Ashleigh sat in her desk doing paperwork. She sighed. Being in marketing always meant filling out a lot of paperwork. Still, her job was worth. Ashleigh loved what she did and was good at it. Still, her life felt empty somehow.

"Hey, Ash?" Ashleigh turned around to see her bubbly assistant, Jennifer, standing at the doorway, a message in her hand. "Someone called for you during the Hershey's meeting. I took a message."

"Leave it on my desk," Ashleigh responded, turning back to her paperwork. Jennifer did as her boss said and left. After finishing what she was doing, Ashleigh grabbed the pink Post-It off her desk and read it. It caught her off guard to say the least.

Ashleigh,

Meet me for lunch at 4. I have something for you.

Grace

She knew how mean she had been to Grace after she and Rusty had broken up. So why would she want to have lunch with me, Ashleigh wondered. Then a thought hit her. Grace had her letter. It only made logical sense. Grace had personally delivered every letter so far. Ashleigh suspected that even though Grace didn't really like her, the girl still wouldn't go against Rusty's wishes.

Ashleigh glanced at her watch; it was a quarter to 4. She got up and grabbed her jacket. She knew where Grace was planning on meeting her. There was a small Mexican restaurant within walking distance. Ashleigh usually took a lunch break there on days she wasn't swamped. Rusty had hated that restaurant, always complaining about how greasy the food was. Calvin didn't care for it either, but he had always left the complaining up to Rusty.

Ashleigh searched around the familiar restaurant before spotting Grace. It made her feel better to see that the girl looked as miserable as she did. Ashleigh approached the booth, desperately trying to keep her expression neutral. "Hey," she said quietly. Grace gave her a sad smile.

"Hey," she said in response. Grace studied Ashleigh's features only to see a reflection of her own. Grace just felt more tired than ever nowadays, especially after watching Rusty's interview. Seeing him lit up while telling stories only made the girl's heart ache more. The idea of Rusty being gone had yet to settle into Grace's mind.

The two sat in silence for a few minutes before Grace started going through her purse. She finally found the envelope and handed it to Ashleigh. "You know what it is."

Ashleigh stared at the letter in her hand. She felt like she was holding a Bible or something sacred in her hands. "Thank you." Ashleigh whispered, not looking up when Grace got out of the booth.

"No problem," Grace said smoothly. She turned around and added, "We'll both be okay." Ashleigh only smiled as the love of Rusty's life walked out of the restaurant and hopefully back to a happy life. She knew just by seeing how broken the girl was that Grace had really loved Rusty. Ashleigh took back all the nasty things she had thought and said about Grace. If the girl had really loved Rusty, then she wished nothing than the best for her.

Ashleigh opened the envelope and stared at the letter. It said:

Dear Ashleigh,

I'm sitting in bed, obeying my doctor's orders. I'm really starting to hate that doctor. I know you would tell me, "Rusty's he's just doing this in your best interest,", but I don't care. I'm sick of this life, of living like this. Going to doctor appointments all the time, taking tons of medication. Ash, I'm not going to lie to you: I'm kind of looking forward to death in a way. I know that's not what you want to hear, but it's the truth. I'm sick of the pain. It's too strong for me, for this body. If I were Superman then maybe I'd be okay, but I'm not Superman, I'm just Rusty.

Now, how do I give advice to the person who's constantly handing it out. It's a pretty hard job, but I think I'll manage. So here's my advice: Take a risk. That's all I'm going to tell you. Take a risk. Go out and meet a guy who's worthy of you. It may not be who you think it is. I'm not going to name names, but there's a guy we both know who practically worships you. Beaver adores you, Ash, and I think he'd take good care of you. He's grown up since college and is good at his job. Give the poor guy a chance.

Now, I don't want you to bury yourself in work like I know when you're upset. That's no way to live. Take it from me, life is fleeting. Capture every minute and make it worth something. I know you're busy taking care of everyone else, but don't forget to take a minute for yourself.

Sincerely,

Rusty

Ashleigh put down the letter. Rusty's description of the pain was too vivid for her. Ashleigh could feel his pain just by reading the letter. She suddenly felt bad for pushing Rusty to continue treatment as long as he did. Something in the back of her head stopped her. He wanted those last few months, a voice in the back of her head reminded her. He needed those last few months. And in hindsight, she was probably right. Rusty had given that interview last minute, and without treatment, he wouldn't have been able to. Plus, Rusty didn't have to spend all of his time slowly dying on a hospital bed.

She walked back to her office in a frenzy. Ashleigh got into the room and picked up the phone. She dialed the number of Dobbler's she knew by heart. Wade answered, "Hello, Dobbler's. How may I help you?" Ashleigh had to hold back a laugh; Wade sounded so polite and un-Wade like.

"Hey, Wade. It's Ashleigh. Can I talk to Beaver please?" Ashleigh asked nervously. She didn't know why she was nervous. Everyone who knew Beaver could guarantee that if Ashleigh asked him out, he'd say yes right away.

"Oh, sure," Wade responded in his normal tone. She could hear a muffled shout, "Beaver! The girl you're obsessed wants to talk to you." Ashleigh felt a light blush spread across her cheeks.

She could hear Wade hand Beaver the phone and say something along the lines of don't blow it. "Hey, Ashleigh," Beaver said, trying to remain calm. "What's up?"

Ashleigh was speechless. "Well, um, I was wondering if you could do me a favor." Everyone at Dobbler's saw Beaver's face drop.

"Okay. What do you need me to do?" Beaver asked, his tone more business like now.

"Well, you see, Calvin works on Saturday nights, and since everyone else is so far away, I get very lonely. So, I was wondering if you wanted to have dinner with me this weekend? Around 8 o'clock?" Ashleigh inquired coyly.

Beaver's jaw dropped. He hadn't seen that coming. Ashleigh had rejected him so many times. "Um, sure. That would be great. I'll pick you up at 8:45."

"Great," Ashleigh happily replied. She felt butterflies in her chest, the first in a long time. "Bye!"

Beaver couldn't even mumble a goodbye. He stood there speechless. "Beav, you okay?" Wade asked curiously.

"I got the girl!" Beaver screamed as loud as possible. Everyone in Dobbler's, drunk and sober started to cheer. Beaver's friends all looked at him in shock. They never though he'd ever actually get a date with Ashleigh.

"Damn! I lost the bet!" Wade realized after watching all of this unfold. Jeremy looked smug as he pocketed twenty bucks. No one realized they should be silently thanking Rusty for all of this.