Stripe's
Choice
by: Seven of Nine


“Hey Marty, can ya scratch my back?”

Marty nodded. “Sure Stripe. Where does it itch?”

Stripe pointed to the spot on her back and Marty scratched it. “Thanks. It’s been itchin’ all day an’ it’s been killin’ me.”

Marty nodded. “Uh huh. So, how was sellin’ taday?”

“Terrible. I couldn’t sell my papers till after five, but, there was a guy who gave me a quarter for a paper.”

“A quarter? Cheese, dat guy must be rich ta give ya such a high tip.”

“Well, he certainly wasn’t poor.”

Marty was silent for a minute. “Well, all I can say is dat I think yer lucky. Well, I’m gonna join in dat poker game now, okay?”

Stripe nodded. “Okay.”

Marty got up and walked over to the poker table. Stripe lay back on her bunk and sighed. She and Dutchy were best friends, but just thinking of another guy made her feel kind of bad since Dutchy didn’t know. She continued to think, then Kloppman came upstairs to tell them that they needed to get to bed. Stripe yawned and rolled over her bunk, closed her eyes and fell asleep.

* * *


“Extry! Extry! Bakery burns down! Extry, extry!” Stripe shouted.

“Hey, newsgirl!”

Stripe and Dutchy turned and saw the young man that gave Stripe the quarter the other day. Stripe saw him and walked over to him.

“Good morning, sir. Would you like a paper?” she asked.

The man nodded and reached into his pocket. He pulled out another quarter and handed it to Stripe.

“Here ya are.” He said.

Stripe handed him a paper and took the quarter. “Gee, thanks sir!” she said.

The man smiled and held out his hand. “My name’s John Anderson. What’s yours?”

Stripe shook his hand. “Stripe.”

“Nice ta meet ya, Stripe.”

Stripe nodded and walked back to Dutchy.

“Now what was dat all about?” Dutchy asked.

Stripe shook her head. “I ain’t got a clue, but he was pretty polite.”

“Cool.”

Stripe looked back at John as she and Dutchy moved on. He was looking at her and smiling. Stripe pulled her attention back to the people in front of her and started to call out the headlines. A few hours later, she sold all her papers. Dutchy went back to the lodging house, but Stripe had a craving for chocolate and went to a candy store to buy some with the quarter she had received the day before. When she opened the door, she saw John there, buying some candy. Stripe acted casual as she went up to the counter and looked at the variety of chocolates before her.

“Hello, Stripe.” John said.

Stripe looked at him and nodded. “Hi.” She said, then turned her attention back to the chocolate.

John scooted closer to her and observed the chocolates with her. “Ya know, dose are real tasty.” He said, pointing to a strawberry dipped in chocolate.

Stripe looked and her mouth began to water. “They look good, but I think I’ll just keep looking before I get da wrong one.”

John looked up at the woman behind the counter. “Two chocolate covered strawberries, please.” He ordered.

The woman pulled out some wax paper, took two strawberries and put them in tiny boxes. Then, she handed them to John. He paid her, then picked up one of the boxes and handed it to Stripe.

“Oh, no thank you.” She said.

John shook his head. “Come on, my treat.”

Stripe bit her lip and reached for the tiny box. “Thank you.”

John smiled. “Yer welcome.”

Stripe pulled the strawberry out of the box and bit off the end. It tasted so good that Stripe already wanted another one. She turned toward the door and John followed her.

“Is there somethin’ ya want?” Stripe asked him.

“Not really, I’d jus’ like ta get ta know ya better.” He answered.

“Well, there’s not that much to say except that I’m a newsie, I came here with my best friends, and I got my nickname from a scar on my left leg.”

“How’d ya get the scar?”

“I was helping my mother boil some water, but it got overheated, and it spilled all over my leg. Now, der’s a big scar.”

“That must’ve hurt.”

“Why don’t you tell me about yerself?”

John sighed. “Well, I’m just the same with the ‘not much ta tell’. My parents are in Europe, an’ me brother is coming back tanight from a trip to Canada. He said that when he comes back he wants to get married, then move to Europe for a couple years, then come back to be a philanthropist.”

Stripe nodded. “Sounds like he’s got some pretty big plans fer his future. What’re you planning on doin’ in yer future?”

“The same except fer the part of going to Europe. I just wanna start as soon as I get my money.”

