Surviving

"Two weeks!" Anissa gasped aloud, glancing over to her fish, who didn't seem at all interested in her life events. "I've got to get that room cleaned already!" She sighed heavily. "I should probably buy some storage space for my room if that's the case..."

Two weeks is perfectly fine! I'm so excited to meet you! Let me know your flight schedule, and I'll meet you at the airport! As for the teaching me to skate... I'd like that. Oh, and as soon as I get the rent info together, I'll send you a copy!

Two weeks went by in a flash and after a very long flight, Victoria was off of the plane and getting her luggage. She surprisingly showed up with very little, a simple carry-on and a bag carrying all of her clothes. She walked around briefly watching for anyone holding up a sign with her name on it, and so far she hadn't seen anyone. Finally, after walking towards the doors, she saw a girl standing alone holding a white poster board with the name "Victoria" written in crafty handwriting. Excited after emailing back and forth for two weeks, Victoria ran over with her bags and giggled eagerly.

"You must be Anissa!" She cried, looking very exhausted from her trip, but it didn't drag down her smile any. "I'm Victoria!"

"I am!!" She giggled too, feeding off of Victoria's bubbly energy. "I hope your flight went well! Give me a hug! I've been way too excited for my own good!" She spread her arms open wide, giving Victoria the biggest hug she could. "Welcome to America! I didn't have anyone say that to me when I first arrived! Alright, you've got all of your luggage?"

"Yes, my father is having more of my items shipped to me, so they should arrive in a few days!" Victoria returned the hug, so glad to have a warm welcome to such a strange place. "The flight was long and exhausting, I tried to sleep but there was turbulence and the man next to me snored really bad for almost three hours! I hope I never have to fly again... it is the most uncomfortable thing. Have you ever flown before?"

Anissa nodded quickly, beginning to escort Victoria out of the air port, and into the parking lot. "That sounds absolutely terrible! I have flown before; I came here about two years ago. It was such a long flight too, I remember. So tiring." She clicked a button on her keyring, causing the trunk to her car to open. "Go ahead and put your luggage in the trunk! After that, we'll head straight home and order some pizza! Have you ever had pizza? It is the greatest thing ever made."

Victoria put her things in the trunk and then closed it. Once they were in the car, she opened her mouth to speak. "No, I've never had pizza before. I'd love to try it though, I've heard good things!" She buckled up and then looked out the window when they began to drive. She didn't speak too much as they drove down the highway. It was a beautiful day, the sun was shining and the clouds were hovering overhead. It wasn't that she hadn't seen a beautiful day before, but being in a new country was thrilling!

Once they arrived at the apartment complex, Anissa parked the car and helped Victoria carry her bags to their apartment. Anissa was secretly ecstatic that she would no longer have such a big apartment all to herself. It often felt too quiet, and a bit lonely. She sincerely hoped that would change with Victoria's arrival. She set the bag she was carrying in Victoria's room, and grinned. "Here you are! This is your room! I made sure it was all clean, and ready for your arrival! I really hope you end up enjoying it here."

"I'm sure I will!" Victoria grinned, "It looks really comfortable, thank you for having me!"

--

Zachary smiled, "It sounds like you guys really hit it off." He said, "Michael and I met under tough circumstances, but we've been better friends because of it." He seemed to be deep in thought and then noticed that Anissa was waiting patiently for him to continue. "You want to hear the story, don't you?"

"Well," Anissa laughed a bit, beginning to carefully fold a napkin. "I do love stories." She glanced up at him, taking a moment to really capture a mental picture of the beauty of his eyes. She'd always loved his eyes. They were kind, deep, and so full of emotion. Often, she found herself lost in them. She smiled softly, patiently waiting for him to tell his story. "So yes, I want to hear the story-please."

Zachary gave her a tired smile and chuckled, "I will tell you later, it's not really something I want to discuss over dinner, so we'll definitely talk about it later. Just let me warn you, that it is a very delicate story..."

--

Victoria staggered into the kitchen on a particularly rainy morning. Anissa was gone for the day, and she was left by herself once again, deciding that it was a day to do chores and then treat herself to reading the Bible Michael got her. Giving her life to God was one of the best decisions she'd made recently, and it helped her to feel more alive day by day. Though her battle wasn't yet over, she believed she would eventually pull through, even though things kept hitting her over and over. With a thin hand, she picked up a cloth and began to scrub down the counters in the kitchen, knowing Anissa would be excited to not have to worry about chores.

She heard the doorbell and turned around, putting the cloth in the sink as she slowly walked to the door and opening it to see a soaking wet Michael standing there.

"Michael!" She gasped, her voice hoarse. "Hurry up and come inside, I'll..." She was about to suggest drying his clothes, but that would leave him in nothing but underwear... or did he wear boxers? She didn't know any of that. "Um... I don't have anything for you to change into."

