"Claire, focus on your driving. You talk too much," said Kevin with a cold voice. He didn't want to see the two fighting again since their relationship was just getting better. He wasn't expecting them to start a fight this soon.
"What! I didn't say anything wrong. Why are you just blaming me?" Frustration was all over Claire's voice as she pouted. How come she was always wrong and Leena was right in her brother's eyes?
"Because you are good at starting a war. Turn around and see if the cake is ready. If it's ready, we can stop by and take it home. That would save us a trip." Kevin said as he tactically changed the topic. He was not in the mood to argue with his sister anytime soon.
"Got it." Claire shut her mouth reluctantly. She had no gut to continue arguing with her brother because she was afraid of him and she had always respected him. She had realized that her brother had never looked at her with the same gentle eyes as how he did with Leena.
The three reached their home after an hour. They were done with shopping for their daily necessities and took the cake.
"Mom, what can I do for you?" Leena went straight to the kitchen to help the woman as soon as she arrived. She felt a little sorry about going out as she knew that everyone in the family was busy.
"Leena, you're back. You must be tired! Go upstairs to get some rest. I'll handle this. Everything is almost done here." Shannon was so happy to see Leena. She liked her daughter-in-law although Kevin's father had some comment on her family.
"I'm not tired. Let me help with the vegetables!" A sweet smile was on Leena's face as she said those. She couldn't just go upstairs even if her mother-in-law said so. Shannon might have just said that out of politeness. She couldn't take it too seriously because it would be impolite to do nothing.
"Well, okay. I'll take it as a good chance to chat with you!" Shannon finally stopped refusing and just let her do the chore.
"Good! Where's Dad? Is he still at work?" asked the young lady as she hadn't seen Nathan since she came back.
"It's just past three. I guess he'll be home in a while. Did you have fun? How was your Capital City sightseeing tour?" Shannon asked while looking up at Leena. She was simultaneously cooking Sweet and Sour Pork while chatting.
"We didn't see much but we had many snacks." Leena replied with a shy smile as she started to deal with the vegetables. "Oh! Did you? Was Claire going around with you? I didn't see her all day," said Shannon with a frown. She had hoped for Claire to buy her something. Too bad though that she hadn't seen her around. "Yes! She was with us." Leena said while dealing with the vegetables skillfully. "That girl likes fooling around very much. Didn't she go against you today?" Kevin's mother asked. She was worried that Claire might offend the lady again since her child already did that before in front of her. "She didn't. Actually, she's very nice. It's probably me who have problems and that's why she resisted me before." Leena wasn't a gossip girl. She wouldn't say anything bad about other people even though she was wronged. For her, gossiping was nothing but a sure fire to family issues. "You always speak nicely of her." Shannon said before turning to Leena. "Come, help me to try this. Tell me how does it taste?" Shannon said and offered a small meatball close to Leena's mouth. Appreciation was on her face as Leena's manners in coping up with them sincerely impressed her.
"Okay." The lady opened her mouth and tasted the food regardless of the awkward feeling that attacked her. She wasn't used to being this intimate with Shannon.
"How does it taste?" The elder woman looked at her daughter-in-law with expectations in her eyes. There was a slight hesitation in her voice too as she feared that she might not find the food delicious. "Is it good?"
Um! Good. It tastes crisp and soft. Is it fried?" Leena asked with curiosity. Because the one she cooked before wasn't as crisp and soft as Shannon's. Was she doing something wrong with how she cooked?
"Yes! It tastes much better if it's fried. If you like, I'll cook it for you at all times." Delight was on Shannon's face after hearing the young lady's praise.
"Great!" answered Leena. She felt no hesitation and even gave her mother-in-law the sweetest smile she could muster.
It was sunset when Leena met all the people of Kevin's family and realized what a real military family was like. Everybody there was in starched uniform, be it male or female. One of the most remarkable people there was Kevin's aunt. The woman was simply a ball of dignity and arrogance. She was almost like Daisy! The only thing was that Leena knew that she couldn't be her friend as this woman she was checking at had this certain way of looking at her coldly and scaring her. Her first impression of Kevin's aunt was that she was a serious woman. Thus, it was a surprise to see how tender the mentioned auntie was with Claire. Moreover, it was not just that auntie, it seemed like everybody in there was treating Claire in a special way.
Girl, what's wrong? Are you shocked?" Kevin asked with a dazzling smile. Didn't he tell her about his family before? His aunts and uncles were all officials.
"No. I was just rattled to see so many big shots at the same time," said Leena before leaning on Kevin. She wasn't lying at all. She was really trembling and what she did proved her words to the man.
"For what? They don't bite people." Kevin was catching up with the guests before he came to Leena. He felt the need to check on her after seeing her standing like a mannequin with her eyes wide open.