Stripe smiled. As they talked, she found John to be a very sweet young man. So sweet, in fact, that she was beginning to develop feelings for him. She listened as he told her about his trip to France, but her fun was interrupted when a man pulled John around and stuck a gun in his face.

“Gimme yer money, pretty boy.” He snapped.

Without asking questions, John reached into his pocket and pulled out his wallet. The man opened the wallet and looked in.

“You’ve only got five bucks? You’d better say yer prayers!”

The man loaded the gun, but Stripe jumped at him and pulled his arm into the air. The gun went off into and didn’t hit anything, but there was a horse next to John that reared up when the gun went off. While the horse reared, it knocked John to the ground. The police came and took the gunman away, and Stripe rushed to John. His eyes were closed, and he would wake up when she shook him. Finally, Stripe told someone to get a doctor.

* * *


“Excuse me, a man named John Anderson was brought in here just a few minutes ago. What room is he in?” Stripe demanded.

The nurse behind the desk looked up from papers. “Are you family?”

Stripe shook her head. “No, but-”

“I’m sorry, but you can’t see him if you aren’t family.”

Stripe tried to protest, but the nurse got up and left the room. Another nurse was coming in to take her place, but as Stripe stood there, she said something that she really didn’t mean.

“Oh, I was gonna marry him.”

The nurse heard her. “Who’s that you’re looking for, ma’am?” she asked.

Stripe whirled around. “Uh, John Anderson.”

The nurse took her arm. “He’s this way.”

The nurse dragged Stripe down the hall towards a part of the hospital with patients in serious condition. She opened a door and Stripe saw John in a bed with his eyes closed.

“Let him hear your voice.” The nurse said gently.

Stripe sat down in a chair next to the bed and sighed. She was glad that she was by herself, but she knew that someone would come by to see him soon. A little too soon, for once Stripe finished thinking to herself, a young woman and a young man came into the room.

“John?” the woman asked.

She rushed to the bed and looked at her brother, then she turned her attention to Stripe.

“Excuse me, but, who are you?”

“My name’s Stripe, an’ I’m a friend of his.” Stripe answered.

“What happened to him?” the young man asked.

“Some thug tried to rob him, but I stopped the guy an’ a horse reared up an’ knocked ‘im to the ground.”

The man sighed, then held his hand out to Stripe. “My name’s Philip, and you’re Stripe, right?”

Stripe nodded and shook his hand. “Yeah, dat’s it.”

The young woman stood up and nodded. “And my name is Diana. John’s our brother.”

Philip sat down next to Stripe. “So, how’d you meet this here jerk?” he asked.

Stripe chuckled a little bit. “I’se a newsie, an’ I sold some papers to ‘im.”

Philip nodded. “I see.” He pulled out a pocket watch and checked the time. “Oh my, it’s getting late. Diana, I’m going to head back, for my bags are still in the carriage. Are you going to stay here?”

“Yes, I’ll just get a cab to take me back.” Diana answered.

Philip stood up. “May I take you back to your lodging house?” he asked Stripe.

Stripe smiled. “Yes, thank you.”

Philip led Stripe out the door and followed her out of the hospital. A carriage came up and he opened the door and let Stripe in. Stripe got in and sat down. She had never ridden in such a fine thing like a carriage before, so she was a little nervous. When Philip sat down, the carriage started to move.

“So, Stripe, how old are you?” Philip asked.

“Seventeen.” Stripe answered.

Philip nodded. “In case you’re wondering, I just got back from Canada. My uncle lives there, and I was staying with him for a while.”

“So, what’re ya gonna do now that yer back in New York?” Stripe asked.

“Well, I’m going to try to get married, and when I do, I’m going to live in France for a while, then come back and be a philanthropist.”

Stripe smiled. “That sounds like fun.”

The carriage came to a halt in front of the lodging house. Stripe looked out the window and saw the lodging house.

“Thank you, Philip, for the ride.” She said.

Philip smiled. “My pleasure. Good Evening.”

The driver opened the door and let Stripe get out. Stripe waved to Philip as the carriage rode away. Philip nodded to her, and the carriage disappeared. Stripe headed into the lodging house and walked quickly up the stairs. When she opened the door to the room, Jack looked at her as if she were a ghost.

“Where have you been, Stripe? Everyone’s been lookin’ fer ya!” Jack demanded.

