It All Worked Out In The End- A Purple Hearts Rewrite

Chapter 4- I Was Hoping That You Might Marry Me

~Cassie's POV~
It was late and I was playing a gig at the bar with my band.
I was singing a song, when I slowly started feeling weak. My vision had started going blurry and my mouth was feeling so dry. I somehow got myself up and went over to the bar, pointing at my bag to the bartender. I grabbed it from him and made my way to outside. There were people outside and I tried getting through them to get to the parking lot but I felt so weak I fell to the ground.

Some people grabbed me and helped me to the bathroom. I leaned against the wall and slowly started checking my blood sugar. It was high, super high.

I then gave myself insulin out of my reserve vial. Now it was really empty. There wasn't any medication left. I could barely catch my breath. Waiting for the medication to work and bring down my sugar.
"Get it together, Cass." I whispered to myself.

(Next Day)
I got to Frankie's house and knocked on the door. After a few seconds, the door opened and Luke appeared in the doorway.
"Oh. Hello, you're not Frankie." I said when I saw him there.

He looked me up and down. I was wearing jean shorts and a t-shirt that said 'the future is female'.
He chuckled a bit and leaned against the doorway, "So, what happens to the men in the future? Is it a plague? Robot wars?" He asked me.
I looked at him, "Do you really wanna know? It doesn't end well for the bros." I said.

He looked behind me, "Is that your car?"
I looked back at my beat-up 1997 Subaru Outback. "My Lexus? Yeah." I scoffed, pushing past him to see Frankie.
"Hey. Dude, the banners." I chuckled as I walked inside.
Frankie chuckles and smiles, "Come on in."
I smiled, seeing the banners, "Your parents are so proud."
"You know my momma." He said.

I looked back at Luke, "Would you mind giving us a minute? Thanks." I said
"Of course." Luke said, going out onto the back porch. "Aw." I said, seeing all the going away decorations.
"Yeah, uh, Mom's going a little crazy with the goodbyes. Leave's over. We're headed to base camp today." He explained.

"Hey, you hungry? Want something?" He asked me. "No, I'm good." I said as I sat down at the kitchen table.
"So, what's the big question, girl?" He asked me as he sat across from me.
"It's, uh... It's gonna sound a little crazy." I nervously laughed.
"I'm ready." He said.

"I was wondering..." I started saying and sighed, feeling nervous asking him for this big of a favor. "I was hoping that you might marry me."
Frankie just laughed, "What?" He asked me.
But I didn't laugh, I looked at him pretty desperately, "I'm serious..." I said, laughing a bit to shake my nerves a bit.
Frankie was still thinking I was joking, "Are you okay?" He asked me.

"Not exactly..." I said, then his demeanor changed, he really knew I was serious. "Um... I found out six months ago that I have diabetes. Type 1. And, uh..." I said and laughed a bit. "Get this. Uh, the insurance I have doesn't actually cover the insulin that I need to like, live... So, I can either pay off my debt, or pay my rent, but I just... I can't do both." I explained.

"I'm so sorry...." Frankie said.
"And I'm like, there's gotta be another way, right? Turns out there is." I said, showing him an article of military couple benefits. "Your friend gave me the idea when you guys came to the bar. Marine spouses get full health benefits. And we get extra pay just for being married. Like basic housing allowance and separation pay, which adds up to be pretty decent, and we could split it, and everybody wins. What do you think?" I asked.
Frankie looked at the article and then at me.
"Take your time." I told him.

Then Luke came barging in, "I'm sorry. My dad's a retired MP." He started saying,
"Excuse me. Private discussion." I told him.
Then Frankie stopped me. "MP is the Military Police."

Luke looked at Frankie, "Frankie, this is a common scam. They kick the tires on these things, and if they find out it's not real, it's fraud. Come on, man. I mean, you're better than this." He told him.

I looked at Luke, "Okay, no one asked you, so could you not? And why wouldn't this be a real marriage? I don't know, because you're not in love? Uh... But we respect each other. We're not in love, but we love each other."
Frankie sighs.
"We'd be able to sleep with other people, which sounds like the healthiest marriage ever." I chuckled a bit.

"You'd be ripping off the government." Luke told me.
"I'd be ripping off the government?"I asked him.
"Yeah."
"The government that made my mom pay taxes for ten years before giving her the right to vote? That government?"
"So your mom was living here illegally then?"

I scoffed at him. "Don't tell me you're a resident of Southern California that does not see how this state was built off the backs of illegal immigrants. Like my mom, who crossed that border, lived here for ten years, worked their asses off for ten years, paying taxes for your government, and were treated like less than citizens. Yeah, I will proudly rip off the government." I said as I looked at him. "You got anything else to say, Commando?"

Luke glared at me and then looked back at Frankie, "Dude, this is a trap. This will not end well for you. I was just trying to help." He said as he then left the room.
I rubbed my face and looked back as he left. "Mmm. Thanks for your help." I said, then looked back at Frankie, "Why is he even here?" I asked.
"He's my bunkmate, okay? He's got nowhere else to stay while we are on leave. Please play nice." He begged.

"So? What do you say about this marriage idea?" I asked him, getting back on topic for what I came here for.
Frankie sighed, "Cass, I can't. Okay? I'm... I'm sorry. Plus, I don't think my girlfriend's gonna understand me having a wife." He said, giving a small smile.

I was confused, "What? You got back together with Riley?" I asked.
Frankie smiled and nodded his head, "Yeah. Yeah. I'm... I'm all in."
"I remember when you met her, like, in fifth grade. That's great. Well... that was crazy." I laughed a bit, embarrassed at this point, "I should go. There are tourists to be shuttled and food to be delivered." I said as I got up.

Frankie got up as well, "Cass, you know if I had the money..." he started to say but I stopped him.
"No, Frankie, stop. I'll figure it out. Stay safe, okay?" I asked him.
Frankie nodded his head, "Yeah, you too."
"Bye." I told him and left his house.

~Luke's POV~
I watched as Cassie left Frankie's house, looking back at him as I came back inside. "Her parents can't help?" I asked him.
"Yeah, um... Her mom's a nursing assistant, so it's not like there's anything extra leftover. Dad dipped out when she was born. Sounds like he was a bad dude." He explained to me.
"That explains a lot." I said and then the door opened.  It was Frankie's family. His little brother ran up to him, then Frankie picked him up and laughed. "Hey! Are you trying to sneak up on me?" He asked his little brother, to which he started giggling uncontrollably.

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