THANKSGIVING
Sierra couldn’t place how, but she found herself seated around the huge table in the Leek household surrounded by her family and his, as his father carved the turkey and his mother passed around the cranberry sauce.
“Done!” Elijah proclaimed, setting down the fork and carving knife beside the bowl. “Who’s ready for some turkey?” He asked enthusiastically, but Karisa held up her hand to stop him.
“Slow your roll tiger, you know the rules.” Roman wasn’t kidding when he said Karisa was big on holidays, Sierra would almost say she was worse than her own mother, who looked at the set-up with excitement in her white jersey with a traditional turkey knitted on it.&n
ALWAYS AND NEVER THE RIGHT TIMERoman didn’t know why he felt so nervous, it was almost midnight and in the Leek household, everyone was sound asleep, apart from him. The little box in his hands taunted him as he watched the dark, star-lit sky, something about it unsettled him and he wasn’t sure why, but it had stopped him from opening it when Sierra tore the wrap off hers.In the box was a little key charm with a note below it which read,“One moment holds the key to a lifetime.”She took one look at the charm and her eyes lit up, proclaiming that she would add it to her charm bracelet when she got home.
I LOVE YOUThe weeks passed by in a blur and before they knew it, Roman started his job as head of the ED at Union Medical Centre. The brand new building hosts a variety of specialised clinics such as an Oncology clinic, a Diabetes wing, a pre, and post-hospital care facility, and state-of-the-art maternity care. It has become the best round-the-clock medical facility in San Francisco.“How was your first week at work?” Roman was still dressed in navy blue scrubs and trainers.“It’s been great, getting to know the team and learning to work with everyone. No major cases yet, but the challenge is great.” Roman grinned, popping a fry into his mouth. They were seated on a bench of a popular fi
THE ICE CREAM EXPERIENCESierra keeled over with laughter. A little Indian woman was teaching Roman how to make candy floss, but she scolded him endlessly because he kept eating it. They saw the little cart when they got off the cable car and Roman dragged her over with fascination.“Okay, no more, no more, we finished now.” She lifted the stick and handed it to him, switching off the machine in the process. She looked worse for wear after the experience, but Roman was beaming from ear to ear.“You’re the best Aunty Rashida.” He dropped a kiss on her cheek and handed a dollar bill to her husband with a salute in his direction before he took off towards Sierra. Grabbing her hand he yanked her to
A MESSAGE IN A BOTTLE“Okay, I’m here. Are you ready?” Roman grabbed his bag in his hand and opened it, ready to reveal what he picked in the gift shop.“Yup, we’ll each reveal one item at a time.” Sierra reached into the bag to pull out the first item.Their eyes landed on the items in their hands and both of them smirked, Roman held up a 7-inch vinyl record with Ain’t No Sunshine by Bill Withers written on the cover and Sierra held up a polaroid camera.“You know what this means, don’t you?&rdq
THE SURPRISE PARTYSierra and Alexa removed the cake from the box, careful not to touch it and damage the cream.“This looks so delicious,” Alexa commented, Sierra ordered it from a well-known bakery in downtown San Francisco and she too was quite pleased with the outcome.“She’s going to love it.” The blush pink and peach roses were soft in contrast to the shards of white chocolate that stuck out between them, the vanilla sponge was filled with raspberries and white chocolate ganache and covered in a pink ombre ganache.It was exactly as Alexa described, feminine with an edge.
HURT AND JEALOUSY Sierra and Roman were seated at their favorite spot at Ghirardelli Chocolate Company drinking milkshakes when Roman suddenly froze. “Cara?” Roman breathed, wide-eyed. Sierra turned to see a drop-dead gorgeous woman standing behind her staring at Roman with a loving look in her eyes and Sierra’s body turned cold. “Roman!” The woman smiled broadly and approached Roman just as Sierra realized he stood up. Long slender arms wrapped themselves around Roman’s neck at the same time his arms tightened around her waist and hi
IN SICKNESS AND HEALTH The phone buzzed beneath her, making her groan out loud. She called in sick to work early that morning, so it wouldn’t be them looking for her. She didn’t bother peeling her eyes open when she answered the call. “Hello?” She grumbled, suddenly feeling bile rise in her throat. “Sierra, are you okay?” Roman’s concerned voice was clear through the phone, but before she could answer or cut the call, her mouth felt wet. Abandoning the call, she raced to the guest bathroom and threw herself in front of the toilet before the contents of her stomach spewed back out. She felt her head pound and her stomach burned
FIXING THINGS “Mom she won’t talk to me, I don’t know what to do.” Roman sighed, pacing the length of Sierra’s kitchen. “What did you do?” His mother asked, he could picture her with her hands on her hips, staring at him knowingly. “We bumped into Cara yesterday. Let’s just say I didn’t handle the situation well.” He cringed at his own words and his mother sighed. “I knew that girl was bad news the day I met her,” Karisa grumbled. “Mom!” Roman groaned.