Marvel: A Lazy-Ass Superman Chapter 643: Christmas Dinner

For the Christmas–New Year holiday season of 1999, Henry accompanied Katharine Hepburn back to the family's seaside villa in the Fenwick district of Connecticut.

This was the time of year when the entire Hepburn family gathered together.

In previous years, Maria Thomsen had always accompanied her.

After Henry arrived, however, the holiday period was returned to Maria so she could spend it with her own family.

Many foreigners believed that Christmas dinner in America automatically meant turkey.

In reality, the United States was a nation of immigrants composed of many ethnic groups.

For family-centered holidays like Christmas, people naturally brought out traditional recipes passed down through generations.

These dishes often originated from ancestral homelands and represented the cultural roots of their families.

The Hepburn family, however, was about as traditionally old-stock American as one could get.

They didn't really possess any unique inherited recipes.

Furthermore, from the generation of Katharine Hepburn's parents onward, the family had always been remarkably progressive and open-minded, with little attachment to the idea of "tradition."

Most members of the family were atheists anyway.

Even those who claimed to be religious were the sort who rarely set foot in a church.

Christmas gatherings were less about faith and more about creating an excuse for the entire family to reunite.

As a result, this year's Christmas feast was designed by Head Chef Henry Brown.

Katharine Hepburn's only older brother had died by suicide many years ago.

Her four younger siblings had all built families of their own.

Though she never had children herself, her nieces and nephews—and even many grandnieces and grandnephews—had since married and started families.

The Hepburns had grown into a remarkably large clan.

So while Henry determined the menu, numerous third- and fourth-generation Hepburns helped out in the kitchen.

---

The appetizers consisted of the sort of finger foods everyone was familiar with:

Cheese.

Sausages.

Chilled shrimp.

Vegetable platters filled with carrots, celery, bell peppers, broccoli, and cucumbers.

Henry contributed a special item of his own:

Mystery Cream Puffs.

Of course, there were no prank flavors.

Everything was perfectly normal—mixed berry, strawberry, chocolate, vanilla, and custard.

Each person received one.

What flavor they got depended entirely on luck.

As expected, Henry received the first complaints of the day.

Everyone wanted to try all the flavors.

---

The main courses were prepared entirely by Henry himself.

Chinese roast duck.

Clay-jar chicken.

Roast suckling pig.

Whole roasted lamb.

None of these were dishes that could realistically be made in an ordinary household oven.

Obtaining the necessary roasting equipment, grills, and ingredients had required considerable effort.

The side dishes were divided into hot and cold categories.

Hot sides included:

Mashed potatoes with gravy

Roasted pumpkin

Various breads

There were also four cream soups available:

Mushroom soup

Clam chowder

Tomato soup

Oxtail soup

The cold sides consisted of combinations of vegetables, beans, melons, and dried fruits.

That portion was overseen by the eldest daughter-in-law of the Hepburn family—a woman who was effectively grandmother-aged from Henry's perspective.

She created flavors that belonged specifically to the Hepburn household.

---

Once the food had been arranged across three long tables, the Hepburn Christmas dinner officially began.

As the only person present who neither carried the Hepburn name nor possessed any blood or marital connection to the family, Henry nevertheless sat alongside everyone else.

Nobody organized seating according to age, family branch, or seniority.

People simply sat with those they enjoyed talking to.

Henry was immediately kidnapped by a group of Katharine's nephews and grandnephews.

All of them had long since entered the workforce.

Several had even retired.

The moment they approached the tables, everyone was stunned by the amount of food.

Complaints immediately erupted.

"Wow, why did you make so much? What if we can't finish it?"

"I'm on a diet. I can't possibly eat all that."

"I'll just try a tiny bit of each thing. No more than that."

"Do you know what healthy eating means? Light, natural food without excessive processing. The beauty lies in simplicity."

"A whole roasted lamb? Isn't that a little excessive? Are we seriously going to finish that?"

...

The complaints lasted right up until the meal began.

After that, every single one became meaningless.

The young women who had loudly proclaimed they were dieting ended up undoing the buttons on their waistbands and eating with reckless enthusiasm.

The elderly relatives who insisted they only ate healthy, light foods seemed to completely forget their earlier declarations.

They simply kept eating.

And eating.

And eating.

Because the main dishes had been distributed among three tables, the portions available at each table weren't actually that large.

Anyone who became particularly fond of one dish soon found themselves raiding neighboring tables for more.

What was supposed to be a warm family gathering nearly transformed into a battlefield of ravenous spirits.

The girls who had arrived claiming that a single slice of toast would've been enough for dinner ended up consuming just as much food as the boys their age.

In fact, Henry had originally prepared quantities large enough to satisfy even his enormous appetite.

Yet several dishes nearly disappeared before he could get a second serving.

By the end of the meal, every appetizer, side dish, and main course had vanished completely.

Even the elderly relatives who constantly preached the virtues of stopping at seventy percent fullness were sitting around hiccupping from overeating.

---

After the younger generation cleared the tables and washed the dishes, Henry was once again dragged away by the same group from his table.

The children remained gathered around the Christmas tree.

The older kids fought over video game controllers in front of the television.

The women mostly sat near the fireplace, warming themselves while discussing the shortcomings of their husbands.

It was an ordinary picture of family life.

Nothing extraordinary.

Yet it carried a sense of comfort and belonging.

The group that dragged Henry away had gathered in the dining room instead.

Glasses sat before them.

Some drank whiskey or brandy.

Others preferred red or white wine.

After glancing around, Henry went and grabbed a bottle of beer.

The ringleader was one of Katharine Hepburn's nephews, the oldest member of the group and already retired for some time.

For people like them, the greatest concern was whether their retirement funds would be sufficient to maintain a comfortable lifestyle.

Employment was no longer their primary source of income.

Investments and financial markets occupied that role now.

Representing the thoughts of everyone present, the old man spoke first.

"Henry, from our previous conversations, you've always seemed to have a unique perspective on the market.

"We were wondering if there are any promising investment opportunities over the next couple of years."

The moment he finished, others immediately joined in.

"Exactly. You worked at Stark Pictures for years and you're close to Tony Stark. Got any insider information we can profit from?"

"Just point us toward a stock that'll make us rich."

"Don't remind me about the Asian Financial Crisis. We completely missed the chance to follow Soros and the Quantum Fund."

Everyone began talking at once.

The topic was always the same:

What should they invest in to make money?

Henry looked helpless.

"Insider trading is illegal.

"Not only can it land you in prison, but you'll probably lose all the money too.

"Are you sure that's the kind of advice you want?"

The instant he said that, someone's eyes lit up.

"Wait.

"You mean you actually have insider information?"

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