Stripe shrugged. “Sorry, but it’s a long story.”

“Well, next time don’t scare us like dat, fer pity’s sake!”

Stripe shook her head and walked over to her bunk. She lay down and thought about Philip and John. Both of them were very nice, but Stripe was one girl that wasn’t in love with money.

“Stripe?”

Stripe looked over and saw Marty leaning over the side of her bunk. Stripe smiled when she looked at Marty.

“What’s so funny?” Marty asked.

Stripe giggled. “Yer hair! It’s all wacky when it’s hangin’ like dat!”

Marty sighed. “Well, where were ya?”

“Jus’ hangin’ around, dat’s all.”

Marty sat up on her bunk. Stripe lay back and continued to think about her new friends. Her thoughts were interrupted when Kloppman came upstairs and told them to get to bed. Stripe rolled over on her bunk and closed her eyes.

* * *


John didn’t wake up for another two weeks. Over those two weeks, Philip would almost always come to see Stripe. Stripe was beginning to think about him more than John, and she knew just about everything about Philip. She was happy he was her friend, but she was surprised when he asked to take her to dinner. Stripe accepted, and nearly went crazy as the time came near for her to go with him. She only had one good dress, so she wore that, but she paced around the room, worried sick about what Philip was going to think about her.

“Calm down Stripe, ya look beautiful an’ yer gonna knock ‘im dead.” Cleopatra told him.

Marty sat Stripe down and French-braided her hair. “Stripe, ya don’t need ta worry about a thing. I’m sure dis is gonna be da best night in yer entire life.”

Stripe shrugged. “I’m sorry, it’s jus’ dat ‘e’s a rich, handsome guy, an’ I’m jus’ a poor street rat.”

“You ain’t a street rat!” Grace said. “Look at ya, you’ve got good looks an’ a great figure. I’m surprised Pulitzer himself hasn’t noticed ya!”

“Actually,” Virginia popped in, “I’ve seen da way a couple a da newsies look at ya, an’ once I saw one a Spot’s newsies lookin’ at ya wit his mouth hangin’ wide open!”

Stripe looked at her feet. “What I’m also nervous about is Dutchy. We’s best friends an’ all, but I don’t want ‘im ta be jealous.”

Marty gently slapped Stripe’s shoulder. “Aw, applesauce, Stripe! Quit movin’ around or dis braid ain’t gonna stay in. Now, as I was sayin’, Dutchy won’t be jealous, an’ I know it. I’m his sister, remember?”

“Yeah, I know yer ‘is sister, but I get da feelin’ dis might discourage ‘im a little bit!”

Grace sat down next to Stripe. “Look Stripe. Dutchy ain’t gonna be jealous or feel left out if yer ‘is best friend! If ‘e’s really yer best friend, ‘e’ll be happy dat yer happy.”

Stripe sighed. “Maybe yer right. I should jus’ stop worryin’ about myself an’ enjoy myself.”

Cleopatra nudged Stripe playfully. “Dat’s da spirit! Now, as soon as Marty’s done, knock ‘im dead.”

Marty pulled a pink ribbon out of her pocket and tied it around the end of the braid.

“All done, Stripe.”

Stripe stood up and turned around. “How do I look?”

“Beautiful.” Marty answered.

“Gorgeous.” Cleopatra said.

“Breath taking.” Grace said.

“Like a princess.” Virginia said.

“Like da prettiest goyl in da woild.”

Stripe turned and saw Dutchy standing in the doorway. Stripe turned as pink as the ribbon in her hair, but Dutchy smiled.

“Yer man’s ‘ere.” He said.

Stripe let out a breath.

“Knock ‘im dead, kid.” Marty told her.

Stripe smiled and walked down the stairs. When she arrived at the foot of the stairs, she saw Philip standing there, talking with Kloppman.

“Oh, there’s the lovely lady now.” Kloppman said when he saw Stripe.

Philip turned and saw Stripe standing there, as pretty as could be. Philip smiled when he saw her, walked to the stairs and offered her his arm.

“May I escort you to dinner?” he asked.

Stripe smiled and took his arm. Philip led her out of the house and helped her into the carriage. As the carriage pulled away, Stripe looked up to see all the girls looking out the window, watching her as they drove off. Stripe then knew that this night was going to be better than she thought.

* * *


Stripe plopped down on her bunk and sighed.

