Chapter 5

The night passed without excitement. They watched the movie and teased Katrie about her life-long fetish with what could very well be one of the worst musicals ever made. Jess pretended to come alive, but they all saw beyond the smile and scrinched nose. Her eyes, still red and weary from crying, betrayed her. The others ignored it, though, and the hours managed to steadily trickle by. Past parties and get-togethers were remembered, they all got caught up on one another's' lives, and at 1:30 adjourned to meet again the next morning.

Susanne climbed the stairs to her second-floor guest room feeling strangely dissatisfied. Usually the end of these friendly gatherings filled her up with good feelings, made her high on life. But this time, this time she wanted to run back and start it all over again. Jess was probably going to sob herself to sleep tonight, and she wanted to know about this guy who asked her best friend to marry him. Katrie was coughing too much tonight, too. She was left gasping after every funny thing said, and the crackling Susanne heard with each breath made her regret the very existence of humor. She also wondered what Betsy was planning to do with her life now that she was home. Had she even bothered calling home to tell her parents? There was something wrong with Pam, although Susanne was sure she'd never admit it. Always the one people looked to for advice and support, Pam rarely told them when something was bothering her. Susanne could tell this time, though. She just looked so tired lately. The pep she used to reserve for these summer trips was gone. All in all, it was a very imperfect beginning to what was supposed to be the perfect reunion.

She closed the door to her room and just leaned against it for a moment, relaxing in the darkness. Her windows were open and the shades were up, so the cool night air, the sound of animals in the distance, and the moonlight spilling across the floor created exactly the kind of peaceful setting Susanne was longing for. The kind she thought she would find downstairs in front of the TV that night. Opting against turning on the light and changing into pajamas, she threw herself on the bed and hugged the softest pillow against her head. Yes, things were looking bleak at the moment, but she didn't believe they'd be that way forever. Things always seemed to turn out for the best eventually. It didn't matter how bumpy or curved the road was, those friends of hers always found their own way down it. This was going to be the same way. Next year she'd be laughing at herself for even having these thoughts. Optimistic to a fault- that was Susie.

There were other things to worry about, she knew. Like about the fact that she was on her way to missing yet another period. This would be the second one in a row. Obviously it meant something, and it was pretty easy to guess what that something was. She didn't mention it to anyone, though. Things in this house were too hectic as it is, and she didn't need anyone fussing over her like she was a precious porcelain doll. Plus, who knew if her and Ash could even handle a child. They had considered having kids before, but then the restaurant came, and a now a year later, business was booming. Would they have time to be the fairy-tale- like parents they wanted to be? Too many questions, and no definite answers to silence them. It made Susanne tired. She could feel the heavy weight of fatigue pulling her to the mattress. Soon, she couldn't keep her eyes open any longer, and a quiet wave of sleep washed over her.

@*@*@

There it was, that annoying beep again. Katrie rolled over, not willing to believe that it was already nine o'clock. She had just laid down a minute ago; seven hours couldn't have passed so quickly. But the beep was still going off, and probably had been for a while. With a soft sigh, she surrendered to the noise and got out of bed. Yesterday, as she had been unpacking her things, she had had visions of bright mornings, where she would gladly hop out of bed five minutes before the alarm went off, and start the day with a smile. So she decided to put the clock radio across the room on the dresser, instead of on the oh-so-close bed table. Now, blindly stumbling across the carpet, she re-thought her decision and promised to reverse things when she regained full consciousness. With a bang, the silence was restored. Ah, peace. She returned to bed, planning on curling up in the sheets and hiding from the world for at least another three hours or so.

