the coffeehouse would be deserted on Christmas morning, and that's exactly why she'd called Boyan and asked him to bring his family.

So at eight in the morning, the coffeehouse, though sparse in population, was bustling with life.

Luna, Jokeph, and little Caroline were seated at a safe distance behind the counter; no sense overstimulating the baby at this early hour. Luna enjoyed a fruit-filled pastry, occasionally dipping her finger into the icing that topped it and holding it out for Caroline to taste. Jokeph seemed oddly calm and pleasant, a shy smile never leaving his face as he watched over mother and child.

Ying had moved a few tables and chairs away from the middle of the coffeehouse, giving herself a large enough area to work with to show off her martial arts to an adoring crowd; Arc, Zhen, and Harmony, Boyan's Jumi "Granddaughters". At this point, she was so familiar with the movements that she looked as if she were dancing across the floor. This captivated Arc, as dance, rhythm, and music were her life. And the sheer grace of her movements was what caught Zhen's attention. The sight of a display so beautiful that Arc and Zhen were moved to peace was what drew Harmony, and she watched as well, enthralled by the dance.

Boyan had his arms wrapped around his grown daughter, Melody, his face buried in the top of her head and projecting warm, gooey feelings of contentment. They'd only just finished exchanging gifts; Boyan had given Melody a beautiful stone with a small hole drilled into it, through which a cord of leather was threaded. Melody, on the other hand, had given her father a rubber duck and a bar of strawberry-scented soap, which, judging by the scene that resulted, he received extremely well.

And June sat on top of the counter, watching the store with a mug of hot cocoa in her hands. Her eyes drifted from child to child, and her thoughts were on when all of them were so little. Boyan, the ditzy Porcelain with an oral fixation. Melody, the sweet and adorable baby. Ying, the firecracker of a child who set fires in the bathroom sink. Luna, projecting and making friends while still inside the womb. Jokeph, a faint angelic projection in front of an armoire. And then there was little Caroline, her granddaughter, whom June had yet to become acquainted.

It was enough to make a sentimental fool out of her.

She dabbed at one eye with the back of her hand, and hopped off the counter. "Who wants a cup of cocoa?"

And as she quickly found herself surrounded by her children, her grandchildren, and her children's grandchildren, June couldn't help but laugh. Not at any one particular amusement, but a laugh of pure joy.

For all her weaknesses, mistakes, and frustrations along her life's path, she couldn't help but feel...

...That maybe, in this place called Gaia...

She'd finally done something right.