24 hours later, at 3:30pm Friday afternoon, Lisa and Lola have just finished setting up a tea party in the backyard and are patiently waiting for Winston to arrive. They are starting phase 1 of their plan to get Winston and David to be companions.
"You're really gonna like Winston, I'm sure of it," Lola squeals.
"I cannot wait to make his acquaintance," Lisa replies, "I'm also ready to ask him a few quick questions."
"Lis, please don't turn this into an interrogation," Lola groans.
"Not to worry," Lisa retorts.
Just then, their special guest turns the corner and is now walking towards them. Dressed in his usual attire consisting of a pink scarf wrapped loosely around his neck, a purple jacket, a blue buttoned up vest, brown trousers, and brown shoes; Winston smiles at both girls the closer he approaches.
As typical whenever she sees her handsome prince, Lola's eyes sparkle and her shiny teeth glisten as she stares at him. Lisa, despite seeing him in passing once or twice, is quite intrigued by how handsome he is; perhaps because this is the first time, she has seen him up close.
"Hi, Winstie Boo!" Lola calls out to him. Bouncing in excitement, Lola bends both her hands at the wrists and shows Winston her newly painted nails from the day before. This is one of the few times she isn't wearing her pageant gloves. "Lookie, I painted my nails! How do they look?"
Winston grabs Lola's right hand and takes a closer look at her pink nails. "They're very lovely." He speaks in an articulate British accent. "I'd hate to disturb them by kissing you on the hand," He sighs, "So, there is only one alternative."
Winston proceeds to brush some of Lola's hair away from her face and gently tucks it behind her ear. Then, closing his eyes softly, he leans forward and plants a gentle kiss on Lola's right cheek. The warmth of his soft lips touching the skin of her cheek gave her a sweet sensation in her heart as it beats in her chest. After he pulls away, she shows her gratitude by blushing, grinning, and heaving a loving sigh.
After gazing at her for a while, Winston notices Lisa at the corner of his eye and decides to finally acknowledge her. "And who might you be?" He greets as he approaches Lisa, allowing Lola to shake out of her lovestruck state.
"Greetings, I am Lisa Loud, Lola's second youngest sibling." Lisa extends her hand so that she and Winston can shake hands.
As they do, he blinks and tilts his head. "I believe I might have seen you in school, but I am delighted to finally meet you face to face." They stop shaking hands for a brief moment, but Winston slightly pushes Lisa's sleeve upwards so that most of her hand is exposed.
"Charmed." He whispers. He then does something that surprises both sisters…he kisses Lisa on the hand! In a state of shock, Lisa stares at her hand despite Winston's lips being released from it, though he's still holding it. She has never been kissed on the hand before, especially by a boy close to her age; and it felt surprisingly nice. She can feel her heart pound and her cheeks growing hot, as evident by a pink tint glowing on her face.
Lola, on the other hand, could feel jealousy and anger brewing inside of her because she did not like seeing Winston's lips touch someone else besides herself. To get her prince away from her sister, Lola approaches him and wraps both her arms around his arm that is still holding Lisa's hand. As she looks at him, she gives a slight eye twitch while displaying a toothy smile with gritted teeth. "Look Winstie, have some tea!" She insisted as she pulled Winston away, resulting in him dropping Lisa's hand and a small "oop" emitting from him. After shaking her feelings of surprise, and maintaining her normal stoicism, Lisa joins them.
Lola plops Winston in a chair at the table where she always plays tea party and she claims her territory by sitting directly next to him. Her un-smile fades and she bats her eyes to show that she is back to normal. Meanwhile, Lisa sits across from Winston, so they can have proper eye contact during their conversation.
Lola holds her porcelain teapot and faces Winston. "As our guest, and the only boy here, you get to have your tea first!"
"Thank you, love." Winston scoots his tea cup and saucer towards Lola and watches as dark brown liquid fills his cup. Lola then fills her own cup and puts the teapot in the middle of the table, subtly making Lisa pour her own tea herself. Lola then picks up a small sugar bowl, "Two lumps Winstie, or three?"
"Three will be lovely," Winston replies. Once again, Lola gives only Winston and herself sugar while completely ignoring her sister. After placing the sugar in the middle of the table, Lisa gives herself one lump.
As he stirs the sugar into his tea, Winston faces Lisa and ignites the conversation. "So, Lola tells me you are in kindergarten. Must be rather boring to be there when you are also really smart."
"I will admit, it can be a waste of time learning things I already know," Lisa replies, "But, it's not all bad. On top of being allowed to take naps, I have been trying to build up my social skills."