Instead, she found herself clutching the bed post, doubled-over by the racking coughs suddenly taking over her body. She hadn't even sat down yet. It was the dry hacking, the usual morning wake-up call. Better just forget about those extra hours. The blood was rushing to her head, and she slowly forced herself to let go of the bed and lift her shaking arms above her head. The coughing subsided after a few minutes, and Katrie was finally able to straighten her whole body into an upright standing position. She sucked in the air around her, feeling it fill her lungs and then let it go quickly to make way for the next gulp. The shaking left her, but she couldn't bring herself to do anything but collapse onto the mattress next to her. She knew that the mere act of walking could set it off again, and Katrie wasn't risking anything. So there she was, her head throbbing and her breathing coming out in crackling, hoarse gasps, when someone knocked on her door. "Katrie?" Pam's voice came in loud and clear from the hallway. "Paul's on the phone. You okay?"

"I'm fine." Perfectly fine, and yet those two little words took all her strength to get out. Pam opened the door, then. She was holding a portable phone against her shoulder, to keep the Montana noises from reaching the Illinois boy on the other end.

"Are you sure, Hun? You can always call him back in a few minutes."

"No, it's all right, Pam. I can talk now. See?" Katrie threw her a wane smile and reached her hand out. "Now let me talk to my fiancé." She still looked worried, and hesitated a moment before tossing the phone on the bed and leaving the room. "Hello?"

"Katrie?" Paul sounded anxious through the static. Maybe he had heard them through Pam's shoulder.

"I'm right here, Paul," she answered, trying to sound as normal as possible. "I miss you so much! Thanks for calling."

He was fooled. "Well, I know how you hate initiating phone calls, and I missed you too. It's a living hell around here without you."

"I knew it was going to be. That's why I made sure every little wedding detail was settled before I left," she replied. "You should thank me for that. Can you imagine what our mothers would do if I wasn't so incredibly organized?"

"Let me think." He paused for a moment. "First, my mother would complain to me about how terrible a girl you are, and try to stop the wedding. Then, your mother would either try to change you and give you one of those infuriating lectures you always tell me about, or she would decide that there was nothing wrong with you and defend you with every weapon she has."

She laughed, keeping it quiet and short to prevent another coughing fit. "You know my mother too well. I think I'll stop taking you to family parties for a while."

"Then neither of us would go, because half the time it's me convincing you to be a good relative and make your existence known to the others."

"And that's bad because.......?"

"You're too evil to be a kindergarten teacher, Katrie. How have you been up there? Are you eating well? Any heavy coughing? You are taking your antibiotics, I hope," Paul said, sounding surprisingly like another man in her life. She told him so.

"Who are you, my dad?" she asked. "Of course I'm taking my antibiotics. I'll even let you count them when I get back, if you don't believe me. And my appetite is splendid. Susanne is the best cook I've ever met, and everything she makes for me goes right into my tummy."

"Right after your enzymes, I presume." Now he was just being annoying.

"Paul! Please!" she cried. "Will you cut me some slack? I'm doing everything I'm supposed to do. I'm being a good girl, just like I told you I was going to be when I left. Nothing's different than before. But I swear, if you keep pushing me, I may just forget to take my vitamin C tonight."

"Oh no, we can't have that," he replied. His tone was slightly mocking, and she narrowed her eyes. "I'm sorry." And then, the eyes were normal again. It was probably just a nervous twitch. "I'll stop interrogating you about CF, and you'll tell me everything that's going on in that big house. You know how dangerous it is to put the five of you together and leave you alone for two weeks. I want all the details."

Katrie sighed. Of course she would tell him everything- she always did eventually. The question was, where should she start? Should she tell him about her arrival and how long it took to plan their surprise for Betsy, or about how funny it was when they finally put their plan into action that same afternoon? Should she mention the whole Jess crisis now, or wait to see what happened so she could give him the full report later? Did it matter? Paul was easy to talk to, not only because he would actually listen to her for forever, but because he understood all her feelings about everything. That's why she was marrying him, after all.

"Well, darling, there's a lot to tell......" Lazily, she sat up and leaned against a bed post. It was the same one she had clutched fifteen minutes ago, but she let that thought cross her mind and keep going straight to oblivion. Hugging her knees close, she poured it out to him. When they finally said their good-byes, Katrie felt content. Almost. Nagging thoughts took a hold of her brain, and she bit her lip. She'd tell him tomorrow. No need to worry.

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