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“I am, so it takes me a lot of places.” I continue to stare through my lens, waiting to line up my next shot.
“I bet you’ll never find a place like Sunrise Bay. It’s unique.”
I chuckle under my breath. I think every person who lives in a small town either hates it or loves it, and the ones who love it always think it’s the best town ever. “Why is that?”
“There’s love everywhere. Most of my children have all fallen in love in this town, found their one and only. I reunited with my first love years later when I returned. Stay long enough and there’ll be a ring on that finger of yours.” She eyes my hand, and my grasp on the camera tightens.
A tall man approaches. “Ignore my wife, she’s just a romantic.”
“In fact”—the woman ignores the man—“I have a daughter who I think would be perfect for you. Are you interested in a blind date?”
The man holds out his hand. “Let’s leave this man to his night, honey.”
She accepts his hand and stands, and he instantly puts his arm around her waist and kisses the top of her head.
“She’s sweet and beautiful and everything this town represents,” the woman adds.
“Thank you, but I’m not looking for anyone right now.”
She frowns for a moment. “A nonbeliever, huh?”
“Let’s go.” The man tries to direct her away.
“I’m not a nonbeliever. I just don’t have the time. I travel way too much.”
She looks at who I assume is her husband. “Excuses, that’s what those are. When you find the one, all those obstacles just disappear. You figure it out. We blended two families. Had two sons at each other’s throats, a nightmare of an ex-husband to deal with, and four daughters fighting over bathrooms and bedrooms. If you want to be together, you make it work.”
He smiles at her. “I wouldn’t change a thing.”
“Me either.”
They stare into each other’s eyes for a moment, and it’s endearing, the love they share. I get why she’d want that for her children and anyone (even strangers) she meets.
“You two are obviously in love. Thanks for sharing with me. Now if you don’t mind—”
“Please go ahead,” the man says with a nod toward the Truth or Dare Brewery. “Tell the bartender your drink is on his old man.”
I shrug with a smile. “Okay.”
“Have a good night,” the woman says.
“Come on, you, let me take you home.” The man leads her toward the other side of downtown and they disappear.
I’ve never been in Sunrise Bay for very long. Usually I’m passing through for a night or two, and even then, I’m so exhausted from traveling and being on excursions that I don’t explore much. So I figure why not enjoy myself and see what’s so unique about this small town that neighbors my own.
