A New Dawn

Prologue (Part 3) - Marlowe

4 months later

The bell goes off as I push the doors open to the café, trying to stifle a yawn. My eyes sweep over the finished mural of Hien, Lanh, and the original figures of Vietnam. I can't help but smile at how good it turned out. Not just because the artwork is amazing if I do say so myself, but because it really does match the vibe of the last book in the series so far: melancholic but hopeful. A sense of apartness but also of potential unity.

"Hey, Marlowe," Everett calls, coming out from the back room with a box in his hands.

I smile, giving a sleepy wave. "Hey."

He chuckles as he sets the box on the counter with a thud. "Staying up late now?"

I nod, crossing my arms and resting them on the countertop. "It's not like I have to get up for school now that I've graduated."

"You still have to get up early for work, though."

I wave him off. "I work for you. I'm basically a nepotism baby. I can take naps and do whatever I want." Everett gives me a pointed look, but before he can tell me off, I gesture to the box. "What's this for?"

Instead of responding, he opens the flaps to reveal at least twenty copies of the last book in The Quiet Nights series, Thundering Daybreak. Not what I was expecting, but I'm also not surprised. Ever since the book was released, there's been a list of people wanting to get their hands on it and annotate their thoughts. It's definitely a good idea to have more copies on hand. I'm sure all of these will be checked out by the end of the day, though.

"Do you want me to put these into the system and shelve them?" I ask, already walking around the counter to the other side before Everett can say anything.

"If you're not too tired," he laughs, the corners of his eyes crinkling.

I make a face as I turn on one of the computers, making him laugh again. As it dies down, my own smile wavers. I slowly ask my usual question: "Any sign of Gareth yet?"

Everett performs his part, his smile sobering. "No. But speaking of which, I should probably go sit out there and see if he ends up coming by."

It's too far into spring to be cold, but I still suggest that he stay inside to wait. "Save yourself from skin cancer."

His smile marginally returns. "I'll come in if it gets too sunny or anything, Marlowe."

I huff, pulling the box towards me. "I'm holding you to that."

He starts to respond, but the phone in the back room goes off. Everett excuses himself and goes to pick it up. While he does, I focus on giving each book a new barcode and inputting it into the system. Right when it starts to become monotonous, my phone rings. I'm caught between smiling and frowning when I see it's Idris.

I never mind it when he calls me, especially considering it seems like he needs someone outside of his family to talk to. Roman never quite blew up at me again like he did months ago, but sometimes he would give me exasperated looks and roll his eyes even when he knew I was looking. I can only imagine how he acts with Idris when no one else is around. I doubt Idris actually tells me everything that happens in his family, but whenever he wants to reach out, I'll always be here. He's basically my little brother at this point.

I pick up the phone and put it on speaker. I'm just about to greet him when he blurts, "Are you done with the book?"

I pause, staring at my phone. "I have like two chapters left."

He sighs. "I just finished and I wanted to talk to someone about it."

I laugh, processing the last of the books and placing them back in the box. "It came out like five days ago."