Life Changes » Marcus Armstrong

Twentysix.

"Buonasera," Jane greeted the waiter when she and her brother Julius entered the restaurant. She showed a polite smile.

The waiter raised his eyebrows. "Good afternoon," he politely said in English.

"Hæ," Julius said and started to talk in Icelandic, mentioning their brothers were waiting somewhere in the restaurant. He looked at Jane, who was trying to hide her smile after she realised what happened. "You don't have to talk Italian. Poor man was in full panic," Julius softly mentioned when he and Jane were brought to the table.

"I know," Jane amusingly smiled about her own clumsiness. "I said it automatically, I don't know what happened. When I'm in Italy, I literally can't speak Italian, and I'm constantly speaking Italian here," she whispered. "Takk fyrir," she thanked the waiter when she arrived at the table.

"Thanks," Julius said and gave the man a nod. "Hello," he greeted Jack and Joshua, who already were sitting at the table.

Jane put off her coat and looked around in the restaurant. She was curious to see if she saw someone familiar - which wasn't the case. Being in her favourite restaurant again, made her feel happy. "Hey," she said and sat down next to Julius, across from Jack, who sat next to Joshua. "I'm so not used to the cold anymore... jeez, it's cold," she mumbled under her breath.

"When will you ever be on time?" Jack said, unsatisfied.

Julius raised his eyebrows. "I was very much on time, she was late," he said and nodded at Jane.

"I wasn't late."

"Did you ever arrive somewhere early?" Jack shot to her.

Joshua smirked. "She was early at her birth." It made the two others chuckle.

"Fuck off. I'm never late. There was much traffic," Jane mumbled, annoyed, but quickly had to switch to a polite attitude when a waiter came to take their order. "For me, a latte macchiato and a glass of water, please."

"For me a cappuccino, please," Julius ordered.

"Perfect. The snacks will be ready in a second," the waiter mentioned and walked away. Joshua and Jack had already ordered something to drink.

"You and coffee?" Julius asked, surprised. Jane always said she hated coffee, 'It is disgusting. Never.'

Jane licked her lips. "Yes," she said and showed a fake smile.

"Jane, you do realise we finally have someone to annoy again?" Jack proudly said when he noticed her irritations. "We waited six months for this."

"Go annoy someone else, but not me," she made clear.

The brothers laughed. They always annoyed the crap out of Jane, but they also cared about her - the typical sibling recipe. The coffee was served, just like the snacks, and they started to talk, just sharing things about life, work, school... The ambience was relaxed, just like the old times. Jack is a photographer, so he shot some photos here and there.

"How is your cheek? It looks good." Jack took a sip of his white wine.

"It is less swollen, and...it still hurts, but we have painkillers," Jane replied. "I'm wearing a million layer makeup, so it looks good, but it isn't good."

Joshua took a deep breath like he was struggling with something. "The police are still investigating it, but as you told, there is resistance from Leonardo," he mentioned and broke his police oath. He was a good policeman, but he also cared about his sister. And since he had access to all the files, including files what were made outside of Iceland but included someone or something from Iceland... He had to take a look. "Once the investigation is finished, the case will go to the public prosecutor, and he will decide what will happen next."