The sudden change in his tone tells her he's not being completely truthful. When people aren't used to lying, they have a tendency to give themselves away like that. Her smile becomes sympathetic. "Your family was that bad, huh?" It seems a fair assumption that things went well with Verity and Naugus, as Verity doesn't seem the type to let her holidays be ruined by pretty much anything. Not even racist grandpa Naugus.

"Some, yes." She picks up her cup of tea to give her an extra few seconds to think of how to phrase her response. "Verity and I exchanged gifts on Jül's eve, then brought gifts to Steve, and a few days later Steve brought me a present on Christmas. I... was out of sorts, though, so the gift had to wait a few days, but that's all right. He actually got me the tea I'm drinking now." Her cup is lifted slightly to emphasize her point. "I was by myself for most of the holiday time, though, so I think I missed out on a lot of the traditions people told me about. No one told me about eggnog or carols, though. What are they?" Despite the weight on her shoulders, she hopes he'll be kind enough to answer her question. She really is curious as to what these things now that he's mentioned them.