Best Friends-- The College Years

Catherine (Cat) Foster: I met Cat my first day on the job at Victoria's Secret in the Amarillo mall. We had to stay after closing, to rearrange the store; this so all the panties, in all the Vicky's, all over the nation, could be arranged identically. Important work. All of the other girls were twiddling their thumbs and looking as if a man might appear to do the heavy lifting? Humpphh! And then Cat appears, pushing/shoving, single handed-ly, a large round table across the store-- leaving panties and wimpy girls in her wake. That's when I knew we would be friends. I scurried up beside her to give her a hand pushing that table. She was sweet, tough, down to earth, and a country girl. The rest was history... and a really interesting one! We took Amarillo by storm, with our big smiles, endless energy, positive attitudes, and a commitment to have fun anywhere. Our cardinal rule... no matter how much we drink, no matter how cute he looks, or how sweet he seems... "We always leave together." Always holding to the rule... it kept us out of a mess of trouble. After a late Saturday night... you wouldn't find us at IHOP or Whataburger at 2 am. Nope, both being morning people, we went home (to Cat's place in Amarillo-- I lived 15 miles away from the bar- in Canyon) and straight to sleep. You could find us at Denny's at 8 am on a Sunday morning, with the church crowd, eating a grilled chicken or buffalo chicken sandwich in the same clothes we wore the night before (see, I hadn't been home to change, and Catherine didn't want me to feel conspicuous). To this day... Catherine still calls me before 8 am. She knows it's when I'm most available. Much fun was had... some we remember, some moments forgotten, but much of it at the expense of her roommate. The roommate always had a string of gentleman callers (the late night variety) revolving to and from her bed chambers. It did keep things interesting and our jokes were endless. It wasn't unusual to run into a scantily clad (naked) man in the hallway in the middle of the night. I always felt pretty inspired to "hold it" and not risk meeting a new friend on my way to the bathroom-- sometimes holding it until arriving at Denny's at 8 am-- no naked men there. Needless to say, Catherine slept with her door locked, lest the naked man stumbled unwittingly into the wrong boudoir. Although, I'm fairly certain, he wouldn't stumble out without a shiner, compliments of Cat. She's scrappy.

I actually will never, for the rest of my life, forget the last 8 am phone call from Cat. I answered, on my way to work... assuming, she too was on her way to work. Something was a bit off in her voice (bad breakup or boy problems I figured), and I couldn't hear road noise in the background. "You on your way to work?", I asked.
"No, not today. Susie, I'm in the hospital". My first reaction was to laugh, and say--- okay you klutz, what did you fall off of this time? But, Cat hadn't fallen off anything. Always the procrastinator, Cat had finlly gone to the doctor because she was having trouble catching her breath. She thought she just needed an inhaler (because adult onset asthma is so common). The doc discovered a massive tumor in her chest cavity. It is Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma--- which means nothing to me, but cancer. That was in early October or late September. I could look back at my phone for accuracy, because I've saved every voicemail left by Cat since that last 8 am call.

I love my friend, and I'm scared that one day, before I'm ready, I won't have the option of hearing her voice. It is selfish to think this way. It's not about me. It's about Catherine, and yet she seems to still make our phone calls, in her selfless way, about me... wanting to know how my new job is going, how is my love life, how are my parents? Even when she is fighting the battle of a lifetime (not just a bad day), she can and does still give of herself. That is a rare quality in a person. One that I'm not sure I possess, but I am blessed to have a friend that possesses this quality. Catherine is no saint and she's not perfect- how boring. Heck, she would be the first to laugh and admit to the imperfection. However, she truly has a heart for people and knows how to be a friend, a true friend, to me. Catherine is the most non-judgemental person I've ever met. I'm never afraid to open my heart to Catherine, to be absolutely vulnerable and honest, because I know she will handle me and my feelings with care. Her positive and fun loving attitude is contagious. Even with cancer, her laugh still resonates over the phone line, making light of her situation.... cracking jokes and trying to make me feel better as we talk about "crazy wigs", and how chemo turns out to be the "best diet ever." Yes, I love my friend. She is sick. My prayers seem inadequate to help. She has lived her life well, and has for certain, made an impact on my life. I pray for 80 more years for Catherine, because she is that bright spot, that extra bit of twinkle, the extra little spice of life that reminds me what is really important in life. And also... to "loosen up". Yes, I pray for 80 more years for Catherine to be in my life. I hope that after reading this, it will be your prayer too. But, there I go... being selfish again.