Zoey hops in the car and asked him about his meeting, Nickel didn't know what to say because he lied to her, a white lie, that he attended dealers meeting earlier that afternoon. To protect his surprise plan for her upcoming birthday, Nickel needed to add another lie to her. A lie after lie they said.
"It was fine. Although my VIPs didn't like me at first. Their stared was like head-to-toeing my soul and evaluation my life decisions. They are scary to the extent that I wanted to back out from that meeting." His words are his actual feeling when he met her friends. Especially Sweet, he thought at first that Sweet had the most compassionate among the three but in reality, she has the coldest heart of all. She looked at him with her intimidating side that makes all his hair stands and shakes in fear.
Zoey doesn't have the idea that the VIPs that Nickel met that afternoon were all her close friends. "It's okay, honey. It's all done. Have you accepted your proposal?"
"Yes, fortunately, they did." The car was filled with laughter after Nickel assured that everything went well.
"By the way, the new housekeeper arrived today. And for the first time, our office's housekeeper is a man." Zoey shared what had happened earlier before they met.
By the time Nickel heard the word "man" out of Zoey's mouth, his glabella became a narrow path and looked at her intimidatingly as if he is asking her why are you talking to man aside from me?
"Mang Rick is already old enough to be a father. Stop looking at him like I am cheating on you."
Once again, Nickel has been brushed off the nth time this week.
"As I was saying, Manong Rick had this enormous scar on his face and he even retold me how he got that scar." Nickel could see that Zoey was so affected with that man's story because her eyes redden when she retold him what happened.
"I will meet that Manong Rick soon. Do you want to cook for dinner or should we eat somewhere else?" He asked his maiden beside him.
"Let's go home, for now, I will cook for dinner. I forgot to prepare Happy's meal; she might die from starvation if we decided to go for a late night date tonight. But first, can we go grocery first?"
The two went to the nearest grocery store from Serenity Condominium and bought all the ingredients they will be needing and also for all the stuff that needs to be stocked at Zoey's unit such as napkins and tissues.
When Zoey was choosing pads and napkins at the feminine alley of the grocery store Nickel was waiting for her at the end part of the racks. He was shy to stand beside her as she was choosing her thing during her red days.
Periods and menstruations are still new to Nickel that is why these racks of products weren't comfortable for him.
A woman on her sixties observed him standing at the shampoo area while looking at Zoey from the next racks. "Hijo, why don't you approach that beautiful lady if you like her." The old lady said because she thought that Nickel was just admiring her from afar.
"I am with her, auntie."
"If you're with her why are standing her and not helping her choose for what she was looking for? In fairness your wife is beautiful, you're lucky marrying that kind of a lady." The old lady already assumed that he and Zoey were married because there is no young couple that would spend their late nights in a grocery store like what they are doing. It is a married thing for husbands and wives to go grocery shopping together than a girlfriend and boyfriend like they are.
Nickel, on the other hand, liked the assumptions of the old lady and didn't correct her. "We find Auntie, I am giving her an alone time to choose what she liked for her body." Actually, Nickel didn't know what to say to the old lady beside him so he decided to go and pick any bottle of shampoo in front of him and tried to excuse himself to put it on their shopping cart.
"Go ahead, young man. Go to your lovely wife. I remembered my younger days, I was as beautiful like her during my early years of life."
Nickel walk straight to Zoey and put the random bottle he took to escape from that old lady's prying eyes. "What is that?" Zoey asked when she sensed that Nickel places a product on their cart without looking at him or on the product he put.
"Shampoo, I go and check the next alley."
"Okay, honey."
After buying all the things that they need, Nickel and Zoey went back home. They were welcome by Happy's energetic barks and tail wiggling. Since the day they arrived back home as a couple Happy has been too clung to Nickel after Zoey told her that Nickel is her daddy now.
Perhaps it is not just Zoey you gain a lover but also Happy. Nickel has been an overly protective and on-hands dad to Happy.
The father and daughter pair stayed in the living room while Zoey starts preparing their meal.