I arrived in Newark in the early morning hours but Jordan was there none-the-less. She was waiting outside of the airport in front of a limo.
"Jordie! A limo?"
"Managers gotta ride in style. How are you?"
"Can we talk about that later? I want to know if you can keep a secret."
"Of course I can. Caryn?"
"What?"
"You're not pregnant are you?"
"Why does everyone keep asking me that? No! Lance and I broke up. He's history."
"Oh really?"
I climbed into the limo as the driver loaded my bag. Jordan climbed in next to me.
"He cheated on me with Danielle Fischer."
"You're serious, aren't you?"
My head started hurting again, so I grabbed a bottle of water off the minibar, and took my pills.
"You're on medication now?"
"Jordan, you have to swear you will never tell anyone what I am about to tell you."
"Hope to die, stick a needle in my eye."
"I have a brain tumor Jordie. I have cancer, and I'm dying rather quickly."
Jordan was silent for a moment, slowly recovering from shock.
"How long do you have Caryn?"
I sighed. "Let's just say that this is going to be the last trip of my life."
~AT THE CHURCH~
I was so happy to see Jaimie on the alter, going through her confirmation pratice. It almost made me want to cry. The thought of never seeing again. The thought of not seeing any of them ever again was too much. I had to excuse myself to the bathroom to get a tissue. I was just outside the bathrooms, but I could barely read the lable. Unbeknownst to me, I had walked into the Men's room.
Fortunately a man inside notified me to my mistake.
"I'm so sorry!" I yelped as I ran out. He followed me, smiling.
"It's okay. Forget your glasses?"
"Actually, I don't have glasses. I have this condition, and it's really affecting my eyesight. I should really get some, huh?"
"Yeah. I'm Shawn Davids."
"Caryn Wolf. Do you by any chance know Chris Kirkpatrick?"
"Yeah, he's my best friend. How do you know him?"
"I'm his road manager. He asked me to look you up. I guess I, uh, didn't have to."
"I would ask to go for some coffee, but I'm here with my friend Justin and his niece. Do you have his number by any chance?"
"Oh yeah. Hold on."
I wrote down Chris's number, gave it to Shawn, said bye, and returned to my seat. The practice was over soon, and it was to the house and to bed with me.
Tomorrow was confirmation, and in two weeks was the funeral.