Wish Upon a Star (26 page)

Cinnamon rolls were, next to honey buns, the single greatest
edible items on earth. That was one of the major benefits of being a
cyclist. I generally ate a healthy, balanced diet, but since I also
burned way more calories than the average person, I could indulge
in cinnamon roll decadence without worries.

"For cinnamon rolls, I'll totally be on my best
behavior."

Annie sashayed up to me and draped her arms over my
shoulders. The look she was giving me sent my temperature into
orbit. "Your best behavior... I hope that means you'll be very good at
being bad...later on."

I swallowed and forced myself to breathe. No matter what,
Annie could always send my hormones into hyper drive, even at the
bat of a barely-there eyelash.

When I failed to respond, she winked and kissed me. I was
ready to sweep her up and take her to the bedroom right then, but
she danced away with a little laugh. "I promised Randi we'd help set
up, so it's time to hit the shower. I want to be out of here in an
hour."

* * * *

Ryan greeted us when we rang their door bell. He ushered
us in with his usual nervous smile. Even after everything the four of
us I had been through, he was still star-struck. It seemed his crush on
her, combined with the cancer, had made him scared of Annie. I
knew it was like a knife to the gut to her—we'd discussed it one
tear-filled night shortly after her surgery—but she never let on in his
presence. We both knew he wished for nothing but the best for her.
That was what really mattered.

She held her arms out to him. "I get a hug from our
handsome host, yes?"

He glanced at me, eyes wide, clearly not certain how to
respond.

"She's a little sore on the front, so hugs from the side work
best these days."

He wrapped one arm around Annie and gave her a little
squeeze. In return she gave him a peck on the cheek. "That's better.
Now where may I find your lovely wife?"

"She's in the back yard, working on decorations."

"In that case, ta ta for now." Annie gave us a little wave and
skipped away.

Once the party got going, Ryan manned the grill while I
handled the bar. Annie flitted among the gathering. She was clearly
enjoying being outdoors on a beautiful evening among people who
were content to let her be Annie instead of Cassandra. I didn't know
many of the guests. Most of them were evidently friends or clients of
Ryan's or Miranda's. They seemed to be nice folks, and many of them
went out of their way to make us feel welcome.

I was having a great time simply watching Annie enjoy
herself. She'd been through so much, she'd definitely earned a
lifetime of nights like this. She seemed happy. It was shortly after
everyone had eaten that any doubts about her emotional state were
tossed aside like an empty water bottle by a Tour de France
rider.

I was pouring her a glass of sparkling water when a guy
who'd been an obnoxious jerk all night joined us. He was a neighbor
who Miranda and Ryan tolerated because he was the head of the
neighborhood watch. They'd told us to do our best to ignore him.
When he placed a bandaged hand on the counter, Annie disregarded
that advice and asked him about it.

He stood up a little taller and puffed out his chest. "I was
working on one of my cars, a custom 'Vette when the wrench I was
using slipped. Cut my hand right open."

Annie grimaced. "Ow, that had to hurt like the devil."

The hair on the back of my neck stood on end. I knew where
this was going.

"A little. The doctor said the cut was pretty deep. He had to
put a dozen stitches in it."

She whistled and glanced at me. I shook my head in false
sympathy.

At her encouragement, the guy went on. "The doctor said
another half inch either way and I might have lost use of a finger or
two." He knocked back his mixed drink and jiggled the empty glass in
front of me. His focus remained on Annie while I poured him
another.

"It's almost healed, but the doctor says it's going to leave a
nasty scar." He shook his head. "Wouldn't wish something like this
on anybody."

Annie nodded. "I can identify."

The guy snorted. It was obvious he had no idea who Annie
was, or what she'd been through. "A little thing like you? How's
that?"

Annie stood up straight and looked him in the eye. She was
smiling, but her eyes were cold.

"About six weeks ago, I underwent a double mastectomy. In
case you're unfamiliar with the term, I had to have my breasts
removed because cancer had been found in them." She drew a line
across her chest with her index finger. "I'm not certain how many
stitches I got, but I've got a couple of respectable scars myself. Care
to compare?"

