Fyre’s Place

I’m here at Lizzette’s house starting to go through her things, packing up and getting it ready to sell. I hate fucking cancer! Liz was the cream of the crop. She was a tall, gorgeous woman with a voluptuous shape, long, thick hair, a beautiful smile and flawless golden skin. Men would fall all over themselves whenever she walked into a room and she knew it, even though she was one of the humblest people you could ever meet. I used to tell her how I wished I had her shape, then she would admonish me. She always said that I was voluptuous too, just in a small frame. You see, I’ve always been tiny. No matter what I do, I cannot seem to gain weight. But, I work out regularly, and if I must say so myself, I have a bangin’ body! It’s just small. She was probably the smartest person I knew, at the top of her game. She spoke Spanish and French and was always on business trips to Canada and Europe. As young girls, we always used to dream together, and she knew exactly what she wanted; to get a degree in finance and an MBA with a focus in international business. She did just that! I was always flip flopping my dream. One day I wanted to be a lawyer, then an architect or a career singer. I was more on the creative side. The main thing for me was I wanted to get the hell out of my mama and daddy’s house! I ended up becoming a court reporter. Go figure!

I’m LaBrea, Lizzette’s best friend since we were in elementary school. When my family moved on 56^th and Pennsylvania in Merrillville, Indiana, she lived a couple of doors down. Back then, you could go outside to play, and your parents didn’t have worry about stuff parents have to worry about today. Even though I had a sister, she was just a baby, and it was like I was an only child. I was always good at entertaining myself. I was outside playing school with my dolls one day, and Liz walked up and said, “Hi! My name is Lizzette. What’s your name?” “Hi. I’m LaBrea. You want to play school with me?” We were pretty much inseparable after that! Our parents ended up becoming the best of friends too. We were like family. We spent holidays together, had lots of barbecues, and sometimes we would all go out to Miller to the beach. Liz and I told each other everything from when our periods started to when we started having sex and everything in between. We were thick as thieves and had each other’s backs. After going through high school, college and starting our careers, we made a pact that we would go on vacation together every year. I loved traveling with Liz because she knew all the good spots domestically and internationally. We would always have fabulous accommodations. Now, one thing about Liz, she loved to have a good time. We laughed so much ‘til our stomachs would hurt! I got married not too long after college, but Liz never got married. Neither of us had kids. My marriage didn’t last long at all, only three years. I guess you just don’t know folks until you know ‘em. I came in early from work one day and caught this fool prancing around in women’s pumps! When I asked him about it, he said he liked the way they felt. Things got weirder and weirder! He even tried to get me to wear pumps while we were having sex. I was piddling around in the basement shortly after that and opened an old suitcase. It was full of women’s shoes! Expensive women’s shoes! When I confronted him, he told me I needed to get over it. I guess since I had peeped his hole card, he decided he was just going to be out in the open with the shit. I was so repulsed by the whole thing. I started thinking that if he was wearing women’s shoes, what the fuck else was he doing? I didn’t want him touching me. After a while, I filed for divorce. We parted ways amicably, but I knew I couldn’t continue like that. When I told Liz about it, we must have laughed for two hours! But, she was also sensitive to my feelings. She wanted to make sure that I was okay no matter how things turned out. She was in a few relationships, but none of them lasted too long, except one with this guy named Jonathan. They had a whirlwind romance. He treated her like a queen, and she reciprocated. I thought for sure they were going to tie the knot, until she told me she found out that he was married with children! She had no idea. They were both busy professionals, so the time they spent together was out at dinner after work, weekends, and some nice vacations. He had a nice ass condo in downtown Chicago, so when she went over to his place things seemed very normal. Apparently, his family was living on the west coast. With him being a high falutin businessman, his wife probably didn’t question his travels. The way Liz found out was through a mutual colleague. This guy named Michael Henley. He didn’t know Liz was dating Jonathan, but they all knew each other through their various social circles. One day, she ran into Michael at a business conference when he said that he would be heading out to Cali for Jonathan’s daughter’s wedding and asked if she was going. He said that Jonathan and his wife insisted that he stay with them while he was out there. It wasn’t until he saw Liz turn red as a beet with tears welled up in her eyes that he put two and two together. He apologized profusely as he tried to console her. She ended up telling Michael all about her and Jonathan’s relationship. He was outdone! He had never suspected that they were a couple. He thought they were good friends and colleagues. She sent a message with him to Cali:

“Jonathan,

I hope you and your wife have a fabulous time at your daughter’s wedding.

Peace, Lizzi”

They had been seeing each other for over four years. She was devastated! We would talk about her moving on and finding love, but I think that she decided that she would never give anyone else the opportunity to hurt her like that again. My heart hurt for my friend.

