Ben had suggested marriage at least once. I liked Ben a lot, but Bailey was almost like a sister to me, and I knew that Mildred was deteriorating both mentally and physically. I didn’t feel right leaving Bailey alone with Mildred. I told Ben that I needed to wait until Bailey was 18, which would be in less than 2 years. Then, if Mildred wanted to go to assisted living, she could sell the house and Bailey could be on her own. Bailey was a very attractive young lady, and I knew she would probably have a couple of marriage proposals by the time she was 18. A few weeks later Mildred was having a really good day and she asked both Bailey and I to come and sit in the living room with her. She was now almost 80 and was becoming frailer every week. We were both afraid that Mildred might not make it to Bailey’s 18th birthday. “Niccole and Bailey, I need to tell you girls something before it is too late and you never find out the truth. You girls are half-sisters. You have different mother’s but you both have the same father. Your father is the son of my younger sister, so I am really your great aunt. My sister knew of you Niccole, and when your mom died, she talked to me and asked me to see if I could become a foster parent to you. Bailey was already in the system because her father had died in a street shooting and her mother was not fit to take care of her so Children’s aid had stepped in and removed Bailey from her care. When Niccole’s mom died, I went to Children’s aid and told them I could take in a second girl, and I managed to also become a foster parent to both of you. But I feel I do not have much longer to live myself, so I wanted you girls to know the truth. Bailey, you have your dad’s last name, but you don’t Niccole. However, if you check your long form birth certificate you will find your dad’s name listed there.” Mildred told us. What a shock. Bailey and I just looked at each other in surprise and neither of us could say anything. Then at the same time we both said, “I knew there was something about you that seemed familiar.” “Well, you both look a lot alike. Your father was very good looking, and you both are as well. My sister was extremely nearsighted, and it looks like that was passed down to both of you. I have watched as you both needed thicker and thicker glasses, just like my sister did when we were growing up.” Mildred spoke. “Is my mom still alive?” Bailey asked. “I do not think so Bailey. She was in pretty bad shape when Children’s aid took you away from her.” Mildred responded. “How about your sister – our grandmother.” I asked. “She died from cancer right around the time you came to live with me Niccole. She died know that both her granddaughters would be taken care of though and that made her passing easier.” Mildred replied. “You said that you wanted to tell us this before it was too late. Do you have a reason why you would think it would be too late?” I asked. “I do. My doctor tells me that I likely won’t be around for another year. I have been diagnosed with terminal cancer and I am refusing treatment. I will probably have to go to hospice before that though.” Mildred advised us. “Will the house have to be sold to pay for your care?” Bailey asked. “George left me with a very good policy from his job. It covers all medical expenses including the stay in hospice. I have left the house to you two girls in my will.” Mildred told us. We were still shocked from this, but Bailey and I made supper for the three of us. While Bailey cleaned up, I called Ben and told him I had to skip our date that night. He asked me why and I told him what had transpired that day. Ben told me he knew this, as Mildred had called him in to draw up her will, and on his advice, he had set up a trust using her house as assets. This way the trust could not be touched if for some reason the health care policy from George’s old job didn’t cover everything. This almost upset me that Ben knew all this and hadn’t told me, but he anticipated that, and he told me that because Mildred was a paying client, he could not reveal anything they had discussed. I understood that, but everything was just sinking in, and I would have loved to have had some prior warning – told that I had a sister or that Mildred was a relation. Ben understood why I wanted to cancel our date, and he simply said he would call me. That night neither Bailey not I could get to sleep. For the past 4 years we had been like sisters, but now we really were sisters. It was a surrealistic feeling and finally we both drifted off, but we still wondered why Mildred had kept this secret. When I woke up in the morning, I figured out that Mildred had not wanted to disappoint either of us if things had not worked out, but I was still a little miffed at her. My new glasses had come in and I really liked the 1.74 index plastic ones. They were lighter than my new 1.9 index glass lenses, but the 1.9 index lenses looked thinner in a similar frame. Heather and Gail liked it that they could show customers their options using my glasses as examples. There were very few of our customers that had as strong of a prescription as I had, although there were a couple of our customers that were up into the mid -20’s. Ben and I got to go out on our missed date. I realized and understood why he had not been able to reveal anything to me. I really liked Ben a lot, so it was easy for me to forgive him for following the rules. I probably shouldn’t have been dreaming about Ben asking me to marry him, but if he did, I certainly would say yes. We had been seeing a lot more of each other since he had gotten his law degree and he went to work for the firm he was now with. From what he was telling me, he was working pretty long hours and he was having to represent some of the poorer clients that could not afford representation. But he was getting a decent base salary, and since his parents were not exactly poor, he had no student loans to pay. I had been to his parent’s place for dinner a couple of times, and I