"Ah, yeah... thanks!" Michael laughed a bit nervously, slipping off his sneakers as soon as he entered, pulling off a pair of socks that had been soaked thoroughly. "I left my only rain jacket at the hospital, my truck stalled on me last night, and I've never owned an umbrella..." He grinned awkwardly. "I really I hope I don't end up catching a cold or something... then I wouldn't be able to see you until I got better." He decided that so long as he was dripping wet, it was probably best that he stand on the kitchen floor, instead of carpet. "So yeah, anyway... I walked here."

Victoria sighed, shaking her head, "Oh my goodness... you could have called or something! Um..." She sighed and looked around helplessly, "Okay, go take a long shower while I dry your clothes! I can't just watch you standing there soaking wet!" She stomped a little bit and began to lift his shirt, "C'mon, take it off!" Once she got him to take it off she shoved him towards the bathroom, "When you get them off, toss them out to me and I'll dry them! Take a LONG shower, I don't want to see you naked until we're married!" She then gasped and covered her mouth, "Um... sorry! Anyway, I don't... um... JUST GO!"

Michael nodded, backing toward the bathroom with a knowing grin, offering her a wink. "Ah, but shirtless before is okay?" He laughed upon seeing her cheeks redden and hurried to the bathroom where he then stripped and obediently tossed all of of his garments out of the door, remembering to empty his pockets first. After shutting the door, he got a good look at the girls' bathroom, laughing a bit to himself upon finding that every single towel was some shade of pink. He waited for the warm water to flow after turning on the faucet, and grinned at the random rubber ducks.

These girls are something else... He thought about Victoria's comment on marriage, and chuckled softly, glancing to his pile of things from his pockets. He'd alright bought the ring. But... no, it wasn't there. His face paled. My shirt pocket...

Steam rose from the faucet in the tub. He was naked, had no clothes to wear... if she found the ring, there was nothing he could do. Why am I so clumsy? If Zach ever finds out... I'll never live it down.

Victoria was carrying the pile of clothes to the dryer when suddenly she heard something drop onto the floor. She glanced back and spotted something sparkly on the carpet and before going to check it out, she tossed his clothing into the dryer. Her curiosity was flared up so she hurried with turning on the dryer and rushed back over to the place on the floor where the item had dropped. She crouched down to pick it up and nearly dropped it again when she really realized what it was. The ring was dainty, with two small diamonds and a larger one in the center, the band was like a braid and she couldn't help but smile at the intricate design. Her heart was racing and breathing became slightly difficult as she sat on the floor holding the tiny object. She was tempted to put it on, but instead, got up and set it somewhere safe until she could tuck it back in his shirt pocket.

She wondered if she'd spoiled it, a surprise he'd intended for later? She sighed heavily, trying to regulate her breathing. When the dryer buzzed that it was done, she folded the clothes and carefully put the ring back in the pocket just as the shower turned off.

"Your clothes are outside the door!" She called, then hurried back to the living room where the bathroom was out of sight.

And that was his signal to grab those clothes as quickly as possible and check for that ring. He felt frantic as he picked them up and searched for his shirt among the clothes. For so long he had searched for a suitable ring... if this one was lost, he wasn't sure what he would do! Finally, he reached his hand into the shirt-pocket, fingers closing around the tiny diamond ring. A sigh of great relief followed, allowing him to more comfortably remove the hot pink towel from around his waist and change into his now-dry clothes.

"Thank you so much!" He called when he finally came out of the bathroom. It didn't take him long at all to locate his sweet lady and wrap his arms around her. "You take better care of me than I do of myself, it seems."

Victoria had not been able to stop thinking about what she'd seen earlier, though she tried to hide that she'd seen it at all and just smiled warmly to him while wrapping her arms around him. "I couldn't just let you stand there in soaking wet clothes, at least you're all clean now." She didn't want to get excited, that ring could have been meant for anything, it probably wasn't what she thought anyway. "Are you hungry? I was just cleaning up the house before you got here... but I can make some breakfast."

"Breakfast sounds wonderful." He moved his hands to cup her cheeks, then planted a soft kiss on her lips. "You are my greatest treasure." He paused, holding his breath while trying to decide if now was a good time. He kissed her forehead, making the decision to at least wait a few more minutes. The timing had to be right. It had to be perfect... No less for her. He stared into her beautiful eyes and smiled lovingly. "Can I help, though?"

Victoria gave him a warm smile and they walked into the kitchen, "Of course you can help, get the ham and eggs out of the fridge." She turned on the stove and began to put butter in the pain for the ham and eggs. Her eyes scanned back to where her boyfriend was approaching her from behind and put the eggs and ham on the counter next to the stove.

