Brittany / July 2011
Brittany had known something was different even when she woke up that morning. She rolled out of bed with a typical groan and slowly pulled herself to her feet. Mornings were not her thing. She brushed her blond tangled hair from her face as she looked at her dirty sleepy reflection in the mirror.
"Brittany are you up darlin? We got a lot of work to be doing today and I'd like to get started with a trip to the market. What do you think of that love?"
"That sounds great grandpa!"She shouted back at him.
Her heart gave a particularly painful twinge, but it was nothing she wasn't use to. She had always been in very poor health ever since she could remember. It was always one trip to the doctor or another, but it wasn't her fault it was just in her genes. Her parents both had passed away of separate heart related issues, yet she tried her best not to think about that. Instead she tried to be thankful for each and every day that she had with her loving friends and family.
Today seemed like any other day. Like usual, she and her grandfather would get up at dawn and head down to the local farmers market to pick up fresh ingredients for the shop. He would buy her a flower or maybe several depending on how down Brittany looked to him, then together they'd stop at a little breakfast shop.
Often he'd ask her
"Why haven't you settled down yet? A beautiful girl like you should be the catch of the town. There isn't any reason you shouldn't be married yet."
Brittany would just blush and shake her head and say
"I don't know grandpa"
They both knew the real reason; yet neither one was willing to discuss it. Instead they sat and continued to eat their breakfast in peace.
After breakfast they would return to the shop and prep the kitchen for the lunch rush that day. Or well her grandpa and Michelangelo would prep the kitchen while Brittany played music and pretend to waltz about the dining area.
"Now not too fast dear, you know what the doctor said. Not too much physical exertion..."He would warn her.
"She's fine. Let the poor girl have a little fun. Now come help me with these boxes." Angelo would retort.
When O'Reilly's opened for lunch, the place would become very busy with construction workers and businessmen. It wasn't uncommon for Brittany to get several phone numbers and at least a dozen compliments in an afternoon. Today it was a tall blond-haired man with a silly, but handsome, smile who sat across from an even more beautiful Latin woman. The man held an open black box with a diamond necklace inside, however something told her it wasn't a gift he was giving the other women.
"What can I get you this afternoon?"She asked with her typical bubbly smile.
Brittany bit back a smile when he actually bothered to look at her name tag. She was even more taken back when he began flirting with her right in front of his lunch guest. Brittany's eyes darted to the other women, but she seemed too careless. As a matter of fact, the only thing that seemed to get a reaction out of her was when the blond gentlemen offered to pay. Brittany decided that they must just be friends and that the beautiful necklace was for someone else.
She repeated back their order and blushed as he called her beautiful. Just as she finished writing down her notes, her heart gave another painful tug for the fourth time that day. Brittany decided it was best to turned in their order and go upstairs to rest for a while.
To Brittany it felt as though she had closed her eyes for only a moment, but when she opened them again her grandfather was there standing next to her bed with a tray of soup.
"I brought you some supper. Why don't you try an' eat it darlin. You're looking a little more pale than usual."
"Thanks grandpa."
Brittany tried to sit up, but as she did she was hit with a rush of dizziness then came the chest pain.
"Grandpa my..." Brittany doubled over in her bed clutching her chest
"-Angelo! Close the shop and call Quinn! It's her heart! We need to go right away!"