CHAPTER THREE
                    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Sunset Point Harbor. It was the hubbub of the sleepy, quaint town of Sunset. Walking down the main street, it was like going back into a different time altogether. Several holiday-themed, heartwarming romantic movies had been filmed in this locale, and it was the perfect place for it. The buildings were close together, with intricately designed iron balconies, just like the Spanish-inspired buildings of New Orleans. It was like walking inside a dream. I remembered the hot-boiled peanut vendor, with his roasted cinnamon recipe that would waft around the entire street. I remembered begging my father for a little bag of them. The vendor, according to Patrick, passed away sometime last year. That wonderful, nostalgic smell was definitely missing.

At the end of the street, I saw the classic cars parked for the block party. None of them were modern, as in 80's and above. One was a classic '55 Ford Galaxie, a pink one, which was one of my favorite. I'd never think that a pink car could work, but there was something about the spaceship style and suave of the 50's cars that made any color beautiful.

  I looked for Patrick among the sea of people huddled close together, pointing at the cars in awe, but it was to no avail. Patrick was just too hard to find. Some looked familiar, but some I didn't recognize. Either they moved to Sunset in between the span of time that I was living in New York, or they were just in town for the party.

   I managed my way around the crowds, still keeping my eye out for him. It was funny how I noticed how homogenous everyone seemed to me. All white shirts and baseball caps and tank tops with neon pink flip flops, but none of them seemed to have that distinctive style of Patrick, which was a polo shirt and rustic jeans.

   I decided it was time to take out my phone and call him but as soon as I put the phone to my ear, I noticed him in the distance, walking towards me. Tori, who had her hair up in a tight ponytail, was leaning against his upper arm.

    I inspected her hand, just to make sure. I didn't see a diamond ring. Patrick hadn't proposed to her yet. Oh well, it had only been a few hours. Maybe he was going to propose to her sometime tonight. The way he was talking about her, it seemed like he was ready to propose to her on the spot.

    "Hey, you're late!" Patrick said, waving at me and shouting from a small distance. "We've been looking for you." His voice was softer when they both made their way closer to me.

   "I've been looking for you, too," I said. "But I've really just gotten here."

"I thought you said your parents were coming?" Tori asked, narrowing her eyes at me.

I wasn't going to lie. A part of me felt uncomfortable with the way she was looking at me.

"They should be coming later."

"Isn't that them over there?" Patrick asked, looking over my shoulder.

I turned around, and there were my parents walking towards us. I took a deep breath and hoped that they would humiliate me in front of them. My dad was dressed in his typical classic car t-shirt, one that he always wore to every block party since '92. My mom wore a bohemian-style blouse with the flowers on it. I'd never seen her before in it. Surprised to see her wearing something so stylish, I began to wonder where she got it.

I couldn't believe I was actually wondering where my mom got her latest outfit. I thought the day would never come.

"Hey Mom. Hey Dad," I said.

"Hey Sweetie. Have you seen Vincent Morello? We were supposed to meet him here. We're going to walk with his kids, while he and his wife go on their much needed date."

"Mom, I haven't seen his Bel-Air yet. Patrick," I said, turning to him. "Have you seen the Bel-Air?"

"I'm not sure..." Patrick said. "But you know, I think I might have seen him closer to the entrance. Right past the knife shop."

"Marley, would you like to come with us and meet the kids?" My mom asked. "You've never met them... You've missed out on so much. Their names are Michael and Elizabeth. You'll love them. They're so sweet!"

I didn't really want to leave Patrick and Marley behind. But I hadn't seen Vincent and his wife in some time. Actually, I was there for their wedding and then I left for Manhattan shortly after. Of course, I visited for Christmas in between that time, but Maria wasn't even pregnant the last time I saw her. Mom was right. It was like the time caught up with me and left me standing alone, almost as if I was on the outside looking in. I sighed, wishing that I did make more of an effort to visit.

"Yeah sure." I nodded my head and began walking with my parents.

"Wait," Patrick said. "Why don't we all go together?"

