Diane's death was mercifully sudden, the cancer raced through her body like a wildfire in a drought stricken forest the last month of her life. She had a feeling something was wrong but waited until her regular visit with her doctor to discuss the pains she felt within her. Unfortunately at that point it was too late. She did get to see her daughter Jordan graduate from college and Kelsey graduate from high school that last May. Her funeral was subdued with a few close family and friends attending. She had kept in contact with most of her sorority sisters from San Diego State and they had collected money to help out the family since Diane couldn't work her last month. Her "big sis" Janelle had been the closest of all the women she knew.
Over the years, Janelle had visited Diane's modest Montana spread several times to get away from her hectic life in Los Angeles. Janelle had been a 4.0 student at State, but got more attention for her looks than her brains. She capitalized on that, becoming a model and making a few million walking around in clothes she'd never actually wear. After twenty years playing mannequin, feeling squeezed out by younger women, she opened up her own modeling and production company. Her times at Diane's gave her a chance to relax and get back to the real world.
Janelle's visits seemed like Christmas to Jordan and Kelsey, complete with presents and stories of her life in L.A. Diane in turn sent pictures of the girls' birthdays, parties and their vacations to keep their "aunt" updated. Janelle mailed checks on special occasions to the girls as gifts when she couldn't be there. Diane made sure the girls wrote letters to thank her. They considered Janelle a doting aunt and looked forward to her visits and the stories she'd tell of the celebrities in L.A. that only she knew about.
Janelle flew into Billings as soon as she could, the call from Dave wasn't meant to alarm her. She knew Diane was sick, he just didn't tell her how sick. Dave and the girls met her at the airport, they all tried to look happy but Janelle knew it was a facade. The ride to their ranch was pleasant, the girls talked about their upcoming graduations avoiding talking about their mother. The view along the highway provided a stark contrast to the vibes she was feeling from her best friend's family. The hills were filled with an array of wildflowers, the various ranches they passed by contained new born calves playing and suckling their mothers. The girls made sure to point them out, giggling and laughing as they did.
Janelle was encouraged by their lightheartedness, hoping that her sense of dread wouldn't become a reality. When they arrived the girls took her bags to the spare room as Dave escorted her to Diane's room. They had set up one of the guest rooms for her, one that looked out over the pastures to the east. It seemed to be more hopeful to them than one of the other rooms facing west which showed the sunsets and the end of the day. It was all symbolic and subconscious, they wanted to keep Diane's spirits up to help her battle her disease.
When Janelle walked in Diane's face lit up, they hugged as Dave excused himself to let them talk. Except for the tubes extending out from the machines she was hooked up to Janelle would never have guessed her friend was sick. She sat down after pulling a chair closer to the bed so they could talk.
"How do you like my new friend?" Diane spoke, her voice a bit raspy.
"I've seen worse, sweetheart." Janelle smiled patting Diane's exposed hand.
"It doesn't get much worse than this, believe me. The doctors say I have till the end of the year. I don't believe them. The pain is too great and I don't think I can go that long. Besides I don't want the girls remembering me as a vegetable."
"You've always been a cute tomato to me, silly woman." Janelle did her best to hold back the tears but Diane could see through it.
"Oh, don't start crying, you'll have me doing it too and we need to talk first. Go get changed, relax and have something to eat. I'll be here for awhile longer."
"I'm fine right here, the girls have gotten so big they are more like young women now I should say. You've done a great job with them, sweetness."
"Thanks, I've had some help. Dave is a great dad, I know they will all be fine once I'm gone. I do want to talk to you about a few things. We can do that a bit later. The meds are kicking in and I'm feeling it. Go relax and take a look around. We've made some changes plus we have a couple of new foals the girls are dying to show you."
"Okay, I'll get settled in and we can talk. Then in a couple of days you and I can go riding, maybe up to that little pond we both enjoy so much."
"Oh my, you frisky bitch! You don't want to see this body naked, believe me. I would love to do that though. You always know the right buttons to push." Diane managed a smile, squeezing Janelle's hand as best she could.
"I'll be back in a bit. Don't go anywhere," Janelle teased stifling a sniffle.
"Not to worry, lover." Diane managed just as her eyelids closed signaling the medications taking hold.
Janelle left Diane to sleep, she recalled the small pond that years ago they had ridden to. It wasn't meant to be an all-day outing. They were riding enjoying the sunshine and clean air when they came upon a small pond on the outskirts of the ranch. The cattle didn't graze this portion so the pond banks were clean. The sun was getting warmer as they rode up to it. Diane suggested they let the horses drink while they walked around and talked. They dismounted, releasing the reins and let the horses fend for themselves.
There was a small group of boulders with a few trees scattered among them which offered a bit of shade for them to relax in. Diane sat, her back against one of the massive rocks, soaking up the sun while watching the horses drink and graze.