"Yeah. Of course I did. I heard voices in the living room. "
"Oh. " Danny yawned. "It's Aunt Julia and her kids. They're downstairs and guess what, Emma also came with her siblings. I even heard mum say something about making Emma in charge of her hospital. You can go see for yourself "
Duh!! Who cares??!!
Daisy went to her sister's room.
"Daisy " Little Allie called out softly.
"Hey Allie munchkins. How are you? "
Allie laughed heartily "I'm fine. Don't call me munchkins "
"No baby girl. I can't help it. You'll always be my munchkins. Let's go meet Jane (Jane was aunt Julia's 5 year old daughter.) She's with Aunt Julia downstairs "
On hearing that, Allie got up immediately dragging her yellow blanket and carrying her teddy on her chest. She held Daisy's hand and they went downstairs together.
"Aunt Julia " Daisy said and went to hug her aunt, before going to meet her parents.
"Hey. See how my Dee is growing fast and beautiful. I bet Jerry has a difficult job of keeping the boys away. "
"Haha. I wish!! " Jerry exclaimed.
Daisy just forced a smile and went around making small chats with her cousins. She went to her cousin Raymond and gave him a side hug.
"Jeez Daisy. If you weren't my cousin, I'd have fucked you or even worse raped you. "
His mum scowled at him and everyone burst into laughter. She then went to her bug cousin Emma and they exchanged pleasantries. Everyone went to the large sitting room upstairs as the grownup girls Emma and Nora went to the kitchen.
Daisy went back to her bedroom with Joan (Julia's daughter, who was a year younger than Daisy). Joan wanted to be a model and she kept talking about fashion and girly things. Daisy just endured her boring talks and when food was ready everyone ate at the dining table.
Later that afternoon, everyone went out leaving her alone at home.
She still didn't feel compelled to let her parents know about Jake. She sat down in her room with her phone until it beeped, indicating a message from Jake.
"Hey Dee. I'm at your gate and I don't even know if it's truly the right address because the place looks quiet and calm. "
Daisy got up instantly. She was already dressed know a white tank top and jean trousers. She grabbed her purse and rushed outside. To her greatest delight, he was actually standing outside the gate with mixed emotions.
****
Jake was wondering whether he should go back home or wait for her. Just then, she emerged wearing a little bit of makeup. She was more beautiful without the makeup. He smiled warmly.
"Hi. You look.... stunning. " he held her hand softly and carried her purse.
It was a gentlemanly way of taking care of a girlfriend. He looked at her. Was she really his girlfriend?
Then she noticed the blue Lexus SUV and gasped. "Is that yours?"
"Yeah. My mum got it for my 17th birthday"
"It's really nice. " She said as they walked towards the car. He opened the passenger door for her and closed it back, before going to the other side.
They drove to a small posh restaurant, ordered drinks and food and waited for the waiter to serve them.
"So tell me about yourself. Your parents are wealthy, right? " Daisy asked him.
She was surprised that she wasn't acting all too timidly around him.
"Okay. So what gave me away? " He teased.
"Well... " She pointed towards his car parked outside.
"If any, that's an indication. For the love of Christ, which normal teen drives a Lexus SUV these days. Although my dad promised to get me a Rolls Royce on my 18th birthday but that is two years from now. "
"Your dad must be pretty high on cash to afford a Rolls Royce. "
Daisy threw her head back and laughed.
Just then, the waiter arrived with their food and drinks.
"I actually am thinking of changing my course of study" Daisy announced. Jake looked up at her before putting down his fork and asking.
"To what? "
"Computer engineering" Daisy smiled "just like my aunt "
"Oh wow. I want to study trauma surgery" He said and when Daisy looked at him wide-eyed , he blushed. "It's not a big deal. I'm not even sure yet, because you know, there are many interesting courses in surgery. But why don't you want to be an artist anymore? " Jake asked with a piped interest.
"Looking at it from my own perspective, Artists are not supposed to take their career professionally. It's supposed to be like a hobby. Maybe when they're less busy or depressed... "
Jake raised his hand to interrupt her.
"But then the artwork would lose its ego" .
Daisy sighed.
"Well... Well... " Daisy threw her head back and laughed instantly because he was right. Art has to be in line with emotions and if you're drawing just as a side job, you'll lose concentration. You have to focus solely on it if you are sure that that's the path you want to take.
And besides, if you draw or paint in a depressed state, it would be nonsense. She laughed at the terrific realization. Jake joined in the laughter.
Over the next hours, they found out their best colours, their best food, their best tourist centres, best movies and everything they each needed to know about themselves. They also expressed their opinions on different subjects.
When it was some minutes past seven in the evening, She stood up and stretched. Jake yawned too.
"We've stayed longer than I expected " He said to her.
"Yeah, I'm feeling tired already. "
"Me too. Let me pay the bills and then we'll leave, okay? " he said affectionately.
He stood up and paid their bills and led her out to his car.
When they arrived at Daisy's parents mansion, he came out with her and she held his hands.
"Thanks for a nice evening, Jake. I really enjoyed today. " Daisy said with a smile and rose on her toes to kiss him on the cheeks.
"So can we meet tomorrow, after school? You name the place and time " Jake said.
"Hmm. How about Jenny's club? We'll train the kids there and then eat together."
"That sounds great " He replied, expectantly
"Alright bye" She said after a moment of awkward silence as she'd never been in this condition before and didn't know how to respond. He smiled and went back to his car. She waited outside until he drove off before going into the house.
When she got in, her parents were discussing. When they noticed her presence, they turned to her, wide-eyed.
"Daisy honey, where have you been? " Her mum asked.
Before she could reply, her dad queried "Or did you go out on a date? "
Daisy blushed instantly and her parents suspicions were confirmed.
"Oh my God Dee. Who is he? "
"His name is Jake and he's a senior in my school. "
"Oh wow. " Her dad said.
"So how was the date? " Her dad asked.
"It wasn't a date, dad ". Daisy replied and went to her room.
Her brother Danny came in some moments later.
"So you went out with Jake without telling me, right? "
Daisy smiled.
"You don't know who Jake is and besides, did you tell me who you went out with? "
He smiled and both of them chatted for a few minutes before he went to his own bedroom.