“So, how’d it go?” Marty asked.

Stripe just smiled, but said nothing.

“Come on, I’ve got ants in my pants an’ you’d better shake ‘em out before they start ta bite!” Virginia said.

Stripe started to chuckle, then she sat up and all the girls sat on the bunk with her. Stripe breathed and grinned.

“Come on! I wanna hear what ya did!” Helen said.

Stripe giggled, then spilled the beans. “He kissed me.”

The next thing Stripe knew, she was being mobbed by questions. “Calm down, calm down! Jus’ let me speak an’ you’ll find out what happened!”

The girls fell silent. “Thanks. Now, he took me out to a nice dinner, then we took a walk through Central Park. We talked for a while, then he gave me this.” And she pointed to a bracelet on her wrist.

The girls crowded around to see the bracelet. It was silver, and it had a silver charm in the shape of a heart with a red jewel in the middle.

“Oh Stripe, yer so lucky!” Grace exclaimed.

Stripe beamed. “Ya know, you’d probably think that such a rich guy like Philip would be stuck up, but he’s actually the nicest guy I’ve ever met. We passed by a homeless family of five, and he gave them ten dollars!”

“In my entire life, I’ve never seen or heard of any rich people giving homeless people that much money!” Virginia said.

“Well,” Stripe continued, “we continued to walk through the park, and after he gave me the bracelet, he kissed me.”

Cleopatra sighed. “When I get married, I want a guy like him.”

Stripe laughed. “Then we don’t you marry him yerself?”

All the girls laughed with Stripe. Cleopatra turned bright red.

“I wasn’t that serious!” she shot at them.

No one stopped laughing. Cleopatra turned even redder, then she grabbed Stripe’s pillow and whacked her in the face with it. The girls laughed even harder. Stripe grabbed her pillow and slowly got closer to Cleopatra, who was laughing this time. Stripe lifted the pillow, but Cleopatra ducked when Stripe sent the pillow flying. Instead of hitting Cleopatra, she hit Racetrack.

“Oh, yer gonna pay fer dat.” Race said, and he ran and got his pillow.

Before Stripe knew it, the girls’ and Race’s pillow fight turned into an entire pillow fight. Everyone had joined in the pillow fight and was having a good time. After a while, Kloppman came upstairs and told them that they had to stop. Stripe put her pillow back on her bed and lay down.

“Now that this is all stopped, everyone get to bed!” Kloppman shouted.

Everyone put their pillows back on their beds and got ready for bed.

* * *


A week later, Philip took Stripe out for dinner and an opera. When the opera was over, they walked through Central Park again.

“Stripe?” Philip asked.

“Yes?” Stripe answered.

“Stripe, what’s your real name?”

Stripe looked a little surprised. “Well, why?”

“I’m just a little curious, that’s all.”

“My real name’s Cora Robinson.”

Philip smiled. “That’s a pretty name. Why would you ever want to change it?”

“I didn’t change it. Since I became a newsie, I had to go by nickname, and my nickname was Stripe.”

Philip put his arm around Stripe. “Stripe, I think you’re the most remarkable person I know, and I think I’m in love with you.”

Philip kissed Stripe gently, then he got down on his knee, reached into his pocket and pulled out a little box. He opened the box and handed it to Stripe. Stripe looked in the box. Inside, there was a ring with three gemstones on it. A tear rolled down her cheek.

“Cora Robinson, will you marry me?” Philip asked.

Stripe sniffled and wiped a tear from her eye. “Philip, I love you too, but I can’t answer right now. I need at least a few days to think about this.”

Philip nodded. “That’s fine with me. Would you like to go home and think?”

Stripe nodded and handed him the ring. “Yes thank you. And please, keep this safe until I make up my mind.”

Philip put the box back into his pocket and led Stripe back to the carriage.

* * *


Stripe walked up to the roof, looking off the side and watching Philip as he got into his carriage.

“Hey Stripe!”

Stripe turned around and saw all the girls standing behind her. They rushed up to her and Marty put her arm around her.

“So Stripe, how’d it go? You seem a little sad.”

Stripe sniffled and sat down. “You guys’ll wanna sit down fer dis.”

The girls sat down and looked up at Stripe. Stripe wiped her eyes with the sleeve of her dress and turned to her friends.

“He asked me to marry him.”

The girls gasped. “Really?” Cleopatra asked.

