August 23, 1997
12:30 PM PDT

Marty was sure feeling tense, as the quartet were heading out of Hill Valley Park. He was tempted to ask Haven about Marlene's birth, and the circumstances surrounding the event. He reluctantly decided it might not be such a good idea to find out.

"Do you think your brother will be discovered, too?" Patti was asking Jules. "I think it's so sweet how he takes after Marty. Of course, your father made a real breakthrough that quite could lead to the next advancement in technology. I must say, it sure looks like Hill Valley is going to become almost as prominent as Las Vegas, at this rate."

"I'm not sure I'd go quite that far," Jules replied, laughing. Then he waved over to a woman with two small girls, and called out, "Hey, Lauren Anne, what's up? I can see you decided to take Roberta and Amy out for a walk. How are you folks doing?"

Marty took a closer look at Lauren Anne, and he noticed that she looked so much like her daughter. The little girls looked very pretty, as well. All had curly brown hair with soft brown eyes. Roberta was wearing a cute frilly pink dress with purple lace, and it had puffy short sleeves. The colours on Amy's similarly-styled dress were reversed.

"Oh, things could be better," Lauren Anne replied, with a weary sigh. "My husband is always out drinking, so he's rarely at home. Whenever he is home, he sure yells at the girls a lot. The girls are always so well-behaved, and they don't deserve it."

"Have you considered leaving your husband?" Patti suggested. "It just sounds to me as if he doesn't respect and appreciate his family as much as he should. He shouldn't be out drinking so much. It's just isn't right. It's really not fair to the kids, or to you."

"Oh, but I couldn't leave him," Lauren Anne protested. "He works so hard to support the family, and he takes care of all of us. He quite deserves our respect." Turning to Marty and Haven, she asked, "Say, you two sure look so familiar to me. Have I seen you before? I'm Lauren Anne - and these are my two daughters, Roberta and Amy."

"Mommy," Roberta piped up, "the boy looks so much like either Marty McFly or Michael J Fox, neither of whom Daddy likes. I personally think he's cute, though. That girl he's with is very pretty, too. I sure hope to meet a boy who's as cute as him someday."

"Oh, sweetheart," Lauren Anne laughed, as she ruffled Roberta's hair. Turning to the teens, she explained, "My husband, Doug, grew up with Marty McFly - and they quite never got along. I don't understand why, though. Marty always seemed very nice."

That's such a gross understatement, Marty thought, to himself. At least, Lauren Anne seemed to be nicer than her husband. He just couldn't understand why the two of them were even married. He sure seemed like a rather lousy excuse for a husband and father. His heart actually really went out to Lauren Anne and the daughters.

"Their names are Fox J Michael and Emily Green," Patti explained. "I guess these are some old friends of Jules, and they decided to swing by this town to visit. Don't they just make such a lovely couple. We were just on the way to the internet cafe."

"It's sure nice to meet you, Lauren Anne," Marty replied, nervously. "I sure must say that your girls are very pretty. So, uh, how did you meet Doug? I really do think that he, uh, he should spend more time appreciating you and the daughters a bit more."

"I sometimes feel that Daddy doesn't love me," Roberta commented, sadly. "I'm five years old, and I started kindergarten this week. Amy is three. Mrs. Krebs quite says that drinking alcohol isn't good for you. I wish Daddy was more like Kierra's daddy."

"Roberta!" Lauren Anne admonished, sharply. "I will not have you showing disrespect to your father like that. It's very true that he might have some issues, but none of us are perfect. It's with thanks to him that we even have a roof over our heads and real good food. It is very disrespectful for you to question his love for you, Roberta!"

"I'm sorry, Mommy," Roberta replied, as she had tears in her eyes. She was trying hard to not cry. "I just wish that he wouldn't yell at us all the time. I also just want Daddy to hug me sometime, and tell me that he loves me. I'm scared of him."

"That will be enough from you, young lady!" Lauren Anne snapped. "You really must learn to not be so selfish. You should stop wishing for your father to be someone he isn't, and start accepting him for who he is. Be thankful you even have a father!"