My dad smiled. "That sounds great. Patrick, how have you been? The job holding you up alright? Game nights aren't the same without you, bud."

He nodded but scratched his neck. "Yeah the job is holding up alright. I'm looking for a new one though. I got an English degree and here I am, selling clothes in retail. I plan on applying to work at the community college. Game night, huh? We should have one soon. All of us." He looked right at me.

My dad nodded, looking at Patrick with awe in his eyes. "That sounds like a wonderful plan. Good luck with that, Patrick. I'm determined to beat you this time." My father laughed, his eyes lighting up.

He smiled, a hint of mischief in his eyes. "You bet I'll beat you. I always do."

We walked past more cars and avoiding the unpleasantries of bumping into the crowds of slow-walking people. Patrick, Tori, and my parents were already far ahead of me. I sighed. I was always the one behind everyone. But I kept walking and kept my eyes on the rocky street, kicking small pieces of rocks and shells.

My cell phone buzzed in my pants pocket. I dug my hand in and took it out, realizing the text was from a friend in Manhattan. Julie, another literary agent, and a good friend of mine, was the girl who sent me the text.

Julie: Hey. How's it going?

Me: It's alright. Just here at the block party in Sunset.

Julie: That your hometown?

Me: Yup. Most boring place in all of Louisiana. But Sunset Point Harbor isn't bad at all. It's really quite beautiful. If it weren't for this place, it would be a total drag.

Julie: I heard about New Orleans. You won't believe who got the job that was supposed to be yours. But I don't want to burden you with this news and put a damper on your evening. Call me tonight. Okay?

Me: Yeah. I'll call you. If it's who I think it is, then I'm not surprised.

Julie: Worse. Much worse.

Julie and I stopped texting after that. I put my phone back in my pocket, thinking of who the person was who got the job that was supposed to be mine. The 'worse. Much worse.' that Julie wrote was disconcerting and although I was dying to know the answer, I knew she was the type to withhold info like that. It was just in her nature, as annoying as it was for me sometimes. This moment was one of those.

"You alright?" Patrick asked, turning back to glance at me.

My mind was still on the texts. "Yeah, yeah I'm fine."

"It's just that you've been pretty wort back there." He smiled. I couldn't help but think that he looked charming then. He had a way about smiling.

"Yeah." I nodded once. "Everything's fine."

Nothing more was said between us until we got to the location where my dad spotted Vincent Morello and his wife. They both hadn't changed much. I saw that he still liked to wear his classic car, button up shirt. Vincent's jeans were dark denim. The outfit complemented his swarthy Mediterranean complexion and dark, wavy hair. His wife, on the other hand, wore an outfit that reminded me of my mother's shirt in some ways, except it was a dress. It fit her well and it was flowy. However, I could tell from the bags in her eyes that her kids were probably keeping her up till all hours of the night.

Within seconds, I heard the sound of little children from behind the sleek, black and white 1955 Chevrolet Bel Air.

Vincent's wife, Maria, walked behind the car and gestured for her children to come closer but it seemed to me like they didn't want to.

Vincent laughed and said, "the kids don't know Marley. How've you been?" he asked, looking at me. "They don't recognize you and they don't talk to people they don't know. But give them time. They'll definitely warm up to you."

If I didn't know Vincent Morello like I did, I would be surprised to hear the little Southern Louisiana twang in his voice. Upon first glance, you'd think he'd be sporting an Italian accent, so dominant were his Mediterranean features.

"I've been alright, but the job situation isn't so hot."

He rolled his eyes and shook his head. "Tell me about it. I'm struggling too but Maria has a good job teaching English at the university. We're doing better than when we first got married." He had a smile on his face.

I didn't really want to talk too much about the job. I knew how Vincent was. Get him on a subject, and he wouldn't stop. I figured it was best to keep everything quiet for now.

"Mommy, I'm tired." The little boy frowned and stomped his foot. I presumed that this was Michael. He had lighter hair than his parent, but his eyes were just about the same color as his mother's. Brown with a tinge of hazel in them. They were beautiful, soulful eyes that could melt even the iciest of hearts.
"Hi Michael," I said, waving and smiling.