Winston nods. "That'll certainly do it. I'm thrilled to be in Lola's class," He grabs Lola's hand and holds it, "She's such a lovely girl. And, of course, her twin sister Lana is also a delight…if not a bit wild."
While listening to Winston talk, Lisa pulls out a tape recorder from her pocket, presses the record button, and places it on the grass under the table. As part of her research, she wants to have at least some record of Winston's answers to her questions; but she also wants to be discreet and not write things down. So, a tape recorder is the way to go.
She turns her attention back to Winston. "So, would you say you are open to making friends?"
After taking a sip of his tea, Winston nods, "Sure." However, his shoulders slouch a little and he forms a small frown. "Though, I will admit, I've had some trouble in the past of being bullied for my gallant behavior and personality. Thankfully none of the bullying is physical, but I've been called many mean nicknames such as 'fruitcake', 'priss', and 'wimp'. It seems to have subsided for a while, but I'm still not free from it."
"Oh my," Lisa replies, "It's such a shame that such a handsome and cordial young man like you is the subject of ridicule." In response to her compliment, Winston gives a tiny grin.
Once again filled to the brim with jealousy, Lola reaches across the table and flicks her fingers at Lisa's cup, spilling her tea all over the surface of the table. "Lisa, you klutz!" She gasps in faux shock, "You spilled your tea!"
Lisa is fully aware that Lola had knocked over her cup on purpose, but decides to play along so as not to make her sister look bad in front of her beau. "Did I? Oops, clumsy me." She takes a napkin and cleans up the mess.
"Lola, may I have some more tea please?" Lisa begs while pushing her cup forward.
"Sure, but please be careful," Lola gives Lisa a subtle death glare, indicating that "be careful" means not to flatter Winston anymore.
"Now then, do you have any siblings Winston?" Lisa inquires.
"Nope, completely only child. Although it's mostly fun not sharing the attention of my parents, maids, and butlers; I'd be lying if I said I didn't feel lonely from time to time. That's why I love spending as much time with Lola as I can, it's never a dull moment whenever I'm with her. However, I wish there was someone whom I can spend even more time with, what with Lola being busy with her pageants and whatnot." He then gazes upwards towards the sky. "When I look at all the friend groups I see at school and on television, it really makes me wonder why I can't have that for myself…especially since I try to be as nice as I can to everyone around me."
Feeling sorry for her beloved, Lola reaches over and tenderly places her hand on Winston's arm. "Winstie…I had no idea." She sighs.
He glances at her, "Well…now you do." After he shrugs and his gaze falls downcast, he grabs a nearby spoon and stirs his tea to mask his sudden down mood.
Lisa stares at Winston with sympathy in her eyes as his demeanor and grievances mirror David from the day before. The sisters remain silent as they both come to realize that they really need Winston and David's friendship to work because they are both very lonesome kids.
Wanting to lighten the mood and take his mind off his troubles, Lisa asks Winston much simpler questions. "Ahem. So, aside from having tea with my sibling, do you have any other hobbies?"
Winston looks up, nods, and gives a smirk now that he gets to talk about something positive for a change. "I have plenty. I have a dog that I love to play fetch with and take for a walk around my neighborhood. His name's Stefano and he's a Greyhound Yellow Lab mix."
"I met him when I slept over for the first time," Lola adds, "He's such a sweetheart, and he likes me!"
"Intriguing. Might I ask what is your stance on cats?" Lisa wonders.
The mere mention of the word causes Winston to immediately frown and furrow his eyebrows. "I hate cats, they're so dull and they're not loyal like dogs are."
Lola had known that he doesn't care for cats, but she got a little offended when he said he "hates" them. "Um…we have a cat." She says.
Winston's eyes widen and he blushes slightly, "Well…I mean I just hate cats in general. Perhaps I can give your cat a chance. Heh, heh, eh…"
Lisa clears her throat. "Ahem…so, you socialize with your dog. Any other hobbies you wish to discuss?"
"I love to play in the park, namely the slide and building sand castles. My parents recently got me a croquet set, so I've been playing with that. Speaking of games, I love playing board and card games; though, again, it can be a bit dull to play with adults rather than kids."
"Hmm, well I enjoy my fair share of card games myself," Lisa replies, "Perhaps I can challenge you to a game?"
"I'd be delighted. Are you a fan of Concentration?" Winston inquires.
"It's one of my favorites!" Lisa squeals.
Feeling slightly angered that Lisa is disobeying her by getting friendly with Winston again, Lola decides to get her sister away from him. She makes up an excuse by telling her to "accompany" her into the kitchen.