Liz and I shared milestones, victories, secrets…..everything. I could always count on her to be there, no matter where in the world she was physically. We made time for one another. There were never long periods of time without us talking. A couple of days after my 51^st birthday, I got the shock of my life! She called me and asked me to come over to her place. She said it very casually like she just wanted to see me. Sundays are usually pretty open for me, and I didn’t have court the next day so I got ready and went right over. When I got there, she greeted me at the door with a glass of champagne, and had prepared my favorite meal; some lasagna, salad, breadsticks, and her scrumptious chocolate rum cake! “Happy belated birthday, girl!” Liz knew how to make anyone feel special! It was cold out so she had the fireplace going and we had a nice, relaxing afternoon. After we ate, we both refilled our champagne flutes and went into the living room. Once we sat down, I noticed that she was kind of quiet. “Are you okay, Liz? You’re kind of quiet sitting over there.” “Brea, I have something to tell you.” “Okay. What’s up?” She paused long enough to make me very nervous. “Liz, what is it? Are you okay?” “I’ve been diagnosed with a rare, aggressive form of cancer, fibrosarcoma. It’s already at stage 4. It started out as a lump on my leg. I didn’t think much about it. After a while, it was hurting and I noticed the lump seemed to be getting bigger. I went to the doctor, and I knew something was wrong when she started running all these tests. She referred me to a specialist, and that’s when I initially found out. I didn’t say anything right away because I wanted to make absolute sure it was true.” By this time, Liz and I both hugging each other and  boohooing! I couldn’t play it off. I could hardly breathe! Not my Liz! “What does this mean? Can they remove it? What is the treatment for it?” “I wanted to get a second opinion, so I went to the University of Chicago. They confirmed it. I just found out Thursday.” “Liz, what do you want me to do? You name it. Anything.” “Well, I have to determine where I will go for treatment. I’m leaning towards the MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston. They have treated the most cases of this type of cancer. I believe I will be able to start as early as next week. The doctors here asked me to make a decision as quickly as I could.” “I’m coming with you! I’ll take a leave so that I can be there with you. What about your parents? How did they take it?” “I haven’t told them yet. I’m planning to go see them tomorrow. It just happens that Emmit is in town, so I will be able to tell everyone all together.” “Okay. I’m spending the night tonight. You don’t need to be alone. What about the job?” “I didn’t go into detail, but I did go to the office on Friday. I went to HR to set up medical leave and find out what else I needed to do. I also went in to speak with my manager, Larry. I just told him that I have a medical diagnosis that will require me to be out for a while. I was so grateful that he didn’t pry. He just wanted to know if I had everything I needed and told me to keep him posted.”

On May 1, 2018, my best friend made her transition. I was numb. I could not believe that she was gone and gone so quickly. The treatment didn’t work, and the tumor grew rapidly. I took leave and became her caretaker. Her parents are elderly and not in a position to take care of anyone. Her brother, Emmit, came back and stayed with their parents while everything was going on. He was a tremendous help. Liz gave me her medical power of attorney and made me the executor of her estate. Once she realized how quickly things were progressing, she made sure all of her business affairs were in order. I am making sure that all of her wishes are carried out, and I am preparing to put her house up for sale. Liz was a neat freak so everything is in it’s place, and I am oh so grateful for that. I just have her bedroom and I’ll be finished.

Hmmm, what’s this box up on the shelf in her closet? That heifer know she was boujee! Even the damned box on the shelf looked like it was encased in gold with jewels! I need to get a stool so I can reach it. Oh shit! It has a lock on it, and I have no idea where the key might be. I started looking around. I did find a small key in the back of the drawer in her nightstand. This looks like it might be it. Bingo! I opened the box and it’s a bunch of letters. All of them seem to be from a lady in London. That makes sense ‘cause Liz had to travel there a lot for her job. Maybe I should write this woman and let her know about Liz. Things happened so quickly that I’m sure a lot of people don’t even know.

Letter #1

My dearest love,

I so enjoyed our time together when you were here last. I’ve never loved anyone like I love you. No one else has ever made me feel the way you do. When we make love, it’s like I am carried away into another world, never wanting to come back. I hope you seriously consider our conversation about you relocating here. We’re so good together, and I can’t imagine life without you.

Letter #2

My dearest love,

I’ve been making plans for your next visit. I thought we could take the Eurostar to Paris and enjoy a romantic holiday………..

Letter #3

My dearest love,

I thought of you this morning as I could smell the scent of your perfume on my pillow…….

What the fuck! Liz and I shared everything. I can’t believe that she kept this secret from me all of these years! This shit has been going on for over seven years! My best friend was having an affair with a woman! No one could have told me this in a million years. We never judged each other, and we shared our deepest, darkest secrets. I can’t believe she didn’t share this with me. I would have never told anyone.

Two weeks later…………..

Liz, girl how you gonna get up outta here without telling me this? I thought we didn’t keep secrets from one another. I guess you said you would take this one to your grave, and you succeeded. I can’t even say I’m hurt. More than anything, I’m shocked. I never saw that coming! With all of the conversations we had about sex and how we were “strictly dickly!” In hinds’ sight, I can kind of see it. After what Jonathan did to you, I felt that you never got over it. I just want you to know that I am so glad you found love.  As always, your secret is safe with me! Rest well, my friend.