The image showed the red ribbon Flora had tied, her wish written in flowing script: May our baby be born safe and healthy. May Basil and I never part until our hair turns white.
My heart seized, as if a fist had closed around it. I couldn't breathe. Before I could recover, the elementary school alumni group chat exploded with activity.
Joseph Whitney, our old class monitor, was the first to chime in. "Congrats to our very own business mogul on her glorious retirement! Finally got time to hang out with us common folk, huh?"
Someone else piled on. "Exactly! When you were running the show, we were too intimidated to bother you two. But now you're free, right? Tonight, the usual spot—no excuses!"
After a long pause, Flora replied with a single word: "Okay."
I tapped at my keyboard, trying to come up with a reason to decline, but before I could send anything, a message from Flora popped up.
"Come with me tonight."
It was my first time in Flora's new car. A sticker on the rear window announced: My darling wife is pregnant—please keep your distance. No guessing who was responsible for that little touch.
I sat in the back, taking in the hand-carved wooden charm dangling from the rearview mirror, the matching couple's pillows propped on the seat beside me. Something ached in my chest. These past weeks, Flora and Basil had been living a life I couldn't have imagined.
They looked more like husband and wife than we ever did.
Flora must have noticed my expression. "Basil's young," she said, her tone somewhere between apologetic and dismissive. "A bit immature. Can't really help it."
She gave a small, helpless laugh. "If I remember right, you used to like woodcarving too, back in school."
I didn't answer. She didn't push.
She remembered correctly. The year we first got together, I'd carved her zodiac animal with my own hands—a charm for protection and peace.
Funny how new memories can make you forget the old ones.
I pushed open the car door and walked into the private dining room ahead of Flora. Hubert Delgado, one of my closest friends from school, grabbed my arm immediately.
"Howard! It's been ages, man. How'd you get so thin?"
Before I could respond, everyone's attention shifted to Flora as she entered behind me.
"Well, well, if it isn't the legendary CEO herself!" Delilah Lambert called out. "I saw the news—you two went to Lover's Peak today, didn't you?"
The air around Flora and me turned to ice.
They'd mistaken Basil—wearing a mask—for me.
Flora hesitated, then gave a silent nod.
Hubert pulled me toward the head of the table and sat me down next to Flora. I stared at the spread of dishes before me, but my stomach churned violently. The liver disease was destroying my digestion.
"Howard, eat up!" Delilah urged, leaning in. "Remember back in school? Flora was always worried you weren't eating enough. She'd hide extra meat under your rice when you weren't looking."
She tilted her head, studying me. "How come all these years and she still hasn't fattened you up?"
The nostalgia opened the floodgates, and stories started flowing.
"Does anyone remember when Flora gave Howard her homework and got sent out to stand in the hall?"
Hubert's hand shot up. "I remember! The teacher said anyone who forgot their homework couldn't stay in class. Flora just tossed her notebook onto Howard's desk and walked out without looking back. Absolute legend."
Delilah's gaze bounced between us. "Honestly, why haven't you two had kids yet? With your looks and his brains, it'd be a crime not to pass those genes on."
What she didn't know was that Flora already had a child on the way.
It just had nothing to do with me.
Hubert elbowed Delilah. "You don't know Howard was seriously ill, do you? He barely walks through the door and you're already pestering them about babies. Mind your own business."
The table erupted in laughter, but Flora reached over and covered my hand with hers.
"You haven't touched anything. Are you feeling okay?"
The warmth of her palm seeped into my skin. I looked up and met her eyes—and for a moment, just a moment, I saw a flicker of something that reminded me of the way she used to look at me.
The words rose to my lips before I could stop them. "If my cancer came back... would you still have a wish left for me?"
Flora froze. Her hand withdrew, and an awkward distance opened between us. "You're going to be fine."
The words had barely left her mouth when acid surged up my throat. There was no time to make it to the bathroom. I doubled over beneath the table and started to retch.
