It has been a very tiresome day as the family prepared for the Christmas dinner. Laura, Rhea, Claire and Madeline prepared the dishes while Carter and Daniel played Video games in the room.
'It is so nice to be male' Rhea who hated being in the kitchen thought. She cupped her face with her hand resting on the counter. Each time she remembered the two guys were having their fun time while she worked, she heaved a deep sigh.
"Don't worry, being female is not so bad" her best friend who was passing by with a tray of baked cookies said to her patting her back. She sighed again. Each time heavier than the previous.
"Rhea, I can not believe you have not finished cutting ten pieces of carrots! It's been hours already!" Laura who saw her daughter lazing about yelled.
"Mum, these things are damn so hard to cut!" Rhea complained. Why must she cut carrots, why can't they just let her go and hide under the covers of her duvet.
"She might prefer Onions, those are softer" Madeline suggested and she earned a glare from Rhea. Madeline laughed. Her young miss might be a nerd but was very bad when it come to kitchen duties. Even the way she handled knife was awkward and scary. Madeline could not bear it anymore and assisted Rhea in cutting the carrots.
"All done!" Rhea said and wiped off the imaginary sweat from her forehead.
"It is not like you did anything. Pass the carrots" He mother voiced.
"MUM!" Rhea glared. She pulled the tray of chopped carrot to her mother who would be using it to prepare her favorite chicken and vegetable pan roast. The kitchen was filled with aroma from the various dishes and cuisines.
It was few minutes to five in the evening and the women were almost through. All that was left was placing the various dishes on the dinning table. The table was filled with beautiful pots of veggie soup and grilled cheese, Sweet potato fries and chicken veggie stir fry. A bowl of rice fruit mix and pesto zoodles salad. A bottle of wine chilling in a bowl of ice was also set to the side with deserts.
Rhea and Claire went to the room to freshen up since they were sweaty from so much cooking. Laura and Madeline also did the same while waiting for their guests.
Meanwhile, at Jordan's house. He came on pacing to and fro in his room. He walked into his walk in closet and brought out different outfits and placed then on the bed. The stood akimbo and pinched his chin thoughtfully. He ran his finger through his hair.
"What is it again this time?" Matt asked. He had been watching his friend in dilemma for a while and could not take it anymore. All these was happening to his friend because of his delusional thoughts of being in love.
"Can't you see, it is damn so hard choosing what to wear!" Jordan replied. He was getting frustrated at each passing second.
"I don't see anything hard in this at all, it is not like you are going on a business meeting. It is just a dinner for fuck's sake!" Matt voiced. His best friend was messing with his head already. Why was he so concerned about what to wear.
"Dude, I am going to meet her family. Do you not get it?" Jordan said. He tugged at his hair angrily.
"Okay, I get it now. Just wear whatever and in case you have forgotten, the dinner is at five and this is just few more minutes to go" Matt replied and walked out of the room.
"Hey, won't you help me out here!" Jordan called after him but was ignored. He checked the time on his watch and he had only fifteen minutes left. He picked a casual shirt and trouser. He got dressed hurriedly and ran out of his room. He did not want to be late for the dinner. Being late would make his reputation bad before Rhea's family.
He left the house in his Mercedes Benz and drove to the address Rhea sent to him. He got there at five on the dot. He came out of his car and walked to the door. After knocking a few times, the door was opened by an elderly lady.
"Good evening ma'am" Jordan greeted with a bright smile. He was at his best behavior that moment.
"Good evening to you too and Merry Christmas. You must be Rhea's friend. Come on in" Madeline said to him. She also returned his smile.
"Thank you" Jordan said and walked into the house. Madeline let him inside. He looked around and nod his head. Not bad, he thought. It seems he was not late after all. Another knock was heard and this time, Brooke walked in hurriedly.
"Where is everyone? I hope I am not late" He said as he walked into the house.
"No, you are not sir. Please wait a moment, let me call everyone" Madeline responded. She left the room and headed upstairs.
"Sorry, you are?" Brooke turned to Jordan who sat straight immediately. After seeing how Madeline acknowledged the man, he believed he must be someone very close to the family of his girl.
"I am Jordan, Rhea's friend" Jordan answered. 'Boyfriend to be' He added in his mind.
"I see, by the way I am Doctor Brooke but you can call me Brooke. Whichever way" Brooke said.
"Alright" Jordan nodded.
They heard footsteps coming towards them a d the two turned around simultaneously. Laura with a very bright smile walked towards Brooke and embraced him.
"You came, I am so glad you did" Laura said still in his arms.
"You should know I will always make time for you Laura" Brooke replied and released her. Although not willingly but because of the presence of a third-party.
Just then, Rhea and Claire also walked down the stairs. At the sight of Rhea, Jordan beamed in smiles and his eyes sparkled.
"Hey" Rhea said as they approached him.
"Hi, thanks for the invite" He responded. He turned to Claire and said. "I hope you feel very good now?"
"Yeah, I have never been better and thank you for yesterday" Claire gave him a smile of sincere appreciation.
"Come along everyone, it is the to eat" Laura announced as Carter and Daniel joined them. They all walked to the dinning table. Everyone picked what they could eat from the table of countless dishes.
"This year is really a good year, in the past years this dinner is only for just me, Madeline and the children but look at how big we are now" Laura voiced. She had a small smile on her face. Thinking back, Christmas celebration had never been the same after her husband's disappearance.
Brooke who saw the longing look on her face held her hand under the table and rub it tenderly. Their gaze met and he gave her a smile of reassurance. All these was unknown by the other people on the table. At the moment, the two were in their own world.
"Mum, this is indeed a good year for us and I hope it will be the same forever so do not worry" Rhea said.
"I know darling. That reminds me, you guys apart from Jordan are all graduating next year, that means we have so many celebration to look forward to" Laura noted.
"Ah.. Aunt, graduating is not really a big thing, you know it is only a consolation for our next step into the world of stress" Claire voiced.
"I agree with that, we will have a lot to think about after graduation" Rhea added.
"You two girls are silly! I doubt if you have any plans for your future yet" Laura said and Rhea shrugged while Claire just acted as if she did not hear, she munched her food nonchalantly.
"Laura, you really need to take it easy, there is no need to rush them at all" Brooke chipped in.
'Bless your good soul, doctor Brooke' Rhea thought.
"You don't get it, these two are just not serious. Can you just imagine, neither of them ever introduced their boyfriend to me and they are twenty three!"
At the mention of boyfriend, Rhea choked on her drink. What was her mother spouting. She had not given it a thought to date anyone, not yet. As she gave the idea a thought, a certain handsome face flickered in her mind and she brushed it off. She took it as a sudden fleeting thought that would pass. But only if she knew...
The table discussions returned to normal between the adults at the table. No one know the sudden wave of emotions brewing in the heart of the two other guys on the table. One cast a glance at Claire who was seriously concentrating on her food before looking away from her while the other watched Rhea from the side. He was entranced by her bewitching smile.
There minds were in a jumbled mess. Could they really have what they wanted?. This thoughts only troubled their hearts.