a lot happier...

...and in his dreams, he believed in them again.

...

He looked up at her before he spoke. "Morning beautiful," Su Yan greeted Tale as she walked into the kitchen.

"Don't patronize me." Tale shot back, her hair had come undone sometime in the night and if history is any indication, she must have shed off a few strands, and she most definitely looked like a Samoyed dog, poor Su Yan. He probably thought he was getting a normal girlfriend.

"You didn't fall off the bed, that's a good start,"

"Don't get your hopes up, still got the rest of my life for that."

"Not if I'm around."

Was that a marriage proposal, Tale felt like it was but she was a bit tired to ponder over it.

Tale rested her face in her hands while crouching over the kitchen island where Su Yan was desperately trying to make bean cakes.

Only two weeks previously she would never have thought this would be her life and now it was almost over with only less than forty eight hours to spend with Su Yan.

She was going to make the best of it and a thought crossed her mind and for a brief second she felt a new energy flow through her body.

"Gotta get ready for the day." she announced while getting up to go upstairs.

"We are going to the doctors today." Su Yan casually announced over the stove.

Tale stopped in her tracks, this was going to ruin her plan. "Can we go right after breakfast?"

"Why?" Su Yan asked suspiciously.

"Well because I would like to spend the better part of today resting.'

Su Yan was not convinced, if there was one thing he knew, Tale never did resting well but he nodded and gave her his best smile.

...

Tale dialed Precious as soon as she got to her phone, there were four missed calls from her mother but she could get to that later.

"Hello, girl I need your help, it's important."

"Good morning to you too, what do you need? Precious replied grumpily.

Tale sat still as a nurse took the proper examination on her that afternoon, the traffic was terrible getting to the hospital so they had missed their appointment and had to wait for an opening. The worst was over and one thing was clear, she never wanted to feel that kind of pain ever again.

"How are we doing," Doctor Thompson asked in his "I care about you" voice.

"I'm OK," Tale responded. "Meds all done, pain all gone, well rested."

"And a lot happier," he added.

"You are not wrong doc. So what now?"

"Just one more medication and don't stop doing what you are doing. Eat healthy and rest well enough."

"Yes sir." Tale jumped down from the bed as Su Yan came to them, poor guy had been looking for where to park his car.

"I'm done."

Su Yan looked like he was going to cry. "I just found a parking spot for my car,"

"Oh, OK. Leave it there, we can walk home." Tale responded in a low sarcastic tone.

Doctor Thompson rose from the stool he sat on, closing his notepad.

"Good to see you Su," the two men shook hands.

"We should get together and have a beer or two sometime soon, catch up on things and to say thank you."

"Deal, I'd take that offer when I'm ready, gotta run and check up on a patient." He handed Su Yan a paper with the name of Tales drug on it.

Tale watched curiously at the two men as they said their good byes.

"You like him," Tale felt the need to say

"Yes, I plan to ask him on a date when next we meet." Su Yan replied in same tone she used on him earlier.

"How romantic, let's go get my medicine."

What was she happy about, she hated drugs from what he's noticed these past weeks but he guessed he wouldn't figure Tale out anytime soon.

...

Precious checked the spot Tale had told her the key would be at and found it. She entered the house as boldly as the one who owns it would.

She climbed up the stairs to where the room Tale occupied and dropped the little package on the bed.

Precious looked around and smiled, her best friend was one lucky woman.

She closed the door quietly behind her before walking back down to complete her task. She dropped off the second bag she had carried along in the kitchen.

She was going to leave when she stopped in her tracks walking back to the fridge. She took out a bottle of water and drank thirstily, then a perfectly plate of salad along with some brown bread, she might need some butter she thought, She closed up the fridge and opened it back again to take a few more things to load into a tote bag she found by looking around before finally leaving the house as quietly as she had entered.

Precious got out her phone to tell Tale she was done with the first stage of what she asked.