The rustle of the wheels startled the pigeons, and Candy looked up impatiently.

Neil!

No sooner had he closed the door of the car than the girlfriend was already in his arms. Candy was no longer crying – she just burrowed her face in his shirt, smelling his fragrance.

Legan tousled her hair.

"So who's offending my little inquisitor out here? Is he alive yet?"

Candy laughed unintentionally at the way he showed surprise. But then he became serious.

They got in the car and he stepped on the gas.

"After all, he has a point. This is work, and you're gonna be thinking about wedding, dress, invitations, all sort of stuff. This is a hospital, not some flower shop, where a slight distraction of the employee won't do much harm."

"Yeah, you're right. And he is right, too," the girl agreed. "But what am I gonna do?"

"I think it's obvious," Neil replied in a calm manner, as if there had been no problem at all. "You're going to get married and find a job after all the ceremonies, when the dust settles and your status is well respectable."

"But…"

"Candy, I don't think that there's no hospital in Chicago that needs a nurse! Foolery or not – they can always use some spare labor force. Doctor Leonard's balking only because you did break the rules multiple times."

"So… I'll be able to work again?"

"Of course! Okay, look, we're having an engagement in two weeks, a wedding in, like, two months. And a honeymoon, of course. You're not going to ditch it, are you?"

His brown eyes narrowed a little.

"No, no way!" Candy smiled.

"Well, then in three months we're gonna start looking for a job together."

"Together?"

"You'll be searching, I'll be searching, and I'm sure we'll find something for you."

The problem that had seemed insolvable at first now turned out to have a simple solution. The girl was overwhelmed by gratitude. She leaned to kiss him on the cheek.

"Thank you… for understanding me!"

The man pulled off, stopped the car and turned his smiling face to Miss White.

"Now, for understanding you, I demand that you kiss me properly."

Candy laughed and kissed him on the lips. She was now happy again.

Then they had a pretty nice lunch at a café.

After that, Neil said he had to come back to the office to settle the issues he hadn't been able to postpone, and Candy was getting ready to meet her friends. The girl took beautiful invitation cards out of the book where she had put them so they wouldn't get crumpled, and put them into her handbag.

Legan gave his fiancée a ride to the café, which was quite close to her apartment that she soon was going to leave, and the lovers waved off. Soon they would never part, spending their evenings together!

In the highest spirits Candy entered the café,where Annie and Archie were already waiting for her.

They were sitting together, but still looked like strangers.

The young people avoided eye contact, and Miss Brighton would readjust her fancy hair setting from time to time. She looked really stunning, as if she had come to some important party, not a regular meeting with friends.

"Hi!" the old friends greeted each other with overdone cheer. After that scene at Candy's place, she hadn't seen Archie, and everyone felt awkward.

"Friends, I want to tell you some… news!" Miss White smiled, but started to feel the anxiety surge up. She wanted to say "great news" at first, but she stopped short. But they must understand her! They love her, and she is so happy!

Annie and Archie were waiting expectantly. They didn't ask her "what news?", and Candy's high spirits started to sag.

"So, I… I mean, we… Anyway, here," she ended her clumsy speech and held out the invitation cards.

In the next few minutes, everything went just like in her worst fears. Having looked through the card, Cornwell started his attack right away.

"My gosh, Candy! Are you crazy? Wanna ruin your life? Do you understand who you are dealing with?"

"That's because she's desperate," Annie suddenly edged in. "Desperate about being alone. We must stop it, Archie! Candy, listen," she reached out and put her hand on her astonished friend's wrist. "Wow! What a gem!"

Candy looked around helplessly.

"Guys, listen, I…"

"There's nothing to listen to! Candy, how did he make you do it? What did this bastard do to you?"

"Nothing!"

"Are you pregnant? That's why you decided so, isn't it?" said Annie.

"No way!"

"Did you forget about all his bullying? How he treated you?" Archie kept coming down on her.

"Yes, I did!" Candy turned to him defiantly. "This is the past that's left in the past."

"Oh, the past! Then I'll tell you about your future – he will bully you even more, even worse, much worse, because you will be within his grasp!"

"How can you even kiss with him? He's not even a man, he's a nasty oozy toad!"

"He's a wretch and a coward!"

"You'll be living with his mommy and his sissy, is that what you want?"

"Stop it!"

Annie and Archie stopped talking, because the visitors started to turn around at them.

Looking into her friends' faces, Candy could almost see an impenetrable wall between them and her.

"Annie… Archie… I know you must be taken aback… But trust me, this is my decision. I'm happy. There was no pressure. And if you're insulting him, you're insulting me, too."

Archie sighed.

"So what could he have possibly done to make you change your mind? I personally didn't notice any changes in him – he's still a wretch!"

Miss White leant forward to reply, but then realized she couldn't. What was going on between her and her loved one was too personal, too intimate to share with anybody. She couldn't tell them about anything: neither their walks, their kisses, the way he carried her, their time at Pony's Home… nor the handkerchiefs, the calls, the "little inquisitor"…

"Just trust me," she uttered quietly. "Just trust my heart, like I did. I… I would really like to share this joyful day… with you."