365 Days

Day One

After the doctor's appointment yesterday I drove to the beach. I stayed there all day, even watched the sunset. It was dark when I walked the shoreline back to my car.

Today I woke up at 2 o'clock in the afternoon. What a way to spend a Saturday. I woke up, took a quick shower, and went to my kitchen.

The answering machine blinked 17. I reached over and pushed play. I had to listen to the automated lady telling me I had 17 unheard messages. As if the red light wasn't enough.

"First unheard message, 'Hey hon, it's mom. I'm having my annual Thanksgiving. Dinner's at 7, hope to see you th--' Message deleted. Next unheard message, 'This is John from The Medical Alert Team--' Message deleted."

Seven messages were sales calls. Two were creditors I owed money to. One was from my mother. And the rest were Bam.

I reached for the phone and dialed the number I had memorized since I was 8 years old. The familiar phone yelled into my ear after two rings.

"Yo, where are you?! I've been calling you since yesterday!"

"I got home late, I just woke up," I replied after putting the phone on speaker mode and setting it on the countertop. Then I opened my cabinet, reached for a bowl, and started to pour a box of cereal into it.

Bam told some story of what he and his buddies did yesterday to his uncle Vito. I laughed at the end after he told me Don Vito had peed himself he was so drunk. It was a typical Vito story, but it always made her laugh.

"So, didn't you have a doctor's appointment yesterday? What happened?" he asked. His laugh faded and his tone was serious as could be.

I sighed at the thought of having to tell people I had a year or so left to live. I didn't want to hear their cries or feel the pain of their grieving.

"I'm getting in the shower right now. I'll be over later," I stated, brushing off the question, hoping he would too.

"Alright, you better be here within the hour!" he said and hung up on his end. I did the same and started getting ready for the day.

The hour went by fast, but I soon found herself driving up to the gate. I punched in the gate code and drove on inside, making sure the gate closed behind me before finding somewhere to park. It seemed like the entire town was at Bam's house, which would not be new.

I got out of her car and started walking toward the front door but soon stopped after hearing stifling laughs from above her. But as soon as my head tilted upwards, the bucket of water the guys were holding came crashing down on me. Good thing I wasn't wearing white.

"Damn you, Margera!" I screamed, but their laughs howled even louder. Bam jumped down from the deck and gave her an apology hug. As if he would get away from this that easily.

"Love you," he said and gave her a quick peck on the cheek. I blushed when the guys gushed.

I walked inside the house and started toward Bam's bedroom. He followed and stood in the doorway as I removed my shirt and replaced it with one of his.

"Don't drool," I said, looking at his reflection in the mirror in front of me. He smirked and walked over to the bed and jumped onto it. I sat down next to him.

"So, what happened yesterday?" he asked. I looked into his eyes and I could see he already knew. His gaze quickly shifted to the floor and so did mine. Not knowing what to say, we both sat in silence and enjoyed the company. My hand found his and he squeezed it tightly before putting it to his lips and kissing the top of it.

"How long?" he whispered.

"She couldn't give me a definite answer. But about a year," I whispered back. Our eyes still focused to the ground, a tear escaped mine. I went to brush it away and I saw him do the same.

In the 20 years I had known Bam Margera, I had never once seen him cry. He seemed too macho for that. But here he was, crying his eyes out and before I knew it, he was crying in my arms and I was reassuring him everything would be okay.

An hour had passed and we were both still entwined within each other's arms. We had been best friends for a long time, but I had never been this close to Bam before. He held me so tight I thought he would never let go.

We ended up falling asleep, ever so at peace.

When I awoke I glanced at the clock. 11:59 pm. She only had so many days left. Tomorrow she would start living her life. No more moping around, no more sadness. She will tell everyone her news tomorrow and then live as happily as she can for the next year.