Charlie hummed happily, he opened the front door and let himself in. He walked into the living room and placed the bags of takeout on the coffee table. He continued to hum as he removed the food from the bags and placed them out on the coffee table.
"Charlie, why did you leave the door open? Something could have rushed in," Michael frowned as he appeared behind him.
"I knew you were right behind me, besides, what could have possibly rushed in?" Charlie asked.
"That's still no excuse. Oh, I don't know maybe a lizard, or a stray cat or any other animal," he replied.
"Please, stop acting as if we don't live in an estate, a very clean one at that. And also, you are just taking this matter too seriously.".
"Anyway, regardless of if you think someone is behind you or not, always close the door behind you," Michael said.
"Yeah, yeah, whatever. Have you loaded up the car?".
"I have," Michael nodded.
"Okay, and did you carry my stuff as well?".
"Of course I did.".
"Good, then all that's left is just to go and call Lulu, so we can eat. I'll be right back," Charlie said as he rushed up the stairs.
Lulu groaned as she walked out of the bathroom in a bathrobe and her wrapped in a towel. She wished she had more time to spend in the shower, but if she had not come out when she did, she knew that Charlie would end up banging on her bedroom door.
She sat on her bed and took a deep breath. She stood up again and put some final items into her suitcase before zipping it up. She fell on her bed and closed her eyes only to be interrupted by a knock on the door.
She knew who it was before she even heard his voice.
"Lulu, we're here, I brought food, come out so we can eat.".
Lulu groaned, he had terrible timing, she was just about to go to sleep.
"I want to go to sleep," she said.
"No, no, no way, you can sleep in the car if you want, now, come out and eat so we can get going, it's almost six thirty," he said.
"Charlie, I'm being serious right now, I'm so tired," she replied.
"Are you decent?" he asked.
"Yes.".
Without wasting time, Charlie burst into the room, "Lulu, don't be mean, we already talked about this, come on, the food is getting cold.".
"Charlie, I'm sorry, but I don't really feel like going, I don't know why, I just feel drained," she said.
"I understand that, but I am sure that you will feel much better if you come along with us. You will see your mom, grandfather, your dad, and we will all be together," Charlie sat down beside her.
"Honestly, I don't feel myself, and I just don't want to go over there and ruin the mood.".
"You can never ruin the mood. Your mere presence will make us all happy, I am sure that once you get away from the bustle of life over here, you will feel rejuvenated," Charlie said.
"Charlie, you won't leave me alone will you?" she turned to him.
"Not a chance, Lulu, not a chance," he stood to his feet. "Now, let's go," he pulled her hand and she groaned as she was lifted up.
"But my hair is still wet," she gave an excuse.
"It's still in the towel, it can dry, or maybe you want me to dry it for you," he said.
"You would truly do anything just so I don't have an excuse to stay back," she said.
"You know I will, so towel or hairdryer?" he asked.
Lulu could see how serious he was, she almost rolled her eyes before saying, "Hairdryer,".
"Alright, where do you keep your hairdryer?" he asked.
"I don't have mine with me, it's back home, I usually use, Natasha's.".
"And where does Natasha keep her hairdryer?".
"In her room inside cupboard on the right," she said.
"Be right back," Charlie dashed off.
Lulu shook her head, she wished that Charlie was not so insistent, but at the same time, it was nice to know that he would never give up until she felt better, and that made her happy.
True to his words, Charlie returned with the hairdryer in hand.
"Alright, let's do this!" he said.
Lulu shook her head and could not help but smile.
...
"Where are those two?" Michael asked seated on the couch. The time was moving faster and they were still not down.
Had Charlie not said that he was going to call Lulu, how long did it take him to call Lulu.
"The food is getting cold," he murmured. "And I am hungry.".
It was as if he was being tempted by the white containers on the table. He wanted to eat so badly, but he also did not want to be mean and inconsiderate. It would be nice if they all ate together.
Eventually, Michael gave up his desire to eat. He picked up the plates of food and walked into the kitchen to warm them. He did not like eating cold food.
Michael knew it would be useless to shout, if Lulu's bedroom door was closed, they would be unable to hear him. If they did not come out in five minutes, he would go up there and find out what was going on.
...
"There," Charlie smiled at his handiwork. "What do you think?".
"I think that you are way too good at using a hairdryer," Lulu said.
"I will take that as a compliment, it's better I am good now so when I have my daughter, I can do her hair," Charlie said proudly.
"Mhmm, of course, but don't you think you are getting a bit over yourself, I mean, you first need to have a girlfriend before you can think of having a wife that would give you that child," Lulu said as she packed up the hairdryer.
"No, no, on the contrary my dear Lulu, I am simply making plans for the future, the rest will all fall in place when the time has come," Charlie said.
"Right," Lulu nodded.
"Besides, a man can dream...".
"Aww, Charlie, I am sure that one of these days you will get a woman that truly deserves you," Lulu said.
"I hope that day will be soon, I'm getting tired of being all alone," he said.
"What do you mean alone? You are not alone, you have me, Dom, Michael, Natasha, Joy, and Nine, you have all of us," Lulu said as she tied her hair up in a ponytail.
"It's not the same. If I had a wife to focus on, I wouldn't care about that useless, Nine. If I had a daughter or a son to play with, I wouldn't feel so bored all the time," Charlie frowned.
"Oh, my dear Charlie, life is in stages, you are mature, you are working, you have enough money to provide for yourself first and that is the most important. Sooner or later, the right lady who will cherish you and support you will come along and then I can start to become an aunt again," Lulu gave him a hug and he laughed.
"Thanks Lulu," he smiled.
"Anytime, you know that you are the sweetest brother I have, thank you for always cheering me up even when I don't want you to," she smiled.
"Hey, what are brothers for?" he smiled. "We better go down before Michael becomes impatient," he laughed.
"That is true, he will get very impatient," Lulu laughed. "Let me just go and put this back, and get dressed and I'll meet you downstairs, okay?".
"Okay, don't take too long.".
"I won't," Lulu smiled.
...
Michael tapped his foot on the ground impatiently, he stood up and was about to go look for them when Charlie suddenly walked in.
"There you are, what took you so long?" he frowned.
"Relax, I helped Lulu dry her hair since she was tired. She will be down in a moment, she just needs to get dressed," Charlie replied.
"I'm hungry," Michael said.
"You should have just started eating without us, Michael, we wouldn't have mind," Charlie said as he opened one of the containers and threw a chicken nugget into his mouth.
Michael opened his mouth wide, he could not believe what he had just seen Charlie do.
"You are so annoying, I was waiting for you, and yet, here you are, eating!" he said.
"Hey, I never told you not to eat," Charlie shrugged.
Michael was about to say something when Lulu walked in.
"Don't fight you guys, save that for the road, since Charlie is a bad driver," she joked.
"Hey!" Charlie frowned.
"That is so true," Michael said. He sat down and grabbed a container, he opened it and started to eat.
"Looks like someone is very hungry," she laughed.