Right Choice

(Chapter Three)

Both Spongebob and Sandy looked at each other trying to find a hint of emotion in the other person. Sandy couldn't take the silence anymore and decided to speak up.

"Spongebob… I know it's been a while since we have seen each other, or talked face to face, but I really needed someone here. There is no one else that I can really talk to down here, no one else I want to talk to. I'm sorry about how things went last time… I don't know what you are feeling right now, but you're the only real friend I have down here."

Sandy said all that she could think of, she waits for him to say something back to her. She didn't know if he would be angry or sad with her, or if he had forgotten all about it. She wondered if he would say anything at all, she didn't know what else to say to him. Finally Spongebob looked at her in the eyes and said something to her.

"On the phone… you said that there was something important that you wanted to talk about."

Sandy smiles because he had finally talked to her, but her smile quickly faded because it was not good news that she was about to share with him.

"Oh… it's kind of an issue involving my dad. He's back in Texas, but he is not doing too well."

"What's wrong with him?" Asks Spongebob.

Sandy could feel her usual tough girl attitude slipping away. Her dad could pass away at any time and she may not get to see him again, but then again there was an issue with her leaving Bikini Bottom too. That was Spongebob; she still didn't know what to do about their current situation. She didn't know if she would ever come back, and that would break Spongebob's heart for sure if she had not already done that. She could feel the sadness continuing to build up inside, just as her eyes began to water she turned her head away from him. The last thing she wanted to happen would be for him to see her cry, she hated it when she cried because it made her feel weak. Spongebob knew something was wrong, because she only cried when it was really a serious situation. He felt bad for her and he walked up to her and put his hand on her shoulder wanting to comfort her.

Strangely enough Sandy did not pull away; she actually liked the comforting feeling of his hand on her shoulder. Sometimes, but not very often they would hug each other; both of them wanted that comforting hug where they would be in each other's arms. Sandy wiped some of the tears out of her eyes and turned back to face him. The look on his face was a look of concern; she was hesitant at first but turned around to face him. At that moment it seemed like they both knew what to do, they wrapped their arms around each other and hugged the best way that they could since Spongebob had a water helmet on. Both of them were not happy because the water helmet kept them from a full hug. Then Sandy realized something; she looked over to where she was planting her garden and remembered that she had a sprinkler system installed so that she wouldn't have to water her garden with a hose.

Sandy had let go of the hug for a second much to Spongebob's disappointment, but when Sandy motioned for him to follow her he did. He watched her as she walked over to the far side of her treedome and watched her reach to the ground. He was confused at first, but then saw what was going on, Sandy turned on her sprinklers then he realized that he could take his helmet off. It was not a soaking kind of sprinkler, but a misting sprinkler; it would keep the air in the treedome moist enough so that Spongebob does not have to wear a water helmet. Another thought occurred to him; if he wanted to make a move, this was his chance. He thought again… this was probably not the best time. Not only had Sandy told him that she already had a boyfriend, but there was some kind of problem with her dad and she was probably sad and confused.

He was curious as to what was going on with her dad, but was more concerned about how Sandy was feeling. Talking about it would probably make her feel worse; he wanted to do something that would make her feel happy again. He wanted to hug her again, but they had kind of already moved past that. It felt good to breathe in the moist air, but most of all he could see Sandy clearly for the first time since he had first came to her treedome. He could see her clearly without the helmet fogging up when he blushed; only now if he blushed it would be a whole lot more noticeable. Sandy went to sit down at her picnic table; she must have started crying again. Spongebob walked over there only to see her with her arms and head on the table. He placed his hand on her shoulder again and grew more concern.

"Sandy… I know you may not want to talk about it, but… I'm starting to worry about you."

It took her a few moments for the words to sink in, but then she remembered why she invited him over in the first place. She sighed, and wiped her eyes again; Spongebob kept his hand on her shoulder which was a comforting feeling.

"It's ok Sandy… it's ok to cry sometimes, you don't have to be ashamed or embarrassed. I'm here to help."

She looked up at him. Once he said here to help she saw a small smile on his face, which made her smile a little. He reached out his hand to her to help her up; she grabbed it and stood up. She took a deep breath before speaking.

"Well… before my… breakdown I was going to tell you about my dad. I just don't know if you will want to stick around to hear it."

"I'm not going anywhere… I won't leave until I help you. Just relax… Say what you need to say." Says Spongebob.

Sandy smiles at him, she couldn't believe that after what happened that he would be willing to listen to her. No one had ever paid this much attention to her so much or cared about her this much not even her boyfriend back in Texas. That is a story for another chapter, but right now let's focus on this chapter.

"Well… I told you that my dad was not doing too well. What's got me so emotional is… he has cancer Spongebob. My mom told me… he's not expected to live much longer."

Sandy stopped right then and there. She couldn't say anything else, she started to cry again. Spongebob was shocked, he knew what it was and knew how she felt. He wrapped his arms around her to hug her again, this time they could hug the right way since Spongebob no longer had a helmet on.

"I'm so sorry Sandy… I had no idea. I want you to know that I know how you feel… one of my uncles currently has cancer too."

"I didn't know that… How do you manage to go around looking so happy when there is a situation like this?" Asks Sandy.

"That's just the thing Sandy… it's just a look. Sure I may look happy, but that doesn't mean that I feel happy."

