Author's Note: I'm currently rewatching season 3, and I had forgotten all about Joy and her terminal boyfriend, George. I felt that this episode needed a bit more, so I wrote this. :)

"Well, I may not have had a wedding, but at least I had a good wedding cake," Joy said, putting the now-empty cake plate back on the coffee table.

"Oh, I'm sorry, honey," Melanie said, giving her friend a sympathetic smile. "Well, I mean, I'm happy for George, but not for you."

Joy nodded, understanding what Melanie meant. "It's all right. It's like Elka says, I can never keep a man anyway. It's not like this was really a surprise. Things with me and George were never going to last."

"Yeah, but you would've had a man for three months. And they would've been good months," Melanie said.

"I'm sorry this wedding didn't work out, too," Elka said.

"Thanks," Joy said. "I know we've had our differences, but it's nice to know you really do care about me."

Elka rolled her eyes. "NO! I had a dozen 'Joy Gross' jokes I was going to use." She grinned at the pun on what would have been Joy's married name.

"I should've known you wouldn't say anything nice, old woman," Joy said.

"You know, this reminds me of a Lifetime Original Movie I did once," Victoria said. "It was called My Dying Fiancee. I played a woman who was engaged to the love of her life, until he contracted a rare disease, and I bravely let him go, so that he could enjoy his last months in freedom. TV Guide called it 'moving,' and a 'must-see.'"

"If he was engaged to you, he was better off dying," Elka said. It never ceased to amaze her how Victoria could bring any conversation back to her soap, or to one of her dumb Movies of the Week.

For a moment, the four women were quiet. Joy looked down at the wedding dress she was still wearing. It was the second time in her life that she'd been prepared to get married, and for the second time, she hadn't been able to go through with it. Why were all her relationships doomed to end in heartbreak?

"Even though I know you're hurting, I think you should really be proud of yourself," Melanie said, breaking the silence.

"Why, because I've had two weddings, and never managed to get married?" Joy asked sarcastically.

"No. Back in LA, you would've run as fast as you could as soon as you found out George only had a few months to live," Melanie said.

"That's true," Joy agreed. "I've left men for much stupider reasons than that."

"But don't you see?" Melanie said. "Even though it was scary, you opened yourself up, and gave George a chance. And didn't you say that knowing him taught you to appreciate life?"

Suddenly, Joy smiled. It had been fun, crossing items off on George's bucket list. There was no wasted time. Petty arguments seemed ridiculous, knowing that George only had a limited amount of time left. "You're right," she said. "I'm happy for George, that he's got more time than he thought. I'm sure he won't waste a second of it. In a way, he's luckier than most people. I mean, most of us just go on about our lives, never thinking about the end. But he gets to make sure he leaves with no regrets."

"That's something I know all about," Elka said. "I decided years ago that I wasn't going to regret holding back what I think. That kind of stuff is for sissies or young seventy-year-olds who think they've got all the time in the world."

"That's a very freeing way to live, isn't it?" Joy asked. She and Elka were often at odds, but deep down, she admired the elderly woman's ability to speak her mind with no apologies.

"You bet it is! Telling people what's on your mind really makes you feel good. Here, I'll show you what I mean. Joy, that wedding dress is way too young for you. It makes you look even sluttier than usual!" She laughed, clearly finding her remark hilarious.

For a moment, Joy was tempted to offer a retort of her own. That's how conversations with Elka usually went. But she resisted the urge. In light of what she'd experienced with George, she now realized that such name-calling didn't solve anything. Even though she was perfectly healthy, there was still no guarantee of how long she would live. She looked around at the house she and her three roommates shared. It wasn't nearly the size of the houses they'd lived in back in LA, but it was their home. Joy may not have a husband, or even a prospect on the horizon, but she was here, surrounded by the people she loved most in the world. Things are pretty good in my life. Not perfect, but nice. I really do have a lot to be thankful for. She gave Elka her usual annoyed glare, but she couldn't hide a smile. "What would you want me to wear?" she asked. "Tracksuits?"

The End