Almost by instinct, Marty immediately lifted up Roberta and held her close - as the poor little girl just began to cry. He couldn't believe Lauren Anne just yelled at her daughter for expressing a simple desire for a father's affection. It sure wasn't like poor Roberta was asking for a bunch of video games, or anything like that.

"I know it's not really any of my business, Lauren Anne," Patti commented, "but I do think you are being hard on your daughter. She simply wants for her father to show her some loving affection. It sounds like a reasonable desire for a child to have."

Lauren Anne was silent for a minute, before she said, "I guess you're right. I can still remember the day I first met Doug - I sure was, well, wild back then. So, as a result, he was sure my type. The thing is, I still quite love him - and I know that, deep down inside, he loves all of us. He's just was never very good at expressing himself."

As Marty was tenderly stroking Roberta's head, he was uncertain of what to say. It seemed as though Lauren Anne was generally a good-natured woman who just also happened to be rather naive. She shouldn't have yelled at her daughter, though.

"The thing is," Lauren Anne added, sighing, "We can't make Doug be someone he isn't. It would be unfair to ask him to change who he is just to appease our selfish desires to have affection. The most important thing is that all of our physical needs are met."

"I guess you know your husband better than I do," Patti replied, sighing. "Listen, if you ever need someone to watch your girls, I'd really be more than happy to do it. Your kids seem quite wonderful, and this would sure be good practice for Jules and yours truly. We do plan to tie the knot within two months - and after that, well..."

"Well, I'm so happy for the two of you," Lauren Anne replied. "I would love to have you come over to watch our kids. I really can't promise you that my husband will let me pay you a lot you a lot of money, though. I mean, he always was very frugal."

"That's okay," Patti replied. "I don't really care that much about the money. I simply enjoy spending time with small children. I'd sure even like to run a daycare centre in my home. I was even happy about having a little sister, who really is such a doll."

"It's been very nice talking to you folks," Lauren Anne replied. "The girls and I better start heading home, now." Turning to Marty, she added, "It's sure nice to meet you, too, Fox. I could tell my daughter quite likes you." As Marty handed Roberta back to Lauren Anne, she said, "I'm sorry I yelled at you, sweetheart. I love you, honey."

"I love you, too, Mommy," Roberta replied. Turning to Marty, she added, "I love you, too, Fox. You're very friendly and cute." Marty blushed a little, as Roberta added, "It was certainly nice meeting you, too, Emily. Will I ever see the two of you again?"

"Oh, it's sure possible," Marty replied, as he gently squeezed Roberta's shoulders. He turned to the little girl sitting in the stroller, as he added, "You take very good care of yourself, too, Amy. You and your sister really are both such adorable little dolls."

Amy didn't say anything, but she smiled at Marty. At least, having a very loving and caring girl like Haven Brown for a babysitter should sure make the girls lives not be a complete misery. Unfortunately, Lauren Anne did seem to blow rather hot and cold.

"Amy is very shy," Lauren Anne commented, smiling indulgently. "Well, it's been very nice talking to you folks. I really didn't mean to be too hard on Roberta, but I'm quite sure Doug feels bad enough that he's doesn't expess himself as he should. He's very stressed out from working so hard, and he also hasn't had such an easy life."

"See you gals later," Jules called out, just as Lauren Anne turned to leave. Roberta then waved at the teens and smiled. Turning to the others, he added, "I could sure drink a large cup of coffee at this moment - a double-double, to be precise."

"Jules! Patti!" called out a real strange familiar voice. Marty glanced behind him, as he saw a familiar blond teenage male - along with a rather familiar brown haired teen. He then knew they were eally none other than Verne Brown and Bobby Winterson!

"Hey, Verne and Bobby," Patti replied. "Would you like to join us at the cafe? These are some friends that I'm sure you really remember, Fox J Michael and Emily Green. Jules even told me that they're some old friends. Don't they just look so romantic?"

Marty swallowed deeply, as he saw how Verne looking at them with recognition - while Bobby just had a confused expression on his face. He was amazed by the very strong resemblance that Bobby bore to his older brother, Billy. He rather started to wonder if Verne and Bobby were in a rock band together, just like Marty and Billy were.