While she was cooking, she suddenly felt his arms around her and she smiled, "What are you doing, Michael?" She asked with a giggle.

Michael rested his head on her tiny shoulder, then kissed her neck. "I am watching my lovely girlfriend make a delicious breakfast." He chuckled. "But I do have a question for her." He gulped, lifting his head off her shoulder so he could breathe a slow sigh in order to calm his nerves. "I want to know," He removed one hand from her bony waist to retrieve the ring which had miraculously stayed in his shirt pocket. "I want to know if she would rather be more than my girlfriend." He cleared his throat before reaching to hold the ring in front of her where she could see it, while simultaneously tightening the other around her waist. "Victoria, My Love, will you marry me? Please? I know it's sudden, and I know we haven't dated for super long, but... I just can't imagine life without you. Even if I could... I know I would hate it. It would be boring, empty, and lonely." He rested his chin on her head, wishing his heart would quit racing. He'd never felt so nervous before.

Victoria had not expected this, although she had her suspicions upon finding the ring earlier. She didn't want to tell him that she'd already seen it, so she gasped and turned in his arms, nodding frantically, "Y-Yes! I'll marry you!" She exclaimed, her tiny body shook in his arms as she began to sob at the realization that he really did want to be with her forever, the idea that someone could love her so much was amazing. Even with her present condition, he was ready to take care of her and spend his life with her.

Michael had been so nervous she would say no for the simple fact that they had only been dating for a short while, but when she turned in his arms and their eyes met, he couldn't help but break out into a huge grin. He drew her into a tight hug as she cried her tears of joy, kissing the top of her head in pure relief. She'd actually accepted! She said yes; they could actually be together forever.

He pulled away just enough to take her left hand and slip the ring on her finger, then he drew her into a soft, loving kiss. She was the best thing to ever come into his life... besides the obvious. God had blessed him so greatly. "I feel like I am the luckiest man alive."

"I'm so sorry, I have to be honest... I saw the ring earlier while you were in the shower. It fell out of the pocket of your shirt, I guess, and I picked it up off the floor because I didn't know what it was." Victoria smiled sadly, "I'm sorry for peeking, I mean, it was an accident..." She stammered, her voice was so hoarse which meant that she had probably been coughing a lot recently. "I hope you'll forgive me."

Michael was shocked, yet still he smiled and traced her jaw with his thumb. "I have to admit... I was really shocked to find that it had somehow managed to stay in the pocket of that shirt. You really don't have to apologize... it wasn't your fault." A flush came to his cheeks though when a loud growl erupted from his stomach. "Ah... h-how did you like the ring, though? I thought it suited you really well, but I've begun to have doubts..."

"I love the ring, it's so unique and beautiful!" She then turned around and finished cooking their breakfast.

--

It was getting harder to breathe. Victoria clutched her chest as she waited for Michael to come into the room at her oncology appointment. She always tried to imagine what it would be like if he was sitting next to her, waiting to support her when she got good news or bad news, but instead, he was her oncologist. He had to report the results of the recent tests to her and instead of holding her hand, he was holding her charts. She inhaled slowly, noting the shortness of her breathing, it was so painful. She adjusted the tubes at her nose and cringed when they rubbed against her cheeks, a rash had been created there.
The door opened and shut and Michael sat down on the spinning chair, flipping a folder open.

"Hi." She smiled, "So how am I doing, doc? Am I cured?" She grinned to her handsome fiance, folding her tiny hands in her lap, but when he didn't smile back, her own dropped. "Do I have to have surgery again?"

Michael's hands trembled as he held the chart open. He stared at her name and date of birth, finding it extremely difficult to actually look at her. Giving news like this had always been hard for him... but it worse this time. He didn't know how to begin. His sweet, loving, and adorable Fiancee would soon be gone, and that was hard to accept. When he'd gotten the test results back, he had stared at them for about an hour, flipping between prayer, tears, begging God for a miracle, and then trying to negotiate with Him. Now he was in denial. How was he supposed to tell her?

He finally looked up at her after closing the chart. "No, you won't need to go through any more surgeries." He said softly, hoping that he wouldn't see her smile. He didn't, and that was a relief. He didn't want to get her hopes up. He rolled the stool he sat on, and took her hands in hers after setting the chart aside. "You're not going to like what I have to say..." He said, "I don't like what I have to say either." He gulped. "You're..." He took a shaky breath, cursing the tears he was fighting back. "My Love, I-I recommend that we discontinue your treatment effective immediately. You..." He hesitated, feeling her hands tighten around his. Did she already know what he was going to say? "You won't be getting better. I-I'm so sorry. I've done everything I know to do, but... I-I can't save you! I'm so sorry. Please forgive me."