Part 3 - The Dinner

A shuffling could be heard before a pair of footsteps came into the dining room where they were seated. An older gentleman in a suit hurriedly walked in, his eyes searching for something or rather, someone.

"Lila! How could you not tell me you were coming?" He asked as he looked at his youngest child. The other two of his children just ignored him, but Lila got up and came over to help him sit down.

"If I had told you then you would have immediately left the office," She explained. "How would the company run without their CEO?" He seemed to be satisfied with the answer, but was still visibly upset. Lila noticed his expression and gently gave him a hug, while patting him on the back.

"Calm down Dad, I would have told you, but you always go over the top. It's not like I came back from abroad or something," She stated. "However, I appreciate the effort so thank you."

Lila gently placed a loving kiss on his cheek. He smiled at his daughter and was about to say something when he felt a smack on the back of his head. He quickly turned to look back and saw his wife glaring at him. The woman who had just entered had a long braid behind her and her sharp eyes were now staring at her husband.

"You need to stop being so overprotective about Lila and worry about yourself," She suddenly stated. "Besides, she had already told me she was coming so what's there to worry about?"

"But she didn't tell me..." He weakly argued before shutting up as his wife gave him another glare. His wife then turned to Lila and gave her a big hug. She gave her a few pecks on the forehead before letting go. Lila merely smiled at her parents as they bickered.

"Dear, how have you been?" Her mother asked as she sat down. They both sat down before Lila answered.

"I've been good, Mom, how about you?" She asked. Her mother smiled.

"I've also been doing well. Have you been eating well? You look thinner than last week." She said as they began to eat. Her father and brothers nodded in unison as they listened.

"You always say that every week," Lila pointed out. "I've been eating well so don't worry, I'll be fine. I'm not a child anymore Mom, I am almost 22 at this point." Her mother merely smiled and remembered when Lila was a young child. Smart and mature, the child was always ready for anything. The fond memories she had of her youngest daughter made her chuckle.

"We know, but as parents, you can't help but worry," Her mother replied. "Furthermore, you just began living by yourself, so as a mother I need to be concerned."

The men at the table began to talk about the company and business, while the two women talked about how Lila had been doing so far. The dinner was a bit longer than usual, mostly because everyone was busy asking Lila if she had gotten used to living alone or if she needed anything. Lila had a warm feeling in her heart as she answered each of their questions with reassurance. She had missed her family over the few weeks that she had been away so she wanted to make the most of the time they spent time together.

"When are you leaving?" Reo suddenly asked as everyone moved to the living room to chat. "You could stay the weekend and leave on Monday. I'll drop you off on the way to work." Lila thought about the suggestion and didn't see anything wrong with it since she also wanted to stay a few days before leaving.

They all sat down and continued to chat about how everything was until late at night. They would have continued if it wasn't for their mother, who insisted they needed to get a good sleep. Their father also agreed so they all went to their own rooms.

Lila looked around her room and saw that nothing had changed. Despite her absence, the room was still clean. She suddenly began to feel tired seeing her bed. Grabbing a pair of pajamas from her closet, she quickly changed before doing her nighttime routine.

As soon as she finished everything, it was almost midnight, so she got into bed and burrowed into her blankets. There was only one thought as she drifted off to sleep.

'I hope my life is as easy going and carefree as this everyday.'