Tomorrow May Never Come

At exactly four o'clock, as Zack had requested, Kate's cab pulled up to the parking of the Water's Edge restaurant. Stepping out of the car in a new red halter dress she'd bought, Kate handed the driver cash for her trip.

"Keep the change," she said with a smile, feeling very happy. Though, finding out that she was in love was cause to be so happy.

Quickly Kate made her way into the restaurant, telling the maitre d that she was to be meeting Zack Baker there, and she was taken to the table he was seated at out on the terrace by a waiter.

"Hi," Kate said with a large smile as she took her seat across from Zack.

"Hey, you look nice," Zack replied, smiling as well as he looked her up and down, thinking the red dress she was wearing looked stunning on her, but lately he had noticed that Kate always seemed to look good to him.

Noticing that Zack was wearing a nice, white, button-up shirt with a red tie (uncannily matching her dress), Kate returned the compliment. "You too." Sitting there at the table, a silence fell across them and Kate felt jittery, wanting to just explode with what she wanted to tell Zack. Fidgeting, she moved the water glass a little to the left, rearranging some of the utensils on either side of the stark white plate sitting before her.

"So, uh...you wanted to tell me something?" Zack asked, breaking the silence. Pausing, Kate smiled and then took a deep breath, nodding her head.

"Zack," she started to say, biting her lip before she couldn't hold it in any longer. "I love Brian."

The smile that was gracing Zack's face seemed to have frozen in that exact position, for he was in so much shock that he couldn't even move for a few seconds and what Kate said soaked in. She loved Brian.... Zack loved her, but she loved Brian.

Blinking a few times, Zack cleared his throat. "You love Brian?" he asked, trying to not show the disappointment he felt.

"Mmhm!" Kate gushed.

"Wow...you love Brian. I..." Zack paused with a sigh. "I knew it! I knew you were hiding something from me, Kate," he lied through his teeth, feeling his heart slowly tearing into pieces with every word he spoke.

"I knew you'd be shocked."

"Shocked! Hah!" Zack forced a laugh. "I can't tell you how shocked I am!"

"God, Zack," Kate sighed, feeling her stomach twist up despite the relief she felt in telling Zack about her love for their new friend. "I'm really nervous. Do you think he loves me?"

Pausing a moment as he looked down at his place setting before connecting his gaze with Kate's again, Zack said his next words with the utmost sincerity. "He'd be crazy not to love you."

Slightly scowling at what she thought was sarcasm, Kate sighed. "Oh, come on, Zck. Let's be serious. ...Do you think I should tell him?" she asked.

"No," Zack muttered under his breath, putting his head in his hands.

"What?"

Picking his head up, Zack smiled again. "Go! Of course you should tell him... Go."

"Yeah?" Kate asked, receiving a nod. "Okay... I'm going to go tell Brian how I feel. Thank you so much, Zack!" she said before getting up from her seat. Leaning over to Zack, she quickly kissed him on the cheek. "I love you," she nearly shouted as she ran off.

Sighing, Zack watched as she ran away, hanging his head. "Yeah...I love you, too."

The entire way to Brian's house, Kate couldn't hold back the beaming smile on her lips. She felt the urge to skip and found herself doing so about halfway there, and when it started to rain she didn't have a care in the world. Nothing mattered to her, because for the first time in her life, Kate loved someone. She never thought something like that would have been possible for her, but for some reason, Brian got to her.

By the time she reached Brian's front porch, Kate was soaked through, the red of her dress turning almost a dark maroon with the saturation. Knocking on the door, she felt her heart fluttering as she waited. In only a few moments, the door opened, and Brian was stood there.

"Hi," Kate said, breathless.

"Oh, no thank you, we don't want to buy anything," Brian said in a somewhat confused manner, beginning to close the door, but when he saw Kate's smile begin to fade, he stopped. "Just kidding, come in," he said with a chuckle, stepping back to allow Kate entry into his uncle's home. "Oh, look at you. You're soaked."

