The driver held up an umbrella, as Mrs. Smith, Bianca, and Chris got out of the car. Mrs. Smith and Chris were not on good terms.
Worried that if this dragged on too long and Chris remained estranged, Mrs. Smith would blame her.
Bianca decided to invite both of them out for a meal.
These days, Mrs. Smith had been uncomfortable due to the situation with Maureen and had lost her appetite.
But when she heard that Chris would be joining them for dinner, she hurriedly agreed, thinking that she had already lost one daughter and couldn't afford to damage her relationship with Chris further.
As for Chris, he didn't want to come at all.
The reason he did was that after he told Mike about what Bianca did in the literary department, his older brother seemed thoughtful and advised him to keep a closer eye on Bianca.
He wanted to see what exactly Bianca was up to, hence he came.