Author's Note: Thanks for your infinite patience, readers. This chapter is a little bit different. I've been indulging in fairly long installments -- 20K words and beyond -- of late, but I felt that there was a better natural breaking point at a shorter interval here. I wanted both the plot points here and the party to come to get their own treatment. I think you'll find it's worth it. Thanks for all the great feedback. I hope you enjoy this one. We're entering some new territory as the Katie book wraps up over the next few chapters. But fear not. We will continue. Because Traffic Girl: Stephanie will be right behind this one!
* * *
The news about Kelly was bad. A worst-case scenario. She had been diagnosed with stage four metastatic breast cancer. It had spread to her lymph nodes and her lungs. In the few days after Kat received the initial phone call, and the shock wore off, we were able to get more detailed information. She had been experiencing symptoms -- dizziness, loss of balance, fever, and some aches and pains -- for several weeks. She dismissed it as fatigue and partying too much, but once she fainted one night while getting ready for bed, she knew she had to see a doctor.
When she called Kat, it was to break the news. It would be impossible to keep it under wraps because Kelly planned to move back to Los Angeles full-time to get intensive treatment at City of Hope. She was a fighter and planned to throw everything she could at it. The doctors told her that, with some luck, she had about a twenty-percent chance of surviving for three years. She would start chemotherapy and radiation immediately, along with an experimental course of immunotherapy that had shown strong promise. I admired the optimism and fight Kelly exhibited. She put forth the facade, at least, of being a pillar of strength.
Kat, however, did not. She was devastated. We all were, to a certain extent, because the prognosis was so bad. But Kat and Kelly had been close for so long, and Kelly had played such a central role in mentoring Kat in so many aspects of life, she felt like she was losing a friend as well as a surrogate sister.
That sudden, encroaching sense of loss -- even though Kelly was still with us, and hopefully would be for a long time to come -- made me worry. It made all of us worry. Kat hadn't always handled stresses like this very well. She knew it, too. We talked about it, and we came up with a plan that, in Kat's mind, would address any fears we had about slipping into dangerous behavior.
"I am going to do for Kelly what Katie did for you when you were doing physical therapy," Kat said. "I'll be with her at every doctor's appointment. Every treatment. I'm going to be her nurse, just like Katie was for you."
Kat had just come back from City of Hope after dropping Kelly at her house. She had no family in LA, and her friend network needed some work after the time she had spent in Las Vegas. The five of us were smoking marijuana from the hookah on our deck by the pool. Kat sat on my lap. It wasn't sexual. She needed comfort. Her head was nestled in the crook of my arm when she wasn't taking a hit, and I could feel her body trembling from the stress and emotion she'd been feeling.
"Maybe Kelly would want to come for dinner?" Jess suggested. "Low-key. Takeout. Something easy."
"I don't know," Kat said. "She hasn't really seemed like she's wanted to be social."
"What if you went to her place?" Rita offered. "Do like a girls' night sleepover?"
"That's not a bad idea," Kat said, her voice trailing off as she picked up her phone and started tapping out a text.
"You could take her a care package from us," Katie said. "I mean, she's going to be dealing with a lot, so I presume weed would have a medical purpose here, for example."
"Yes!" Kat said, suddenly coming alive. "And Kelly jumped at the sleepover idea. Is that okay? I mean, I don't want to just leave you all behind."
"You need to go, Kat," Rita said.
"She's always been there for you," I said, visions of Kat's escape to LA when she needed it years ago jumping through my brain. "It's what we do."
"Okay," Kat said. "Thank you."
She burst into tears. The facade of strength she had put up crumbled before our eyes. I could see the fear in her face. It hit me like a sharp, stabbing pain to see the anguish she felt. The reality of Kelly's condition was a very heavy, very dark cloud hanging over all of us. She had always been a carefree, generous friend. We were going to have to follow her example and return the favor as she faced a seemingly insurmountable condition.
* * *
Kelly's tragic news was just another serious item for us to contend with. There was a lot swirling around after our indulgent weekend cruise. I had the Old Katie issue to bring to resolution. Katie was close to putting the finishing touches on a full demo of her first album, and she had hinted she had a surprise for us regarding it. Rita also intimated that she would have something notable to tell us soon, and it made me supremely curious. She had spent loads of time with Juliet and Riley recently, but she was tight-lipped about why. Crystal was also about to film her first feature as a pornstar. To date, she had only done a few web scenes. And, of course, Juliet's new movie with Carly was having a red-carpet premiere in a week. As a companion to that, Jess was planning a special after-party at Hollywood & Vine.
The movie was going to be a huge event. After the title and plot had been kept under wraps for so long, we were finally learning about it. It was called Tapestry of Scars, and the more we heard, the more excited we got. Juliet played the daughter to Carly's role as the mother. They had been estranged for years, but reunite when Juliet's father dies, and Juliet returns home for the funeral. There, Juliet learns that her entire family history isn't what she believed. That's as far as she would go in teasing us with information, so we were incredibly excited to finally see the end product. I could tell Juliet was proud of it. Anytime she spoke about the film, her voice cracked, and I could see the emotion welling up in her eyes. I felt how powerfully the role had affected her. I knew in my bones it had to be a legitimate work of art.
Also in the realm of art, Katie revealed her surprise to me privately. As a poly group, we had maintained the habit of carving out one-on-one time with me and each of the girls. It was usually once a week that was just our private time to connect and spend it as we pleased. It might be an hour or two; it might be half a day. It was very free-form and flexible. That first night Kat spent at Kelly's, Katie and I were together in our bedroom. We had made love, sober and tenderly, when she told me she couldn't hold back her secret any longer. Riley had collaborated with her on a track for the album. They sang it as a duet, and she was over-the-moon excited about it. She played it for me from her phone, where she had stored it as an MP3.
"It's called 'Fast Friends,'" she explained before pressing play.
There was just a soft piano backing this demo version of it, but it instantly struck me.
(Katie)Empty coffee cups and lonely sighs
Another day fading, beneath the weary skies
Then you walked in, a whirlwind of bright hues
Suddenly the world felt new, and the shadows withdrew
(Riley) I was searching, you were lost
Two ships adrift, at any cost
We collided, a spark ignited
A laughter shared, a bond invited
(Both) Fast friends, forged in a moment's grace
A silent understanding, a shared embrace
Two souls connecting, a rhythm so true
Fast friends, me and you
(Katie) Remember that cafe, the rain on the pane
Pouring our hearts out, again and again
Secrets whispered, dreams we dared to chase
A bond unbreakable, time and space
(Riley) Through laughter and tears, through triumphs and fears
You've always been there, to calm my doubts and fears
A shoulder to lean on, a hand to hold tight
Guiding me onward, in the fading light
