Page 49 of Until the Last Star Fades

“Oh, shit!” Piper rose quickly, discarding the empty cookie box on the fountain’s edge. “I have my Pitching Stories lecture in five. I gotta run. What do you guys have?”

“Cinematography for Advanced Productions. My prof wants to see my doc.” Casey snapped up the empty cardboard box.

“Library for me.” Riley picked up her backpack. “Gotta catch up on my notes.”

Piper swiped gloss over her lips then pulled Riley into a hug. “Don’t pull an all-nighter, okay? Text me before ten; I’ll bring you a bagel.”

“Thanks, but I’ll have escaped by then.” Riley waved as she headed to the southeast corner of Washington Square Park and Bobst Library.

Twenty-One

9:22 P.M. stared back at Riley from the upper right corner of her laptop screen. She could either power through for another two hours, risking burnout, or follow Piper’s advice and text Ben.

“I’m sure he’d like to hear from you.”

She picked up her phone. But would he? I ghosted him—not on purpose, but still. She paused, taking a deep breath. Responsible Riley, reporting for duty. She began typing.

Have you eaten?

An answer popped onto her screen within a minute.

Yes sweetheart. Have you?

Moms never change.

Yep, a salad. Just finishing at library. Heading home soon. x

Riley fibbed. The only thing she had eaten besides the cookies with Piper and Casey was an apple and some leftover heart-shaped Valentine’s candy. Maggie would worry if she knew her daughter was skipping meals. Sometimes a little white lie was the only option.

Text me when you get home. Love you. x

So, her mom was doing okay…no need to rush to Staten Island tonight. Her narrative television project was coming along nicely… She chewed the end of her pencil. Fuck it. No time like the present to grovel. She returned to her phone.

Hey. I’m sorry for being a shitty friend.

Twenty-seven minutes and three pages of studio blocking notes later, her phone shined bright.

Riles!!!! Her name and the abundance of exclamation marks were followed by an emoji, the beaming face with smiling eyes.

Riley grinned back. Ben was alive and well—somewhere—and if there ever was an emoji that captured his smiling half-crescent eyes, that one was it. She dashed off a response.

Sorry I didn’t answer last week. Busy = no excuse. How are you?

Riley returned to her project, figuring out where the studio cameras should go. A few minutes passed.

Apolgy accepted. The clapping hands emoji came next, forming a sentence with 4 Josh. Big win!! Fun?

Her thumbs hovered over her phone. Piper hadn’t said a word to Ben about her mom, so what to say about her disappearing act…anything? She hated telling people about her mom’s cancer. It wasn’t something she could easily drop into conversation. ‘Yeah, I’d love to hang out, and oh, by the way, my mom has cancer—for the third time.’ The fact that Maggie had been sick more than once didn’t make the ‘cancer talk’ any easier. If anything, it had become harder.

Luckily, some people listened and offered sympathy or support at the first drop of the C-bomb, people like Piper and Casey. Neither one had gone through a serious illness with a parent—neither one knew anyone with cancer, but Riley didn’t have to draw a picture of her fear or anger for them; they intuitively knew. Gestures both little and large—hugs, notes taken in class, a meal brought to her door, the willingness to listen 24/7—proved they got it.

But, some people didn’t get it, and Riley always knew what was coming. It was just a matter of assigning jerseys for their respective teams.

The Downloaders: Friends who would ask personal questions she didn’t feel comfortable answering. Boundaries, people!

The Bubble-Wrappers: Friends who would douse her with pity, treating her differently, like a delicate glass ornament about to shatter at any moment. I don’t have to be kept away from your party, you know. I won’t burst into tears over the guac.

The Fakers: Friends who would profess they understood, but their words and actions proved otherwise. Erika fit in here, going off on oblivious tangents about her mom interfering with wedding planning. At least her mom will BE at her wedding.