#3172: Fifteen Years

[The panels from the older strips are presented in gray.]

[Randall (drawn as Cueball) and Randall's fiancée (drawn as Megan) sit on a bed, Randall's fiancée is talking on the phone. The person she is talking to, a doctor holding a clipboard, is shown inset.]

Randall's fiancée: Oh god.

[Randall and Randall's fiancée sit together while Randall's fiancée, now bald, is receiving chemotherapy. They are both on their laptops.]

IV pump: ... Beeep ... Beeep ... Beeep ...

[Randall and Randall's fiancée (who is wearing a knit cap) are paddling a kayak against a scenic mountain backdrop.]

[Randall and Randall's fiancée sit at a table, staring at a cell phone. There is a clock on the wall. Her head is stubbly.]

Randall's fiancée: How long can it take to read a scan!?

[Randall and Randall's fiancée are back at the hospital again, Randall's fiancée receiving chemo. They are playing Scrabble.]

Randall: "Zarg" isn't a word.

Randall's fiancée: But caaaancer.

Randall: ...Ok, fine.

[Randall and Randall's fiancée (wearing a knit cap) are listening to a Cueball-like friend. A large thought bubble is above their heads and it obscures the friends talk. The text below, split in three is the only part there can be no doubt about:]

Friend: So next year you should come visit us up in the mounta

Randall and Randall's fiancée (thinking): "Next year"

[Randall and Randall's fiancée are getting married, with a heart above their heads. Randall's wife's hair is growing back.]

[Randall and Randall's wife (wearing a knit cap) stand on a beach, watching a whale jump out of water.]

Fwoosh

[Randall and Randall's wife (with her hair noticeably longer) are walking through a forest.]

[Randall's wife is sitting down, not in the forest anymore.]

Randall's wife: My toe hurts and I found a report of a case in which toe pain was an early sign of cancer spreading.

Randall: Wait—didn’t you stub your toe yesterday?

Randall's wife: Yes, but what if this is unrelated?

[Randall and his wife are going spelunking. The guide is gesturing deeper into the cave while Randall and his wife are climbing down.]

[Randall's wife stands on a rock above an alligator in a swamp, photographing the alligator. Randall is on a balcony behind safety railings.]

Randall: When they estimated your survival odds, I think they made some optimistic assumptions about your hobbies.

[Randall's wife sits on an examination bed, listening to a doctor holding a clipboard.]

Doctor: This is probably nothing.

Doctor: But given your history, we should do a full scan.

Doctor: We'll call with the results in a few days. Try not to worry about it until then!

[Randall and his wife stand above a deep pond full of fish and other objects. Randall's wife is piloting a wired underwater camera with lights.]

[Randall and his wife are standing next to each other. Randall's wife has shoulder-length hair covering most of her face.]

Randall's wife: Hard to believe—six years ago, I was bald. But today, after a long struggle, I finally look like the little girl from The Ring.

Randall: That's, uhh... good?

Randall's wife: Hissssss

[A line of six people, including Randall and his wife, stand and watch the solar eclipse.]

[Randall and his wife are sitting in a room with five bunnies sitting around and on them. The Poster on the wall reads: Rabbit rescue.]

Randall: Do you think they're socialized enough?

Randall's wife: This one might need one more head pat.

[Randall is running and pushing his wife on a hand cart.]

Someone off-panel: Has anyone seen the hand cart?

Randall's wife: Wheee!

[Randall and his wife walks up hill with snowy mountains near by and in the background. his wife is gesturing to something ahead of them.]

[A large dark panel, to the right of the previous three, to the left in two rows. Randall and his wife sits, leaning back on their hands looking up, at the end of a pier going into a lake. The end is broader and they sit to each side of the middle of the pier. It is night and behind the lake there is a forest of pine trees. Above the three is a clear starlit night sky with hundreds of stars and the band of the Milky Way clearly visible. The trees and some of the stars are reflected in the water of the lake, distorted by the movements of the water. There is a box with the words "Ten Years" in the center of the image.]

[Randall and his wife are cuddling in their bed together. Randall is presumably reading from the book he is holding in his hand, Moominland Midwinter.]

Randall's wife: One more chapter?

Randall: Don't we both have to get up early tomorrow?

Randall's wife: Nnnnnggggh

Randall: Sure, good point.

[Randall and his wife are walking through a city. In the background is Hairy, Ponytail, and White Hat. Everyone is wearing a face mask and looking on their cellphones. On the phone are various graphs of COVID-19 statistics.]]

[Randall is wearing a beanie and a scarf, while his wife is wearing a matching scarf. Randall is holding out his hand to feed birds birdseed, while his wife is holding a cellphone with a bird on it.]

Randall: Hah! They like my seeds best.

Randall's wife: Wait, how do I take a picture of this one?

[Randall and his wife are kayaking in a river. There are 3 fluffy clouds in the sky and 6 birds. A forest grows on the riverbank, which is partially covered by reeds. There are lily pads on the river and a small turtle is on one of them.]

[Randall is lying in bed with his head propped up by 3 pillows, facing his wife. She is holding a large pile of items in her hands: a takeout box, a pillow, two blankets, a pill box, and a mug.]

Randall's wife: I brought you honey lemon tea, more pillows, a cinnamon roll, Tylenol, another blanket, a—

Randall: It was just appendicitis, I'm really—

Randall's wife: It is my turn to take care of you and I'm going to do it right!

[Randall and his wife are sitting in their car, still and in shock. Randall is in the driver's seat.]::

[Randall and his wife are still sitting in the same position in their car.]

Randall's wife: Oh my god.

Randall: Oh my god.

[The car is moving quickly and gravel can be seen bouncing up behind the car, as well as exhaust.]

Randall's wife: Pull over!

Randall: I am!

[The car has been parked and Randall and his wife are scrambling to get out of the car.]

[Randall and his wife are standing by the edge of a lake. The color is inverted, with the background geography black and their bodies white. A beautiful aurora of reds and greens is spread across the night sky.]

[Randall's wife is leaning against a tree and Randall is lying down on the grass looking up towards the sky.]

Randall's wife: Fifteen years. No signs of cancer.

[Zoom in of Randall's wife's face.]

Randall's wife: I am having some weird symptoms. Joint pain. Fatigue. I think I'm losing my close-up vision.

Off panel voice: Yeah. Me too.

[Zoom out, back to the original panel with the tree on the hill. Randall's wife is facing down towards Randall.]

Randall: I think we're getting old.

[Randall's wife is looking forward again.]

Randall's wife: I guess that's okay.

Randall: It's all I wanted.