Love, Paris | ✔️

Chapter 3

Paris does love surprises, yes she does. It may any forms of it but she is certain that there is one form of surprise she does not quite appreciate: a surprise from her grandparents.

Not that she hated her grandparents; she does love them, really, more than she does love her parents really. However, she does not like them barging in their house without notice. They do bring out odd surprises or even terrifying news. She recalled a time when her grandparents arrive in the middle of night bringing Molly's dead body, her grandma's cat of course. Her grandmother cannot take the fact that her cat has died and she does not have any guts to bury her. So, they brought with them the corpse and let her father buried the poor cat.

Another instance was her graduation day came. Everyone should be there, including those distant relatives she did not know that they had existed until that day came. She was as joyous as anybody could be at that time. Her grandmother was late, very late. Her grandfather arrived first and told them that her grandmother was busy preparing her gift.

She graduated without her grandma witnessing her received her diploma. Her family immediately went home for some gathering. Paris heard her grandmother's laughter inside. Ah, so she was here. If there was a time and a perfect reason to hate her grandmother, her graduation day was a perfect candidate.

Paris' grandmother introduced someone to her. Her grandmother told her that she would be marrying this man. Blast it! That was the worst gift she had received. Yet, later on, she found out that they were pulling some pranks on her and he was just her cousin.

Right now would be another story again. What would her grandparents brought again? How she wishes there will be no pranks anymore!

"You're telling me that your grandparents are here?" Marco asked her.

"Yes. They are certainly here," Paris worriedly replied. Both of them are still in the harbour gazing at the starry sky and feeling the cool breeze from the sea.

"What's new to it?"

Paris frowned as she looked at him.

"You of all people do know why I don't like my grandparents having these," she made a disgusting look. "- surprise visits."

Marco nodded at her response. How could he forget when he was there in her graduation day? Paris heard a chuckle building up. Marco do know how to irk her and pull her strings.

"How could I not forget?" he said between his laughs. "You should have seen your face when you knew you were about to get married."

Rather than being embarrassed, Paris was much tickled by his laughter. She adored him, a lot. Under the dim light of the lamppost, Marco was somehow appeared more handsome, perhaps even a little happy. His dimples were showing and his eyes do squint when he laughs. Good heavens, should she not think about this and be worried by her grandparents' arrival.

"Paris," he looked over at her.

"I do not merely take that kind of stuff as a joke," she stated.

"Of course."

Silence had filled the atmosphere between. Paris tightened her jacket enough to cover her from the cold breeze. A breath escaped her lips.

"Paris, I'm going to ask you this once. What if it wasn't a joke?" Marco asked her.

Paris turned to him waiting for him to elaborate his question. He turned to her and saw confusion shown in her eyes. He gave her quick smile and sighed.

"What I mean is what if right now there will be no jokes and you'll be getting married for real?" Marco said mildly, playing with the cup.

For a moment, she did not think he was going to say anything; anything but not marriage. For him, she was a sister and he is her old brother but for her, she could only wish he would be the one she could get married to someday.