Invitations.

We were at the large table behind the folding screen that Maria had once prepared for us. She kept it for the larger groups, but most customers come in groups of three or four.

Mila told us more about her own second day at modeling school, saying how how she was really happy that one of the teachers had used her as an example of how to stand up straight and how to pose in front of a camera, that she said those were skills she already had mostly down, but that some girls didn’t seem too happy about it.

“You run into these kinds of people no matter where you go, huh?” I muttered bitterly, still upset at… well, everything.

Grace and Sarah getting hit on against their wishes, Fernanda getting harassed, Mila getting hate for nothing… And that made me remember that dude who kept harassing Diana, too, that V-Tuber drama Noelle had to go through, and the story the girls told me about what Alice had to go through.

“It is how it is,” Maria said, coming up from my blindspot with a tray of cookies she set on the table. “You meet some bad ones, you meet some good ones. You have six of those good ones in this table alone, don’t you?”

I don’t think that was directed solely at me, but at every one of us individually.

“We didn’t order cookies,” I told her.

“They’re my treat for helping me with a bad customer, but I’ll take them away if you don’t want them.”

“No, we want them!” Mila and Noelle quickly said, dragging the plate closer to their side.

“There you go. Anyway, don’t think about it too hard,” Maria continued, making a mess out of my hair. “It’s true that there’s a line where things can get dangerous, but don’t go giving up on people just because of a few bad apples. You don’t want to regress, do you?”

I groaned. “Yeah, I guess not.”

Alice blinked, looking from me to Maria and back. “You know… Sometimes I forget you two worked together for almost a year. You know him really well.”

“Of course I do,” Maria said, pulling my ear while keeping her eyes on the girls. “He’s my honorary little brother by now. Why do you think I’m mad that he didn’t come visit until now?”

“You said you forgave me,” I said, groaning some more. Her ear-pulling didn’t hurt one bit.

“Forgiven but not forgotten,” she said.

“Holding grudges is gonna make you age faster,” I told her.

“Hah! Look who’s talking,” she shot back.

“Alright, that’s fair. Can you let go of my ear now?”

“Fine.”

The girls looked at us with deeply amused smiles.

“By the way, love,” Grace said. “Why don’t you ask her?

“Ask her what? Oh, that!” I turned to Maria again. “Hey, is Sunday night a bad time for you and Thomas? We’re throwing a sort of… inauguration party for the house, but Diana and I work on Friday and Saturday nights. Besides, Ben’s boxing match is at 7:00 pm, so we’ll take the opportunity to celebrate his victory. Well, if he wins.”

“Sunday night… Mmm… Yeah, Isabelle is working on Monday, so why not? Will Diana be making drinks? If so, Thomas will have to drive. Who else is coming?”

“Mostly just our closest friends,” Sarah said. “Lena, Kevin, Ben, Mark, Thomas, you…”

“We’re having a barbeque on Saturday afternoon with our families,” Grace said. “Well… Most of our families.”

I frowned. Both of Grace’s parents were currently out of the country. Her dad was working, her mother was on vacation. Poor girl couldn’t decide if she was upset or relieved, believing that her parents would actually make things worse if they came over.

Mr. And Mrs. West were also coming over and bringing their younger kids. Sarah tried not to let it show, but she was excited. Mr. and Mrs. Aliev were also bringing their younger son, who is already friends with Sarah’s siblings, so no worries there, either. I hadn’t had the chance to really get to know Noelle’s parents since they’re both extremely busy all the time, but they had made some to come over. I was really looking forward to that, since I wanted to bond a little more with them. I hoped I could reassure them of how much their daughter means to me.

Our biggest worry was actually Alice’s parents. Well, her dad in particular. Alex and his wife were coming, too, and we were hoping he’d help smooth things over, but the fact still remained that, if he had his way, Alice would move out to study at a better university. We hoped he wouldn’t bring it up, but we were preparing for the worst. On the bright side, his issue wasn’t with me. To him, Alice and I being separated would be an unfortunate side-effect of her doing what’s best for her.

Fern suddenly appeared, peeking her head from the side of the folding screen.“Maria! Customers!” she said in hushed tones.

“Ah! Right! Sorry! Yeah, we’ll be there, Oliver. Just text me the time, okay?” the owner of the coffee shop said before running off to actually work.

We all gave Fern a thumbs up. “Good job,” I told her.

“I do wonder if it’s okay to tell my boss what to do…” Fern said with a shaky smile.

“She’ll gossip all day if you let her,” I told her. “Don’t be afraid to bring her back to reality when you need to.”

“By the way, you’re coming, right?” Mila asked her. “You’re coming to our house on Sunday night?”

“Um… Y-Yes,” Fern nodded, if a bit more nervous than usual. Fern and Mila hadn’t really interacted much by this point, which is still weird to think since I’m used to all the girls kind of knowing each other well. I suppose it was a similar situation when I started dating Diana, but even though it hadn’t been that long since then, it felt like a long time. “Oliver told me. If it’s not an issue…”

“Woman, we need you there,” Grace said, smirking. “We have a lot of stuff to talk about, particularly after everyone else has left. Because you’re staying the night, right?”

Fern took a deep breath and smiled with pursed lips before answering.

“Y-Yes.”

The girls all cheered.

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