Emotionally invested

"Dad, just sit down and relax. Let me handle this." She took the linen for the tables in his hands and walked with him outside the house toward the table set up in the garden.

"I'm more than capable of doing that. I'm not paralyzed yet." Her dad complained as he sat down on the chair in front of her with his arms crossed.

"Why are we doing this anyway? We could have easily gone to a restaurant instead." Questioning her dad's motive with a sudden whim.

For the first time, her dad set up a Sunday lunch date with her and her sisters in their family home. She only heard from her sisters that their mom forced their dad to spend Sunday lunch with them regardless of how busy he was when they were young. But, when their mom died, the family tradition stopped.

"Should there always be a reason for me wanting to spend some time with my daughters?" He rubbed his newly shaved jaw before standing up and walking away, back inside the house. Leaving her alone, speculating about his real objective.

After setting up the table, she walked back inside the house, into the huge kitchen which rarely seen activities unless her father was throwing a party, which consisted of extravagant party planning and catering.

"George, are you done with the pasta?" She tapped her fingers on the marble counter as she waited. George was just finishing the garnishing while Marge was taking care of the plates and silverware.

"Just a few more minutes," George answered back, taking the pasta out of the casserole to drain.

"Ok. Yell for me if you need anything else." She took the vase on the kitchen table with a floral arrangement she made a while ago. She picked up the flowers this morning, enjoying the early sunrise and the cold breeze.

Marge was just behind her, placing the plates on the table she had prepared. "George said that you and Edward are getting cozy. Is that true?"

"We are getting to know each other. What about you and Alex? Any progress." She teased her sister back. She knew that her two sisters were rooting for Edward, but she was still unsure of what she felt for him. It was too early to tell. She had learned her lesson.

"We are getting to know each other." Imitating her answer, making them both laugh at their silliness.

"You two seem to be having a great time. Care to share." George walked out with the pasta in her hand.

The two turned their attention to their eldest sister, pondering when she would consider having a love life. "Just talking about boys. Who are you dating now?" She asked George, truly curious about her sister's dating relationship or lack of it.

"You know I am trying to concentrate on my fellowship. As of now, I have no time for dating." George pointed out, putting the food on the table.

A commotion inside the house alerted them of the presence of other people. They could hear their dad directing them toward the garden.

"Did you know that we are expecting other guests?" She raised her brows to her two sisters who looked as surprised as her.

"Nope. Not that I know of." Marge said, shrugging her shoulders.

"I think I overheard Dad talking to someone earlier about coming over today. Although I assumed it was Madeline, to pick up some papers." George stated. They remained puzzled as they heard male voices talking with their dad. It got louder as it came nearer to their position.

Her eyes blinked twice when she saw Edward walking side by side with her dad. She was confused about his presence in her father's home. On the other side of her dad was Alex, which based on Marge's face was also surprised to see him.

It was finally making sense to her. The whole out of the blue lunch date. Her dad just had a whiff of the men they were dating and decided to investigate on his own. This was a perfect way to get to know them and observed his daughter's reaction.

She could not blame him if he was being overprotective. After all, her past track record with a man was not something she could be proud of.

"Girls look who showed up to join us for lunch." Their dad announced as soon as they were on sight.

The two men behind her dad waved at them, with a smile on their faces, each with a set of flowers on their hands.

When Edward was standing close to her, she muttered in a low voice to him. "What are you doing here?" She was curious, although she already had an idea of his possible answer.

"Your dad called late last night and invited me. I assumed that you knew about it." He whispered close to her ears, handing her the flowers in his hand.

"Hope you boys like their cooking." Her dad taunted his girls while winking at the two men beside him, making light of the awkward situation. "I think they are much better compared to the last time."

"Dad, would you stop that?" Marge was the first to react, embarrassed by the way their dad was acting. Although they knew that their father meant no harm, it was still uncomfortable.

"Why don't you guys sit down while we take out the other food?" George said, pulling her sisters with her, smiling happily that she was not part of their father's scheme.

"I hope he does that to you when you finally introduce your boyfriend," Marge said annoyingly at George.

"Do you mean Alex is now your boyfriend?" George grinned wickedly at Marge who only shook her head in denial.

"Of course not. We are still in the process of learning more about each other." Marge took the bowl of salad and walked out of the kitchen.

She, on the other hand, also found the situation difficult, but she was not that affected. Maybe because she was not yet emotionally invested with Edward, which led her to conclude that Marge must be falling for Alex. She found herself smiling with her discovery about her sister.