Stripe nodded. “Yes.”

“Well, what did you say?” Helen asked impatiently.

“I said that I needed a few days to think over it.” Tears poured out of her eyes. “I don’t know what to do! No one’s ever asked me to marry them before!”

Marty got up and put her arm around Stripe. “Stripe, do you love him?” she asked.

Stripe nodded. “I do, but I love him for who he is, and not for all his money. Besides, he said that he was gonna be a philanthropist in a few years so he won’t have as much money in the future.”

“I wish we could help you on this, Stripe,” Grace said, “but none of us have ever had anyone propose to us, either. All I can say is that you should do what you want.”

Stripe nodded. “Okay, but I’ll need some time alone to think about it.”

* * *


Stripe felt a little nervous when she went to sell her papers the next day. She was nervous because she was afraid that Dutchy was going to ask her what had happened the night before.

“Extry! Extry! Corpse found underneath Brooklyn bridge! Extry! Extry!” Dutchy shouted.

Stripe breathed as a man bought a newspaper from her.

“Stripe?” Dutchy asked.

Stripe looked at Dutchy. “What?”

“Are you okay? Yer actin’ like yer heart’s jus’ been broken.”

“It’s nuttin’, Dutchy.”

Dutchy shrugged. “If ya say so.”

“Hey Stripe!”

Stripe turned and saw John waving to her. She walked over to him and smiled.

“Hi. Do ya want a paper?” she asked.

John shook his head. “No, this is much more important.”

John reached into his pocket and pulled out a box. He handed it to Stripe. Stripe opened it and found a chocolate-covered strawberry.

“Not to be rude, but what’s so important about a chocolate-covered strawberry?” Stripe asked.

John smiled. “No, that’s not the important thing.” He reached into his pocket and pulled out another box, which he handed to her.

Stripe put the first box in her pocket and opened the second box. In it was a ring, but it had a large diamond on it.

“Stripe, I’m in love with ya, and I wanna marry ya.”

Stripe sniffled. “John, I don’t know how ta tell ya this, but last night, yer brother asked me the same question.”

John looked a little surprised. “Well, will ya?”

Stripe wiped a tear from her eye. “Last night I said I needed a few more days to your brother, and that’ll go for you too.”

John nodded. Stripe handed him the box.

“Keep this handy in case I pick you.”

John took the box and walked away. Stripe turned around and ran back to Dutchy.

“Stripe? Are you okay? You look like you’ve been crying.” Dutchy said.

Stripe sniffled and handed him the rest of her newspapers. “Dutchy, der’s somethin’ I gotta do, so I need ya ta sell da rest a my papes fer me.”

“Whaddaya gotta do?” Dutchy asked.

“That’s my business. Please, I’ve never asked you to do me a favor before, and now I’m asking you to do only one thing for me.”

Dutchy nodded. “Sure. You do what ya gotta do an’ I’ll give ya yer money when I’m done.”

Stripe kissed Dutchy’s cheek. “Thanks a lot, Dutchy. I can’t tell ya how much this means ta me.”

Stripe ran off, and Dutchy touched his cheek. He was surprised with what Stripe had done, but he knew that if she kissed him, it must be extremely important. He hefted the rest of his papers onto his shoulder and continued to call out the headlines.

* * *


Stripe ran to the Anderson’s house and knocked on the door. A minute later, a maid came to the door.

“Yes?” she asked.

“I need to see miss Diana Anderson.” Stripe said.

The maid nodded. “Come in, miss. Miss Anderson will be here shortly. Have a seat in the parlor.”

Stripe walked into the house and sat down on a couch in the parlor. She removed her hat and looked around. She had never seen a more beautiful house in her life.

“Stripe!”

Stripe turned and saw Diana coming into the room. “It’s good to see you, Stripe. John told me that he was going to ask you to marry him.”

Before Stripe could answer, Diana turned to the maid. “Jessica, would you bring us some tea?”

Jessica nodded and left the room. Diana sat down on the couch next to Stripe.

“So Stripe, what did you tell my brother?” Diana asked.

Stripe swallowed. “Well, I have a problem. Last night Philip asked me to marry him, and then John asked me the same thing today.”

Diana looked at her feet. “I see your problem. If you need to know anything, I’ll tell you what I know.”

Jessica arrived with the tea. She placed it on the coffee table in front of them and left the room. Stripe made her tea and took a sip.