"Spongebob… that is not the only thing bothering me."

"Well… I can stay for as long as you need me to. What else do you need to tell me?" Asks Spongebob

They both let go of the hug.

"I know… that… when I leave town a lot you always get upset. One time I only left town for two days and you about lost it."

Spongebob blushed because he knew that it was true.

"What's been on my mind is the question on if I should leave. I really want to go check on my dad, but I know how you get when I have to leave. I don't know how long I will be gone, or if I will be back at all. I wanted to ask you; what do you think I should do Spongebob?" Asks Sandy

Spongebob sighs to himself and remembered something that his dad told him once. He still wasn't sure about how things were between him and Sandy, but he loved her no matter what. His dad's advice to him was if you love someone set them free. This would be the hardest thing that Spongebob would ever have to do. It was going to be hard for Spongebob to let her go especially if she never comes back, but he knew what had to be done.

"I think… you should go see him."

Sandy couldn't believe that he just said that.

"Are you sure Spongebob?"

"Yes Sandy… go see him, he needs you."

She couldn't believe how well he was taking this. He was willing to let her go; usually he would beg her not to go which annoyed her. She felt like she was starting to love Spongebob more than she did her boyfriend back in Texas. She wasn't exactly sure how her relationship was with her boyfriend, after all it had been months since they have seen each other, but there was a dark side of the relationship that she was keeping to herself. She talked about all that she needed to, Spongebob went home. That night Sandy packed up all of the stuff that could fit in her suitcase and was going to leave the next day. She couldn't help but think of Spongebob, he comforted her when she needed it the most. Her boyfriend wouldn't have done that; her relationship with her boyfriend wasn't exactly the best.

She knew that she wanted to go to Texas to check up on her dad, but she was sure that she would see her boyfriend there. She knew she still had a choice to make, but it was a choice that she was afraid to make. She didn't want to relive her past; she didn't know how her boyfriend would take it. He wasn't as kind and understanding like Spongebob was. Sandy had all of her stuff packed up and was almost ready to leave; only something didn't seem right. She felt a strong sadness come over her all of a sudden she didn't feel right leaving Spongebob. Sure she talked to him about it, but the way that he was actually willing to let her go still amazed her. Then again she expected Spongebob to come in at the last minute and beg her not to go. In a way that is what she wanted him to do because deep down she wasn't so sure that she wanted to leave.

It was as if something was keeping her here. That something was more like someone; she had all of her stuff packed, but she just couldn't walk out the door yet. She usually didn't like saying goodbye to people because she didn't like sad and painful goodbyes, but it would be even more painful if she left without saying goodbye to Spongebob. Then Sandy realized something… he probably wouldn't be coming over because today was Monday and he had to work on Mondays. Sandy walked to the door with her head down; she realized that leaving Bikini Bottom might actually be harder on her than it would be on Spongebob. Just as she was about to reach for the door there was a knock on her door. She opened the door and was surprised to see Spongebob, since he was usually at work around this time. She was actually happy to see him because she secretly hoped that he would talk her out of leaving.

"Spongebob… I thought you were at work."

"That can wait… sometimes there are more important things or more important people than just work. You didn't think I would let you leave without saying goodbye now did you?"

"Oh right… so that's the only reason why you came?" Asks Sandy.

"Well… your dad needs you right now, and if I remember correctly you told me that you already had a boyfriend. I know I usually try to stop you from leaving, but it wouldn't be right for me to stop you from seeing those you care about. Even if it is hard for me to see you go… it's even worse seeing you here and being unhappy. As long as you are happy then I'm happy."

Sandy remembered that she had her sprinklers on. She was kind of glad she left them on because once Spongebob finished talking he hugged her again. She didn't really know what to say but she was starting to have second thoughts about leaving. She hugged him back but started to cry a little. Spongebob noticed this and was confused again.

"Why are you crying Sandy?"

"Because I don't want to leave you Spongebob."

"We already talked about this… I'll be ok Sandy. You should go see your dad."

Sandy could feel it building up inside of her, she just wanted to scream at the top of her voice that she loved him but now was not the best time. She knew that she had to leave, and she knew that her boyfriend in Texas would not be happy when she broke the news to him that she loved someone else. Spongebob grabbed her hand and told her again that everything would be ok. Last time he held her hand she pulled away from him, but this time she allowed it.

"Will you walk with me to the bus stop?" Asks Sandy.

"Of course."

Sandy picked up her suit case with one hand and with the other hand held Spongebob's hand. They made it to the bus stop and waited a few minutes for the bus to come. When it finally arrived they said their final goodbyes and hugged one last time. Spongebob stood there trying to put on a smile as he watched Sandy leave, Sandy put on a strong face to keep from crying again. She didn't know if she would ever see Spongebob again, but as the bus left Spongebob's happy face disappeared and he burst into tears. Before the bus was out of sight she could see Patrick there with him trying to comfort him. Then Sandy's strong face broke down. Seeing Spongebob upset made her upset and she started to cry too. It was a long journey back to Texas and as the journey continued she finally stopped crying, but her mind was on Spongebob the whole time. She was going to see her dad in a poor condition, and she would have to be brave and confront her boyfriend. Of all the choices that she had ever made in her life… leaving Spongebob had to have been one of the worst ones.

(To be continued)