Bound To You For A Lifetime

Not long afterwards, the engagement party was set. It was a small affair and the only foreign faces there were from Clara's family. Although Flora and Clara weren't the best of friends, they had put aside their differences and got along pretty well.

"So when will the wedding be?" Clara asked as she took a seat beside the bride-to-be.

Flora smiled, "not anytime soon. We'll just see where it all goes from here. What about you?"

"I might have to relocate permanently since Gabe's family is not here." She sounded a bit sad saying that. If that happened, she'd really miss it here.

"Did you guys talk about it yet? Your parents would miss you so much if that happened," Flora asked.

"Not yet. We are just dating with marriage in mind, but we haven't really gone into details about the living arrangement."

The girls talked for a while more before returning to their partners' sides. The party was mainly dinner, so the time didn't run long. The older generations had to get their beauty sleep so they left first after their usual gossip. About an hour later, everyone else headed home also.

"Are you tired?" Frank asked as he settled down in bed next to his girl.

"Not really," she moved into his arms and found a comfortable position.

"That's good then."

When she didn't say anything, he thought she was already asleep, so he turned over to switch off the bedside lamp, but before he could, she grabbed his hand.

"What's wrong?" He hugged her tighter.

"How's Sandy?" Her voice sounded grim.

"Why did you ask suddenly?"

She sat up, "she was looking extremely pale and weak when I saw her this afternoon. Is she not getting better?" She stared straight into his eyes, as if searching for answers.

He looked at her frowning face, then reached out to soften her look.

"I don't think she's going to make it this time but she's holding on the best she could, so maybe a miracle could happen." He tried to break it to her softly but he knew her heart would break anyway. She adored Sandy a lot.

Flora's eyes laced with tears. Earlier when she went for her usual clinic visit, she had spent most of the time with Sandy. The little girl was so weak and didn't have the energy to wave at her when she walked in. Even through her paleness, she was genuinely glad when she spotted the ring on Flora's finger. She requested to be the ring-brearer though she was slightly older. Flora agreed without hesitation and told her to get better soon.

What Frank said completely broke her heart. Sandy was her family's precious. Her older brother was always there whenever he could for her checkups. Now that she wasn't going to pull through, she couldn't even begin to phantom their sadness.

"It's okay. No one can predict accurately what's going to happen. Sandy is a fighter."

He consoled her the best he could. Flora nodded and held on to him. Hopefully, Sandy was going to make it.