"Who are you?" he asked, looking up at me with curiosity written all across his cute face.

"I'm Miss Marley," I said. "I know your mom and dad."

"I not allowed to talk to strangers who say they know mommy and daddy," he said, pursing his lips.

Maria, who had been quiet for most of it all, finally spoke up.

"Oh Michael, you silly boy. Miss Marley's not a stranger. You see, she knows Daddy and me."

"How come I don't know her if you do?"

"Because Miss Marley's been away for a long, long time. She's been living in New York City."

"Oh cool! New York City!" He jumped up and down. "Biggest city in the world! Biggest city in the world!"

I couldn't help but laugh at the adorableness of this little kid. My parents were right about him. He brightened days. I even forgot about Julie's rather worrisome text because of the joy in the little boy when he was so excited about the "biggest city in the world."

"Michael loves big cities. We went to New York earlier this year and he fell in love with it."

Then, the other child, Rose, came into my line of vision. She looked more like Vincent with the complexion, but had Maria's features. She was definitely a beautiful little girl with her curly hair and pink dress. She held onto her stuffed bear like her life depended on it, and as she looked at me she smiled.

"Hello, I Rose. This is Pooh bear but I don't like the name so I call him Honey Bear."

Her speech was that of a typical four year old. So precious and innocent. I found myself wishing that I could go back to those days of my earlier childhood.

"Well it's nice to meet you Rose and Honey Bear."

My mom stepped in after a few seconds of Rose showing me Honey Bear's "boo-boos" a clear sign that the plush toy had been well-loved, perhaps by both Michael and his younger sister.

"We're going to go now. Vincent and Maria are ready to go on their date now. Patrick and Tori want to look after the children, so if you want to walk with us, you can. They were insistent on looking after them. It's up to you, Sweet Pea."

I looked at Patrick and Tori as they were socializing with the children. It was clear that the children were more comfortable in front of those two than with me. After all, it was only natural that they would be. They'd probably seen Patrick several times before. It left a slight pang in my chest and a sour taste in my mouth. Exactly how much of life here did I miss?

"I don't want to be third wheel to Patrick and Tori," I said, my voice thick as the lump rose to my throat.

"I'm sure they don't care, Marley. You're his heat friend and he hasn't really seen you in a long time."

"Yeah but I'm not dating him. Tori is. I have an important phone call to make anyway." I looked into her eyes and I could see the concern there.

"What Mom?"

She narrowed her eyes, as if looking at me with suspicion. "I think you still have something for him."

I couldn't help but let out a laugh. "No, Mom. I don't have feelings for him. Not anymore, at least. I haven't for years."

Her eyes were filled with skepticism as she shook her head. "I don't believe you, but whatever you say. If you don't want to stay with them that's alright. Call us when you're ready to leave. Your grandma is really pissed that you never called her when you got here."

"Mom! That's cause you told me she wasn't taking calls."

"She doesn't take calls early in the morning, you know that. She just wants to know how you're doing. You know with grandpa dying last year, it's been hard on her. Just give her a call when you can. Can the other call wait?"

I suppose the other call can wait... There's nothing worse than angry grandma...

Shivering at the thought of hearing an angry lecture from Granny, I walked away from my mom and waved goodbye to Patrick and Tori. They were to wrapped up in the kids to really care that I was leaving them, so I just quietly left.

Grabbing my phone again, I noticed that Julie had called eight times. I was surprised to see the amount of times she had called me. Then, I saw her text:
Urgent. You have to call me RIGHT now.

The blood was pumping in my veins
now. What in earth was so urgent that she had to call me eight times?

A/N: Hey everyone! I've updated the next chapter! I hope you enjoyed this one. It's a bit longer than the others.
I'm really excited about the way this story is going and I hope you are too. Happy reading!

The picture above is the source of inspiration I had for Sunset Point Harbor!