The guy took a step back, glanced at me and then down at
his watch. "Uh, no. I didn't mean anything, I mean... I need to be
going." He slugged down his drink and waddled away from us at just
short of a run.

I looked at Annie for a moment before exchanging a fist
bump with her. "That was brilliant. A little mean, though."

She sipped her water. "Randi's told me how much of a
pompous ass that guy can be. Just because he's the head of the
neighborhood watch, he acts all self-important. I saw a chance to put
him in his place and took it."

I marveled at the lengths Annie would go for her friend.
"You are one amazing woman. You know that?"

Her cheeks flushed. "Thank you. Now why don't you take me
home, so I can show you just how amazing I am in a few other ways,
yes?"

With an invitation like that, I made sure we said our
goodbyes and got out of there in no time flat.

The album and DVD were released the day after Labor Day.
Annie's demeanor changed a full one hundred eighty degrees the
day they came out. With the interviews and the promotional efforts
out of the way, it was like a couple of thousand-pound weights had
been lifted from her shoulders. She still had a lot on her mind, what
with radiation still going on and the wedding only a month away
now. But once release day was in the rear view mirror, she smiled
more often and sighed a lot less.

One day, after we were finished meeting with the wedding
planner, I couldn't help myself. "You kind of surprised me in there.
When the planner mentioned the increased cost of the flowers, I
thought you might get a little ticked off. I'm glad it didn't seem to
bother you that much."

"I'm not going to lie. I'm not happy with it. But it's a small
thing, and I'm trying to teach myself to not sweat the small stuff and
go with the flow, shall we say."

I gave her a high five. "Good for you. I'm happy you realize
your control freakishness can be a problem at times."

"Uh." She elbowed me. "I'm hardly a control freak. And even
if I was, which I am not, by the way, it's only because I have to
expend so much of my energy keeping you in line."

We kept needling each other all the way home, each volley a
little more outrageous and a lot more laughter inducing. When we
got out of the car, Annie wrapped her arms around me. It was
nowhere as forceful as hugs from the past, but it was the best she
could manage these days.

"You're so fun to tease, and you make me laugh. How did I
get so lucky finding you?"

I took my time answering while I gazed into her eyes.
Despite her words, I knew I was the lucky one. "It wasn't luck Annie.
You chose to give us a chance. Way back in the park in Malibu. Two
years ago today, as a matter of fact."

Her eyes went wide. "Oh my lord, you're right. Has it really
only been two years? It seems so much longer with all we've been
through."

"Yeah, but that's nothing compared to what we've got
waiting for us. It's about time you finally got that happily ever
after."

She leaned in to kiss me, but just as our lips were about to
touch, her phone went off. She patted me on the chest after a glance
at her phone. "It's Randi. I'd better get this."

I was mixing up some iced tea in the kitchen when she came
through the door. "The girls are picking me up in an hour and then
we're off for our final dress fittings. I need to decide on a veil today,
too."

In a rare display of indecision, she had been going back and
forth for weeks about what to do with her hair for the wedding. She
was happy to have it growing back, but since it still looked like a
buzz cut, styling it wasn't an option. She'd toyed with the idea of
shaving it all off as an homage to her journey, but had decided
against it.

Samantha had suggested a wig. Annie gave it some thought,
but decided since she hadn't worn one yet, she wasn't going to get
one for the sake of a few pictures.

One day she'd even asked me what I thought she should do.
I'd tried to ignore the question for over an hour. I'd even gone so far
as sneaking out and going for a walk, but Annie had heard me and
followed. When I had to stop to let a car cross at Sixty-Fifth Street,
she cut in front of me.

"Please, E.J. I really want to know what you think. "

After leading her to a bench outside the ice cream shop, I
took her hand and massaged the palm while I searched for the right
words.