"It's alright," Kate answered, still smiling as they headed into the living room to take a seat on the couch.

"Do you want something to eat? Or a drink?" Brian offered.

"No, thank you."

"Good, because there's nothing to eat here anyway," he said with his charming smirk, and Kate laughed with him, feeling the butterflies in her stomach going wild with every passing second. Noticing what Kate was wearing as he looked her over, Brian's eyebrows rose. "New dress?"

"Do you like it? I just bought it today," Kate answered.

"I hate it," Brian replied bluntly. "Why did you buy it?"

Feeling her spirits suddenly dampened, Kate's smile slowly faded into a frown. "Uh...um...it's raining outside," she stammered, glancing out the window nearby.

"...And I'm sitting in my house," Brian answered, matter-of-factly.

"I know."

"Well, I know that it's raining outside, I can see it," Brian said with his cheeky grin, and Kate looked down at her hands that were placed in her lap.

"Brian...I...I..." she stuttered, trying to find the words to say to express exactly how she felt for him.

"...I've got it so far," Brian joked, motioning for her to continue.

"I--"

"What are you stuttering for? Go ahead..." Brian interrupted her, and then Kate abruptly stood.

"I'm leaving." She didn't want to leave, but she didn't know how she'd be able to tell Brian she loved him when he could never be serious in a situation unless he really wanted to. He turned everything into sarcasm or humor, and as much as Kate hated that about him, she also loved it.

Grabbing her arm, Brian pulled her back down beside him. "I'm joking, sorry. It's raining outside, and your dress is very nice," Brian said quickly. "Now, let's talk. Where were we? 'I...'?"

Emotions running through her again, Kate smiled and took a pause to calm her nerves. But as she did so, she glanced down at the coffee table and noticed a picture of Brian and another woman. She was in a bright white wedding gown, and he in a black suit, and they both had smiles on their faces.

"...Who's that?" she asked as she pointed down at the picture.

"Who?" Brian asked, and Kate picked up the photograph and showed it to him. "Oh, that! That's me," he said with a smile, pointing at himself.

"I know that," Kate chuckled, "but who is she?"

"That's Michelle," Brian answered, looking down at the photograph with a thoughtful look.

"Michelle?"

Nodding, Brian sighed, taking the photograph from Kate's hands as a small grin flittered along his lips. "Yes. Michelle...my wife."

At those very words, the smile was wiped from Kate's face and she felt her heart stop in her chest. Looking at Brian, who was still gazing down at the picture so intently, she couldn't believe the words he had just said. She was in love with him...and he was married to someone else. And, just as Zack's had earlier, Kate's heart started to slowly break apart.

With a deep sigh, Brian broke the silence that the loud thumping of Kate's heart was overtaking as it started pounding again. "She's the reason my mother and I came to New York. I'm so stupid...I never told you about her," Brian said with a faint chuckle. "I keep talking about everything else, and forget the important things.

"Michelle and I married three years ago. After that, it was the usual husband-wife fights. One day, it went out of hand and I said some nasty things to her. You know how I am...I can be a bit rude. Anyway, she got angry, left home, and came to New York. So my mother and I followed her here to bring our Michelle back home. But she's still angry with me.... She says she needs more time. But I know everything will be alright. You know how it is..." Brian said, holding out the photo a ways from him. "Isn't she pretty?"

Just then realizing that tears were streaming down her face, Kate sniffled and nodded her head. "Yes," she mumbled, and then lowered her head.

Hearing the whimpered sound of Kate's answer, Brian looked at her and saw the trail of tears spanning down her tanned cheek. "Hey...why are you crying? I swear...all you women are the same," he sighed, reaching out to wipe her tears away. "Don't worry...everything will be alright."

"...Can I go?" Kate asked, wanting to just leave so she could wallow in her pity alone, without the embarrassment of Brian seeing her cry.

"Please stay, Kate. I..." he sighed. "I'm feeling sad."

"Me too," Kate answered as she got up. "I'm going." As she headed for the door, Suzy entered the living room.

