THE MINH HOUSEHOLD was hectic. and the sole reason was because it was jennifer's engagement party.
valeria's parents insisted on hosting it at their place. which was obviously a mistake because they only stressed themselves out while planning for it.
it was meant to be an intimate thing. jennifer's closest friends and family would be there and so would ryan's. valeria's parents wanted to go all out with the decorations. after all, their firstborn child was engaged.
there was one very long picnic table in the backyard that somehow was able to seat everyone. there were balloons everywhere inside and outside the house. there was a big decorative sign that had jen and ryan's names on it and there was even a corner of the yard dedicated to taking pictures. there was a tapestry hung up with a props table and everything. and the large canopy that the picnic table was under was decorated with fairy lights and printed out polaroids of jen and ryan.
mr and mrs minh were busy cooking all the food in the kitchen while valeria was in charge of almost everything else. her parents didn't want jennifer or ryan to help them with anything so they could surprise them with the final result. right now, the couple was still in their own house getting ready for the party.
but as for valeria, she was currently setting up the table. she had just laid a white table cloth down and was now evenly displaying the centerpieces. after that, she turned on the fairy lights that she had previously hung up around the canopy. she grinned to herself upon the sight. she thought it looked beautiful and she was so proud of how it came out.
she continued to frantically move in and out of the house so that everything could live up to her parent's standards — mostly her mom's. but still, she just had a gut feeling that something was missing. she just didn't know exactly what it was. and she tried to retrace her steps, rack everything in her mind, and even checked the checklist on her phone, but she couldn't figure out what it was. she had done everything. however, she still resumed her duties as the party planner for the engagement party — appointed to her by her mother — and began to set up the plates and utensils outside.
it was now 5 pm and the minh family was ready. it was a formal party, so valeria wore a black silk dress with a lace trim on the top of it.
jennifer and ryan were the first to arrive. ryan's parents and siblings came along with them. valeria and her parents welcomed them in and all the adults engaged in smalltalk while she patiently waited for her own friends to arrive. jennifer didn't mind the five of them being there anyway.