"You're going to be gorgeous whatever you decide. That
dress you picked out is amazing. Look it at this way. Staci doesn't
have much hair either and Miranda always keeps hers short, so your
hair length will fit right in. The people who'll be there are family and
friends. The only thing they'll care about is that you're happy and
healthy. So don't worry about it."

"Easy for you to say." She huffed and stomped off.

After a minute or two, I got in line for an ice cream cone. She
returned just as I'd placed my order and insisted on paying. "It's the
least I can do after...that. I'm sorry. I know you're trying to help. I
think I'm going to go with a veil. I don't want anything too showy,
but something that will cover enough of my head to minimize the
hair's shortness."

And now that Miranda and Staci had arrived, it was decision
time. I told Annie it was totally fine with me if she wanted to keep
the veil a surprise.

"I suppose that's only fair, since you won't even give me a
hint at what your whatever-you-want-to-call-it looks like." She
poked me in the ribs with her index finger.

"Paul and Dave will be in traditional black suits with bow
ties to match your bridesmaids' dresses. Because bow ties are cool.
That's all you need to know. "

She tried to glare at me, but a snicker from Staci in the
background didn't help her cause. Annie wheeled on her. "You know
something, don't you? Come on, out with it."

While Staci shook her head so fast I was afraid she'd get
motion sickness, I dropped into my chair. "She doesn't know a thing,
my dear North Star. She's actually been pestering me about it more
than you have." Annie stole a look at Miranda. "Neither does she, nor
does her husband. Knowing you, I've chosen to keep this little secret
to myself."

"I must admit, I'm impressed McCarty." Annie picked up her
wedding planning bag. "All right ladies, let's do this. And we're not
telling that little snot anything about the veil I choose."

* * * *

As the days in September wound down, so did the number
of Annie's radiation remaining radiation treatments. Unfortunately,
with each passing day, her energy level continued to decline.

"I'm just constantly exhausted," she said one morning over
breakfast. "I know I've only got a week's worth of radiation left, but if
this keeps up, I don't see how I'm going to be able to get out of bed
by the time I'm finished." Her eyebrows had returned enough that I
could see they were knitted.

"What's Doctor Francis say?"

She drummed her fingers on the table. "Nothing terribly
helpful. Some women make it through radiation with no ill effects
beyond the obvious ones to the skin. Others experience increasing
levels of fatigue as radiation progresses. Nobody really knows why. I
appear to be one of the lucky latter group."

"Okay, you're finished next Friday morning. Once you're
done, you can come home and sleep until Saturday afternoon if you
want. I'll bet my lunch money by that time, you'll be plenty rested for
your bachelorette party. Then if you need to sleep all week to get
ready for the wedding, go for it. I can be quiet."

"Make it to the next weekend, and then sleep for a week.
That sounds pretty good."

"That's my girl. So what's Miranda got cooked up for
you?"

"Since I insisted on including Staci, it's going to be all-ages
for a while. We're going to dinner and the Broadway Across America
show. Then we'll take Staci home. Randi says she's taking us to a
martini bar after that."

"Cool. Anyone besides you and Miranda?" I had my fingers
crossed. The more I got Annie talking about the party, the more she'd
use it as her focus to get through this final week of treatment.

"Beth and Ash are coming in on Friday and staying the week,
so they're in. Samantha's flying in on Saturday morning. She has to
fly back out on Sunday afternoon but she'll be back for the wedding.
Tish and Amy are out on tour, so they can't make it. They'll be here
for the wedding, though."

"Theater and martinis. Sounds pretty fancy schmantzy. Got
anything to wear for it?"

"Oh my lord, I didn't even think about that." Annie
practically sprinted to the bedroom.

With a smile, I sat back in my chair and laced my hands
behind my head.
Mission accomplished, dude
.

After a few minutes, Annie returned, muttering to herself
something about fall colors and shoes. She picked up the phone and
dialed. A second later, she started talking in rapid-fire fashion.

"Randi, it's me. I just realized I have nothing to wear for next
Saturday night. I know you're working today, but call me tomorrow
so we can go shopping for outfits. I'll make sure Staci's available too.
Thanks, sister. Bye."