“I need you to tell me the truth about both your brothers.” Stripe said.

Diana sighed. “Are you sure you want to know the truth?”

Stripe nodded. “Yes I do. I can’t make my choice if I don’t know what your brothers are like.”

Diana took a sip of her tea. “Well, Philip said that when he came back from Canada he wanted to get married, move to Europe, then come back to America to be a philanthropist.”

“Yes, he told me.”

“Philip is a very charitable young man, even though he’s nineteen. He is a good man with a good heart.”

“Now I’d like to hear about John.”

Diana shrugged. “Well, John has big plans for his life. Right now, all he does during the day is gamble.”

Stripe cut Diana off. “Diana, I want you to know that I want the whole truth. I don’t want to make the wrong choice.”

“All right. John’s plans are to get married, then go travel all around the world, but, he said that there’s no way he’d ever become a philanthropist like his brother.”

Stripe sighed. When she had first met John, he said he would become a philanthropist as soon as possible. Now, Stripe knew exactly who she would pick. She finished her tea and stood up.

“Thank you Diana, you’ve been very helpful.” She said.

Diana stood up. “You’re welcome. I hope that you make the right choice.”

“Me too.”

* * *


Two days passed. Stripe hadn’t seen John or Philip since they had proposed to her. All the girls knew why she was so concerned, but none of the boys could figure it out. Dutchy tried to find out through Marty, but she wouldn’t say a thing. Stripe soon became anxious and decided to find Philip and John to tell them her decision. She was about to step outside when she heard someone say her name. She turned around and saw Dutchy standing there.

“What can I do fer ya?” Stripe asked.

Dutchy sighed. “Stripe, you’ve been actin’ pretty torn ‘bout somethin’ fer da past two days, an’ I’se wonderin’ if ya wanted ta talk about it.”

Stripe closed her eyes. This was the moment she had been dreading since Philip had proposed to her. She sighed and sat down on the bench.

“Dutchy,” she said, “I think ya might find this hard fer me ta say, but…well…um…”

Dutchy sat down next to Stripe. “Youse can tell me anythin’, Stripe.”

Stripe swallowed. “I…I…I’ve had two marriage proposals.” She blurted out.

She looked at Dutchy. He was surprised, and Stripe looked at her feet. She knew she had hurt his feelings.

“Is that why you’ve been avoiding me fer the past few days?” Dutchy asked.

Stripe shook her head. “No, all I could think of was picking which one to say yes to.”

“Did ya make yer choice?”

“Yeah, an’ I was headin’ out da door ta tell ‘im.”

Dutchy stood up. “Well, then you go an’ tell ‘im.”

Stripe smiled and headed out the door. When she shut it, Philip’s carriage came up. Philip jumped out of the carriage, and he looked sad about something.

“Cora,” he said, “I came to say good-bye.”

Stripe was stunned. “Good-bye? Why?”

Philip looked at his feet. “Diana told me that John also proposed to you, so I’m going to Paris. I’m not going to stand in your way.”

Stripe walked up to Philip and put her hand on his cheek. “Philip, you don’t understand. John’s not the one I love. You are.”

Philip looked up and took Stripe’s hand. “Do you really mean it?”

Stripe smiled. “You know I do.”

Philip kissed her. Stripe knew that she would not regret making this choice. When Philip stopped, he reached into his pocket and pulled out the ring. He slipped it onto Stripe’s finger and kissed her again.

“I have to go back home and tell my family.” He said.

Stripe nodded. “Okay. I hafta tell my family too.”

Philip nodded, kissed her again, then stepped into his carriage and waved good-bye. Stripe waved back to him, then went back into the lodging house. She walked up the stairs to the room and plopped onto her bunk.

“Stripe?”

Stripe looked and saw all her girlfriends standing by her bunk. Marty was pointing to her left hand. Stripe looked at her hand and smiled.

“I’m getting married.”

All the girls crowded around and they each gave her a hug.

“When are ya gettin’ married?” Grace asked.

“We haven’t decided yet, but we’ll get together soon and discuss it.” Stripe answered.

Marty sat down next to Stripe. “I can’t believe my best friend’s gettin’ married.” She said.

“I know, but I know that I’ve made the right choice, and there’s no way I’m not gonna marry him.”

Marty hugged Stripe again, and Stripe knew that this was the best day of her life.