The picture was shared on some popular pages. Hindi iyon nakaligtas sa radar ng pamilya ni Lena. Lalo pang ipinilit ng mga ito na papuntahin niya si Cyrus sa bahay. Fortunately for her, Cyrus was game. He even offered to bring a dish cooked by his dad. Of course, Nikola asked for the chocolate cake. And he wanted a bigger one.
Lacey also insisted na maaga siyang pumunta sa bahay para maayusan. Her sister was still on a short break. Nasa kanila ito hanggang sa Miyerkules ng sumunod na linggo. Lacey had Ramona bring over some dresses na ibibigay nito sa kanila ni Kenna. Dahil bati na sila ni Lacey, pumayag siya sa gusto ng kapatid under one strict condition that she will wear a long-sleeved dress. Lacey was too happy to complain. Hindi kasi siya madalas mag-ayos kaya sinasamantala ng kapatid niya kapag pumapayag siyang maayusan.
She brought Bailey along, too, since he also misses his family. Kalaro ito nina Nikola at Logan, kasama ang ibang aso nila.
Logan, like Nikola, couldn't believe that she got herself a boyfriend. Akala raw kasi nito ay allergic siya sa mga lalaki. Hindi na niya ipinagpilitang hindi naman talaga niya boyfriend si Cyrus. To her family, the concept of going out with him is already partly like being in a relationship.
After telling Cyrus Nikola's specific instructions, kinausap naman niya ang ama to ask him to go easy on Cyrus. She remembered when Martin admitted to her family that he likes Lacey. Her dad interrogated him for two hours. When it was over, Martin looked pale, like he was going to be sick. Ayaw naman niyang mangyari kay Cyrus iyon. He's too nice for that.
"Relax, Lena. It's just dinner. It's not like I'm gonna sentence him to his death," her dad told her. But the glint in his eyes suggested otherwise.
"Don't worry. I'll keep an eye on him, make sure he doesn't go overboard," her mom promised. Naipaliwanag na nito sa kanilang magkakapatid na babae, dati, kung bakit protective ang daddy nila. Wala raw itong kapatid na babae but he's very close with their Aunt Kylie. And he was also kind of a heartbreaker back then so he was watching out for his karma. Baka raw kasi sa kanila mangyari.
Hindi naman ito sobrang higpit to the point na bawal lahat. Her mom told her that he's really a softie inside, like most dads. They just have this instinct to act tougher than they really are to protect their family.
--
Dinner's at seven, so Lacey immediately set to work at 5 o'clock. Kagaya ng pangako nito, long-sleeved dress ang ipasusuot nito sa kanya. She even had options this time.
She chose the navy blue casual dress na hanggang tuhod.
"We have to pluck your eyebrows."
"What?!" Agad niyang tinakpan ng dalawang kamay ang mga kilay. "They're fine!"
"Sabog na kaya!" Lacey said impatiently.
Ngumuso siya at bumuntong-hininga. Lacey was used to this. Kailangan kasing palagi itong nakaayos dahil public figure ito. She, on the other hand, prefers to keep everything the way they are. Kaya nga ang buhok niya, never pang nagalaw ng kahit sinong parlorista. She cuts her own hair. It's naturally brownish so there's no need to color it. And it's already soft and smooth (in her opinion) kaya hindi na niya ginagalaw. Ang mantra kasi niya, if it's not broken, then don't fix it.
"Fine, but make it as painless as possible. Please lang."
"I'll try." Lacey laughed when she grimaced. "Tiis-ganda, Ate."
She began plucking her eyebrows. Siya naman ay humawak sa gilid ng upuan niya para maiwasang palisin ang kamay ng kapatid.
After that, Lacey did her makeup, with free tutorial. She realized that she's wearing her eyeliner the wrong way. Lacey added layers of makeup on her face but they didn't feel cakey because she was aiming for the 'natural' look, which didn't seem natural to her at all. Natural for her is bare-faced.
