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"Who is here? Am I ready for what?" No sooner had the words left Kates an First ca rack full of floor-length gowns Next, Marah and Tully and Mom crowded into the small space

"Okay, Dad," Marah said "No boys allowed "

Johnny kissed Kates cheek and left the room

"The only good thing about being rich and fas about it, but one of the best is that if you call Nordstroms and say please send h six, they do it "

Marah came to the side of the bed "I couldnt pick out my first prom dress without you, Mom "

Kate didnt know if she wanted to laugh or cry, so she did both

"Dont worry," Tully said "I explicitly told the saleswoman to leave the skanky dresses in the store "

At that, they all laughed

As the weeks passed, Kate felt herself weakening Despite her best efforts and her purposely optian to fail in a dozen little ways A word she couldnt find, a sentence she couldnt finish, a treers that wouldnt still, a nausea that all too often became unbearable, and the cold She was always chilled to the bone

And then there was the pain By late July, when the nights began to grow longer and had the sweet sultry taste of a ripe peach, she had nearly doubled her e and no one cared As her doctor said, "Addiction isnt your problem now "

She was a good enough actress that no one see Oh, they knew she had to use the wheelchair to get to the beach, and that she often fell asleep well before the nightly movie started, but in these days of summer, the household was in a constant state of flux Tully had taken over Kates daytime routine as best she could, which left Kate time to work on her journal Sometimes, lately, she worried that she wouldnt have tiht scared her

The funny thing was that dying didnt Not so ht about The End, but even those were becoht: Let me rest

She couldnt say that, though Even to Tully, whod listen to her for hours and hours Whenever Kate brought up the future, Tully flinched and made a smart-ass comment

Dying was a lonely business

"Mo the door open