"Won't you stay awhile?" she asked, not knowing that Kate had even arrived in the first place.

"I can't, I'm sorry," Kate said quickly, trying to make her way to the door and out of the house before she really broke down.

"Kate," Brian called out for her, and she stopped with her hand on the doorknob, ready to leave. "At least stay here until it stops raining?" he asked.

"I can't... Goodbye Brian," Kate whispered before she hastily opened the door and left. As soon as she was out of the house and down at the front gate, she grabbed ahold of the metal and leaned against it, finally willing the tears to spill full-force from her eyes. The rain falling around her mixed with her tears, and it took quite a few minutes for her to gain enough composure to let go of the gate and cross the street to her home.

Back inside Brian's house, Suzy slowly came up behind her son who was leaning against the doorway between the living room and the entrance hall. "...You love her, don't you?" she asked, seeing how silent he was being, which was a rare thing with Brian.

Biting the inside of his cheek, Brian hesitated. "What are you talking about? ...I don't love Kate," he answered, not willing himself to turn around and face his mother.

"I never said Kate, did I?" Suzy asked, placing her hand on Brian's shoulder, and he quickly shook it off.

"I don't love her!" he practically shouted, bringing his hand up to cover his mouth. Taking deep breaths he tried to fight his internal pain at what had just happened and how he had just lied to a girl he could tell with his whole heart was in love with him. With his other hand, his fingers were crossed, and Suzy pulled them up, holding that hand with her own.

"I'm your mother, Brian. You can't lie to me," she said quietly, uncrossing his fingers as Brian turned to her. She could see the tears in his eyes, and it pained her.

"So what do you want me to do? Tell her the truth?" he asked, his emotions getting the best of him and causing him to raise his voice. "If you can't even face the truth after knowing everything, how do you expect Kate to? What do I do, Mom?" he asked, rubbing his eyes with his hands to try and force back the tears he knew were going to surface. "What the hell do I say to her?"

Taking a deep breath, Brian slowly walked away from his mother, not able to face her, and headed toward the front window of the living room, leaning against the pane with one arm.

"How do I say that for the first time in my life, my heart is beating for someone else.... That for the first time, I have actually loved someone? How do I tell Kate that the love from my heart is strong, but the heart itself is very weak..." With these words, the tears Brian was holding back broke through, clouding his vision as he looked out the window into the rainy street and then turned to look over his shoulder at his mother, who was biting her lip as her own tears formed.

"How do I tell her...that the girl in the photograph isn't my wife. That she's my friend...my doctor...who's fighting day and night just to keep me alive for a few more days? Goddamnit!" he shouted, punching the wall to get out his frustration as everything finally washed over him and he told Suzy the one thing he had been keeping from her for the longest time. "...I'm dying, Mom."

With a sharp intake of breath, Suzy shook her head, her heart stopping as she refused to believe what Brian had just told her. He couldn't be dying; it just wasn't possible. "That's not true... That' can't be true," she refused. "Michelle said a transplant is possible...and that after that everything will be alright," she said, her voice trailing off to a whisper as Brian came over to her. "Everything will be alright..."

Pulling his mother close and wiping her tears, Brian tried to force a smile. "I'm your son, Mom.... You can't lie to me. Please don't cry. If you're weak, who's gonna be strong for me?" he asked.

Sniffling, Suzy nodded. "I'll hide my pain...but will you be able to hide your love?"

Shaking his head, Brian bit his lip as he looked down. "It's not my love anymore. It's someone else's.... I just have to push it to the right destination.... That's the only thing I want. Kate needs to be happy...and if I can't give her that happiness myself, I've gotta find someone else who can do it for me. I've gotta try..." Brian whispered, and Suzy pulled him in close, resting her head on his shoulder as she tried to come to terms with the fact that Brian was in fact dying, and that things were about to change....

Love is a strong force...
In the matter of a day, three hearts had broken...
Two, because the one they loved didn't love them in return...
And one, because he didn't have enough time to share his love
With the only woman he had ever loved.