To say that things were tense over the next few days was an understatement. Joe had more outburst, he was demanding and mean, Ellie spent a lot of time in the bathroom crying. Joe didn’t seem to care that he made her cry, he seemed to enjoy it. Peter and Alexandria tried to intervene as much as possible but they had also been treated badly. Ellie wasn’t sure she could handle much more. Tomorrow was their anniversary and Christmas; she was not looking forward to it. She had gotten the gifts, wrapped them and put them under the tree.

She woke to Joe nudging her, “Time to get up sleepy head. Santa has been here.” Joe smiled, even though he couldn’t see Ellie’s face, he knew she was giving him a “the look”. He laughed, “Come on, get up! I am ready to open my presents.” Joe was acting like a kid, this was new, especially since he had thrown a fit about anyone getting him gifts the night before. His exact words were: “Why did any of you get me anything? I am dying and can’t see, it’s not like I can see them anyway.” This had sent Ellie running to the bathroom, sobbing uncontrollably.

Ellie got up from the bed, walked to the bathroom, washed her face and put her robe on. She knew that she should be in a better mood, but she knew that Joe’s mood could change any second. They walked down the hall to the living room, Ellie making sure that Joe didn’t bump into anything that could hurt him. Joe sat on the couch, anxious for Ellie to start opening her gifts.

Ellie sat on the couch beside Joe, sipping her hot tea, she had given up coffee when she found out she was pregnant. Peter handed her a small box, wrapped in gold foil. “Ellie, I need you to tell me which gift you are opening. I had mom and dad wrap them all in different paper so I know what you are opening.” Joe said. Ellie smiled, nodded her head and then told him it was the gold foil gift. He smiled, “Hurry up and open it!”

Ellie unwrapped the gift, opening the black velvet box to find a locket nestled inside. Ellie opened the locket and there was a picture of them, taken on their first date that Joe had planned. Tears sprang to Ellie’s eyes; she thanked him and placed a gentle kiss on his cheek. The next gift was a blanket made out of some of his t-shirts. “This will keep you warm during the winter. You will always have a piece of me wrapped around you when you sleep under this.” Joe said, making Ellie cry harder.

The third gift was a picture album of them starting with their very first date and lead up to one blank page. “We will fill this spot with the picture that is taken tonight.” Joe told Ellie, smiling. The fourth gift contained a gift card to a maternity shop. The gifts just kept coming, Ellie was overwhelmed. “Ellie, this is the last gift I have for you. You can open the package now, but you can’t watch the video inside until after I am gone.” Joe told her. Ellie ran from the room, this wasn’t fair. How could he be so joyful on their last Christmas together?

Alexandria walked into the kitchen to find Ellie sitting on the floor by the refrigerator, sobbing. “Ellie, I know this is hard. Joe put a lot of thought into each gift that he made or bought for you. He just wants this Christmas to be the best one, he wants you to remember that he loves you.” Ellie looked up at her mother-in-law, “I know he loves me but how can he act like I should be okay with this?”

Peter walked in just then, knelt down by Ellie and whispered in her ear, “He knows this isn’t easy, he knows that you aren’t okay with any of this. But please, just know that if there was anything that any of us could do to change the eventual outcome, we would have already made it happen.” Peter helped her stand and they walked back into the living room to find Joe sitting on the couch, surrounded by unopened gifts.

“What time is it?” Joe asked his dad. Peter replied that they had an hour before they needed to leave. “Ellie, there is a gift on the bed, read the note attached to it. I will meet you at the courthouse.” Joe stood with help from his dad and walked into the spare room his parents had been calling theirs. Ellie looked at Alexandria and then Peter, both looked back at her, smiling.

Ellie opened the note first. “I asked the most beautiful girl in the world to be my wife five years ago. I am asking the most beautiful woman in the world to marry me again. Even with a sky full of stars, you are my star, the only star I have ever looked at. I love you Ellie Walker.” Ellie put the dress on she had worn five years before. It fit a little tighter now but it was still just as beautiful.

Ellie rode with Alexandria to the courthouse, Joe and his dad had left about twenty minutes before. Ellie couldn’t believe that she would be repeating her vowels again, she had no regrets. She smiled at Alexandria, knowing that she and Peter had helped Joe plan this and make it happen, again.

Ellie walked into the courthouse, her eyes finding Joe, leaning on the walker that he had taken to using over the past few days. She walked up to him, taking his hand in hers, “I’m here Joe. Let’s get married.” Ellie said, a smile on her face. The only people present were Peter, Alexandria and the judge. Behind Joe stood a picture of her dad on a pedestal, Ellie smiled. Joe had thought of everything. They repeated the vowels they had five years before, it was perfect.

As they made their way through town, Peter pulled into the parking lot of the diner where they had shared their very first date and where they had taken this year’s Christmas picture.

“Ellie, this will be our last first date. I am so sorry that I can’t take you on more but as we both know, things are out of our hands. I wanted to give you one more last first date. Mom and dad will take their rental care home, they will leave the truck here for us. We have the place to ourselves; dinner has been made and is in the warmer.” Joe said, as he pushed his walker up the ramp, waiting for Ellie to open the door to the diner. Joe had Ellie help him find their booth, he sat down and waited until she returned with their plates.

Ellie noticed that Joe seemed to be off. She should have taken him home, today had been too hard on him. “Joe, are you okay?” she asked but got no response. Ellie stood and placed her hand on his arm, Joe flinched, “I wasn’t sure you were going to show up. I was so nervous to ask you out. This is our first date; I hope it won’t be the last.” Joe replied. Ellie just stood there, those were the exact words Joe had said to her on their first date. Was he doing this on purpose? “Happy Anniversary Joe.” She told him. Joe didn’t answer her at all, he just stared off into space.

Ellie called Peter, “He is just staring into space, he won’t eat anything. He isn’t moving, please come help me.” She cried. Ellie sat and held Joe’s hand until his dad arrived. They got him in the truck and managed to get him into the bed before he had his first seizure of many that night. Ellie called the hospital, leaving a message for Doctor Anderson to call her. She was to continue watching him and if he had more than five seizures total, she was told to call for an ambulance.

Twenty minutes later, Ellie called for an ambulance, Joe was unresponsive.