It didn't take long for Mike and Paige to wait; Erica, after tidying herself up, walked out of the washroom.
Washing off her smoky eye makeup and taking off her studded jacket made her look much more well-behaved.
"Drink some water first," Mike said with a cold face, handing her a glass of ice water.
"Thanks." Erica took the cup, the bewildered expression on her face gone, replaced by a somewhat reserved look.
At this moment, she looked truly sober.
After Erica put down the water glass, Mike took the two sisters to Cooper's house across the street for dinner.
At the dining table, besides the Coopers, Connie and Dr. Sturgis were also present.
Seeing Mike and the others enter, Connie asked with concern, "You're finally back, nothing happened, right?"
Her words were clearly directed at Mike, and her eyes also glanced at Erica, who had appeared behind them.
"Everything went smoothly," Mike said, then explained, "The Swansons are planning a night to themselves, so Erica will be staying with us for the night."
Connie and George's couple knew some inside information about the Barry's situation. So, they weren't too surprised by Erica's arrival.
"Come and sit down, dinner is about to begin." Connie knew it wasn't the time to ask for specific details, so she smiled and motioned for the three of them to sit.
"Erica, we meet again." Georgie's eyes lit up the moment Erica appeared, and he finally found an opportunity to strike up a conversation.
"Hello, Georgie," Erica nodded politely, greeting him.
Getting a response from Erica brought a brilliant smile to Georgie's face. He then enthusiastically got up and invited, "Come sit here, I haven't touched the silverware—"
Erica was a bit overwhelmed by Georgie's untimely enthusiasm.
Just then, Mary came out of the kitchen with three sets of tableware. She had seen her eldest son's actions.
"Behave, Georgie!" Mary glared at her eldest son, making him sit down properly, then arranged for Paige and her sister to sit next to Missy.
"Alright, let's begin our pre-dinner prayer." The house was rarely this lively, which seemed to put Mary in a very good mood.
For Christian believers, sharing is a virtue.
...
Accompanied by a relaxed and pleasant atmosphere, dinner drew to a close.
Mary looked at the two new sisters and asked with a smile, "Paige, Erica, are you satisfied with this dinner?"
"It tasted great, Mrs. Cooper," Paige showed a sweet smile and praised.
"Better than my mother's..." Erica also gave a very good evaluation.
"That's good." Mary, as the chef of this meal, also showed a happy smile on her face when she heard the two sisters' answers.
She was already starting to like these two "honest" sisters.
"Oh, by the way, Mike. Where are you planning to have them stay tonight?" Mary asked Mike.
As a mother, Mary obviously thought more than others.
"Can Paige stay with me?"
Before Mike could answer, Missy asked crisply.
The two little girls were similar in age and both very cute, making it easy for them to become friends.
"Actually, Erica can also stay in my room." On the other side, Georgie didn't miss this chance to show off, looking at Erica with a "deeply affectionate" expression and saying.
Hearing Georgie's bold statement, several people at the dinner table looked over with strange expressions.
Among them were George and his wife.
Feeling his mother's displeased gaze, Georgie quickly defended himself, "I mean, Erica can stay in my room, and I can make do with Mike."
"I refuse—" After Mike said that, he looked at Connie, seeking her opinion, "There's an empty side room in the house, I want them to stay there temporarily."
That side room used to be Connie's storage room, but after the last big clear-out of old items, the room was basically empty.
As long as it was slightly arranged, it could be lived in.
"It's fine, that room was originally prepared for Paige." Connie said with a smile, "But later, you'll need to take them to tidy it up first. I still have to take John home."
"No problem," Mike nodded, taking on the task.
After the accommodation for Paige and her sister was arranged, only Georgie looked a bit resentful, while everyone else had no objections.
Next, while Connie drove Dr. Sturgis home, Mike also took Paige and her sister to their room.
A room that could be used as a storage room was naturally not small, and it was more than enough for two people.
Mike found two sets of new cotton quilts and used wooden planks to set up two simple floor beds for the two sisters.
"Time is a bit tight today. I'll come back to help you tidy up when I have time." After finishing the floor beds, Mike walked to the door and said.
After all the fuss, it was already very late.
"You go rest, Mike. You can leave the rest to us." Although the room was still a bit messy, Paige was already very satisfied.
"OK, good night." Mike wasn't pretentious either, he waved to the two sisters and then turned and left.
After that, only the two sisters were left in the room, and the atmosphere instantly quieted down.
After a while, it was Erica who broke the silence: "Mike seems very reliable. I wonder who will be lucky enough to win him over..."
Hearing her sister's words, Paige's face darkened, and she warned seriously, "You are not allowed to have ideas about him!"
"I'm just speaking the truth." Erica teased with a smile, "Why are you so nervous? Do you have feelings for him? Tsk tsk, too bad you're still a Hair Child..."
After speaking, she looked at her sister, who was expressing her displeasure with a cold face, and her smile became more unrestrained.
Just like with Georgie, seeing her genius sister flustered made Erica very happy.
On the other side, Paige, who remained silent, just stared intently at her sister.
"Alright, I won't tease you anymore." Erica said as if sighing, "He's such an excellent man, I can't handle him. I advise you not to fantasize either..."
It's true, the person who knows you best might be your enemy, or it could be your sister.
And Erica happened to be both.
Moreover, Erica, who frequented various parties, could easily sense that Mike had no romantic interest in her whatsoever.
Similarly, his attitude towards her sister was more like taking care of a child.
"I don't need you to care about my business." Paige felt very uncomfortable seeing her sister's strange gaze.
"Heh—" Erica scoffed, not lingering on the issue. Then, she changed the subject and asked, "What exactly is the situation at home? From what you said, our parents are going to reconcile?"
"There's a very high chance they'll reconcile..." When talking about the situation at home, Paige recounted everything that happened today to her sister.
...
On the other side, Mike, who was about to return to his room, was pulled into the living room by Connie, who had just returned.
"Tell me, what's the situation with the other girl?" Earlier at the Cooper family's house, Connie didn't feel it was appropriate to ask.
Now was the perfect opportunity. Connie grabbed a beer for herself and looked ready to listen to gossip.
"Nothing's going on. Didn't I already say that Paige's parents needed some private space, so I just brought Erica along?" Mike explained.
"That's it?" Connie, who didn't hear any explosive inside information, seemed a bit dissatisfied.
"That's it." Mike nodded.
"Tsk, boring—" Connie took a big gulp of beer and slumped into the sofa.
"I'm going to bed. Drink less and go to bed early too." Mike was long used to Connie's reactions.
"Got it, got it—" Connie waved her hand while drinking, signaling Mike to leave quickly.