She gets up from the table. "Winstie, we made some cookies last night just for you! So, I'm gonna go get them." Lola approaches Lisa and wraps her arm around hers. "Dear sister, care to join me?" She then violently drags Lisa away, resulting in the table shaking and the young genius letting out a small yelp.
As Winston watches the two sisters go into the house via the back door, he lightly chuckles to himself. "Quite an interesting pair of sisters to say the least." After he takes a sip of his tea, he hears a small meow coming from his left, so he looks down and sees Cliff the cat looking up at him.
Winston raises his eyebrow, "So…you're Lola's cat. Look…I'm not gonna apologize for disliking cats; dogs are clearly superior. But, don't you tell Lola!" In response, Cliff just turns around and leaves. "Yeah, you'd better go away!"
Meanwhile, in the kitchen, Lola retrieves a plate of 12 cookies wrapped in saran wrap from the refrigerator and sets the plate down on the counter. Lisa merely stands and watches.
"I hope you're done asking him stuff, this party is sounding more like a job interview. Those are bor-ing!"
"Do not fret, sibling," Lisa reassures her. "I believe I have gathered enough information about your male companion to conclude that he and David are perfect for each other."
"However," Lisa continues, "The only disagreement the two of them will face is cats vs. dogs. Though he does not own one, David adores cats to the point they are among his top 5 favorite animals of all time. Unfortunately, he is afraid of dogs, even the smallest breed."
"Hmm," Lola ponders, "Winston loves his dog almost more than life itself. If he finds out David is scared of them, I'm not sure how he'll take it."
"To be fair, every friendship should have at least some challenges in order to thrive," Lisa explains, "After all, despite Darcy and I being opposite on virtually every wavelength, we are still very good friends."
"That's fair. Wanna go back out?" Lola asks as she grabs the plate.
"Sure, Winston is waiting."
While continuing to hold the plate with one hand, Lola manages to slam her other hand on Lisa's chest, stopping her. "That's another thing, Winston is mine! You already have a little boyfriend for yourself! So, if you call Winston handsome again or if you so much as look at him funny, I swear I'm gonna kick your butt!"
Lisa has been fully aware of Lola's jealousy the whole time, so her threat did not faze her. "I just call them as I see them. While we're on the subject, I'd also like to call you out upon the fact that you are much too possessive of him." She retorts.
Feeling angered by Lisa daring to call her possessive, Lola tightly grips Lisa's sweater, wrinkling it. "Shut up!"
The blonde finally lets go of her sister as the two of them make their way outside, trying to maintain their composure.
Upon their return, Winston waves at them. "Ah, there you are, what kept you?"
"Oh, we were just talking," Lola replies as she and Lisa take their places and she sets the plate of cookies on the table.
"Oh, these look delicious!" Winston grabs a cookie and eats it, with the two Loud sisters following suit.
Shortly after all the cookies are gone, a loud horn honks right outside the Loud house; this is Winston's limousine picking him up. He removes a gold pocket watch from the inside pocket of his jacket. "Goodness me, it's already 4:30?! Wow, I suppose time does fly when you're having fun." Winston's grin shrinks into a disappointed frown, "Unfortunately that means it's time for me to go home."
The three kids stand up and get ready to bid each other farewell. Winston and Lisa firmly but warmly shake hands. "It was a pleasure meeting you Lisa. I must say, socializing with you was fun; shall we do so again sometime?"
"Yes, perhaps we shall." Lisa answers.
Winston once again brings Lisa's hand up to his lips and kisses it. Lola steps in and tugs Winston's scarf. "I'll walk with you to your limo!"
The two young blondes walk hand in hand towards the fancy black vehicle. He stands in front of her and brushes her hair behind her ear. "Thank you again, it's always wonderful spending time with my favorite princess."
Lola sighs, "You're welcome. Oh, what're you doing tomorrow? Got any plans?" She holds both his hands.
Winston shrugs, "Nope, just spending Saturdays like I normally do, just chilling. Why?"
"Well, I thought it'd be fun to go to the park tomorrow. It'll be nice and sunny, just like you!" She giggles as she pokes him in the nose.
Chuckling, he nods. "Sure, I haven't been to the park for a while."
He looks at his mode of transportation and back to Lola. "I really must go now. I'll see you tomorrow!" To bid a final farewell, Winston once again kisses Lola on the cheek and then gets inside the vehicle. As per usual, Lola watches the limousine drive away and sighs lovingly.