really liked his mom. His father was a bit stuffy, but Ben told me his dad liked me so that was good. Bailey had been going with a guy from her school. I met him and he seemed like a decent enough guy, but for some reason Bailey broke up with him and wouldn’t tell me why. I didn’t want to pry, so I didn’t, but when Bailey started wearing the -12D glasses I had put the lenses into a new frame I wondered if the thickness of her glasses had been a problem between them. We had been trying to make sure that someone was home with Mildred most of the time, and when Ben asked me if Bailey and I wanted to come to dinner at his parent’s place that Sunday, I told him I would have to check to make sure that Bailey would be home or if she wasn’t that Mildred would be all right being left alone for a few hours. Ben had shocked me when he told me that I should invite Bailey as well, because his cousin and his parents were going to be there and that an announcement was going to be made. Then he surprised me even more when he said that if I felt it was necessary a nurse would be available for the evening to look after Mildred. I was looking for a hint as to what was going on, but Ben wouldn’t tell me. Wednesday night Ben was waiting for me when I got off work. I asked him what he was being so secretive about, and with that he told me he was asking me to marry him, and we were going to announce our engagement Sunday evening. I don’t know how he managed to get the engagement ring just the right size, but when I accepted, he slid the ring onto my finger, and it fit perfectly. When Ben walked me home, I kissed him and went inside and told Mildred and Bailey. I knew they both liked Ben, and they were thrilled for me. I told Mildred that a nurse was coming by Sunday when Bailey and I were going to be at Ben’s parent’s place, but Mildred told me she didn’t want, or need a nurse yet. I called Ben and told him that Mildred didn’t feel like she needed a nurse to be with her. Bailey had been really great about coming home from school as soon as she could, but we could both tell that Mildred was failing a little more each day. However, if she felt she didn’t want, or need a nurse I wasn’t going to argue with her. I guess you could call our Sunday night dinner an engagement party. Everyone was thrilled and Ben’s mom immediately started making plans. I had thought about it ever since Ben had asked me and I told them that Bailey was going to be my maid of honor, my 2 co workers were going to be bridesmaids and I wanted to get married as soon as possible so that Mildred could be there. Ben’s mom told me not to worry, as she would take are of everything. She was so nice, and she understood why I wanted everything done in a hurry. I was a little surprised when I noticed Ben’s cousin Jason had spent most of the evening talking with Bailey, but he seemed like a really nice guy so I hoped he would ask Bailey out. They were both going to be in the wedding party so that was an opportunity for Bailey to get to know Jason. The following day at work I asked Heather and Gail if they would be bridesmaids. I told them no fancy or expensive dresses were needed, and they could just wear what they had in their closets. They asked what my color scheme was, and I told them to pick what they wanted for a dress, and I would be fine with it. The optical store was usually open on Saturday’s until 1 pm but Dr. Sadler and his wife were going to be invited and when I told him about the wedding, he simply said that when I figured out what date we could get the church and the hall for he would just make up a sign saying the store would be closed that day. I now had so many wonderful people in my life I could hardly believe that just 6 years earlier I had been alone in the world. Jessica, Ben’s mom was wonderful. I don’t know how she managed to do it, but she pulled it all together in just under a month. I was not very religious, so I didn’t care what denomination of a church we were married in. Jessica and Paul had tried to raise Ben in a Christian church, so she had managed to sweet talk her Calvary Church minister into marrying us. I was fine with that even though the ceremony was going to be squeezed in between 2 other weddings the minister was doing that afternoon. Mildred was deteriorating quickly, and everyone was working towards getting this done before it was too late. I asked Ben’s father if he would walk me down the aisle and give me away. This was a bit unconventional, but my only other choice would have been to ask Dr. Sadler and since Paul and Jessica were footing the bill, I thought that it would be nice to ask Paul. He was thrilled that I asked him, so I knew I had made the right choice. I had never worn contact lenses, and when Dr. Sadler asked me if I would like to wear contacts for my wedding I thought about my answer for a few minutes before I told him no. Bailey was going to be wearing her glasses, and while Gail and Heather both wore glasses once in a while at work, I suspected that they would wear contacts for the wedding. I didn’t want Bailey to be the only one in the wedding party wearing glasses, but I also felt there was no need to hide my strong glasses from anyone. I really don’t know if I accelerated my own myopic progression, and I do not care. I like my strong glasses, and I am proud of how nice I look wearing them. Dr. Sadler must have guessed one reason I didn’t want to wear contacts. He then said that he would be willing to examine Bailey’s eyes and would give her a family discount if she wanted to get new glasses for the wedding. Or, if we both wanted to wear contacts, he would fit us with them as his wedding present. I could see he was disappointed when I declined his offer, but then I asked him if he would examine Bailey’s eyes and would give her a new pair of glasses with hi index lenses at cost as my wedding present. He agreed so I was supposed to set up an eye exam for Bailey as soon as possible.
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