Life Changes » Marcus Armstrong

Fourty.

»

It was pretty busy in the restaurant of the hotel. It was the first time Jane and Marcus visited this hotel, so they both were observing things. It looks terrific, Jane thought. The hotel looked romantic, but also relatively modern with a bit of a vintage touch.

Jane was holding Marcus' hand when they walked towards the restaurant. When they were standing in the queue, Jane pressed a kiss on Marcus' cheek. "I love you," she whispered in his ear.

He let go of her hand and wrapped his arm around Jane's neck, pulling her closer. "I love you too," he whispered and kissed her. They smiled at each other, but Jane looked at Marcus' nose instead of his eyes. "It indeed looks good here," he said.

"Hmm-hmm, I know right," she softly said.

"Why is this the place-to-be, though?"

"The coffee," Jane quickly made up. "And the service, it is a whole experience. And look at the venue, it's romantic, isn't it?"

Marcus looked around. "The coffee better be worth it." He started to wonder what Jane was hiding, she was hiding something. She was nervous and refused to look him in the eyes.

After a few minutes of waiting and observing the lobby, they were brought to their table. It was a long table with five plates, but the couple sat there by themselves. They ordered a cappuccino and an espresso.

"Are you staying in Italy next year, or do you have to go back to Iceland?" Marcus was trying to get eye contact.

Jane looked at the flowers in front of her. "The exams are in Iceland, so until then, I'm staying here. So I'm going to Iceland in February, and I will be back in March."

"So you are planning to stay here?"

"Well, yeah, probably. I will see what I'm going to do next. Work or uni again..." She looked over his shoulder and gave a slight nod at the people behind him. "It's just... I have you here, Luna, my friends, but my family in Iceland and my friends. But it's something to think about for later, not now. I will stay here for another year, so no worries," she warmly smiled and looked at his nose again. She was chewing on the inside of her lip, trying not to smile.

"I was just wondering what you are going to do next... Whatever you will do, I will support you, babe."

"Thank you. Same for you, of course."

"Excuse me," someone said. Jane looked up and showed a questionably look - well, an attempt. "Do you mind if we will sit here?"

Marcus looked unamused at Jane, he didn't want to share his breakfast with other people. He annoyedly turned around and was going to say no, but his face softened. His jaw dropped, and he felt his eyes fill with tears. He looked back at Jane, who was widely smiling and making eye contact for the first time today. He looked back and got up. "What are you doing here?"

"Surprise," his mother said and widened her arms.

Jane watched how Marcus got surprised by his family in the restaurant. It would've been a lie if you'd said there were no tears. It was so beautiful to see the reunion of the family. Jane couldn't stop smiling. The smiles on all their faces were priceless. Even Jane got emotional.

"Ah, god, I didn't see this coming," Marcus said and dried his eyes. He shortly laughed when he saw his little brother cry as well. "Come here," he said and took his little brother in his arms. "When did you get here?"

"Yesterday morning," his mother answered the question and dried her eyes as well.

"I was so hard not to say anything," his sister said. "I wanted to post so many pictures on my Instagram, and I had to reply to your messages on the weirdest times."