Esben is on his knees, in front of me now. “It’s Steffi on the phone,” he says.
I stare at him, unable to process those simple words.
“She’s called. She wants to talk to you.”
I shake my head, confused.
“Allison? Steffi is on the phone, and she’s asking for you. This is real. Talk to her.”
“What? What?” I clap a hand over my mouth to stifle the sob that threatens to break through. I look at Esben with desperation and hope and fear.
He makes me take the phone and whispers, “It’s all right. But she needs you.”
“Steffi?”
“Allison.”
Oh God, she sounds so weak.
“I’m here, and I love you,” I tell her instinctively.
“I love you, too. So much.” It’s an effort for her to speak, I can tell. “I made a mistake.”
It’s so hard not to cry. “What do you mean?”
“I thought I wanted . . . to do this alone, but I don’t.”
“Okay. Okay.” Because I must force myself to cope as I never have before, I stand up and walk the room, running my hand through my hair. “Tell me what you need. Anything.” Then I stop and look at Esben.
He is on high alert and nods confidently at me. Whatever I have to do, he’ll help.
“I don’t have long, Allison. I can feel it. The nurses know it, too.” Steffi’s crying breaks my heart, yet again. “I don’t want to go without you. I really need you.”
“I’m coming. I’ll get a flight. I’m coming, I promise.” But as I say this, I realize the problem I’m about to run into, and Esben’s stricken expression tells me that he agrees. “I will be there,” I tell her anyway. “You just hang on, okay? Just hang on.”
“Thank you.”
“I’ll call you when I get a flight.”
“My nurses . . . are Rebecca and Jamie.” Her breathiness carries through the phone. “I’m sleeping a lot. So, they may answer. I’ll have one of them text you their numbers. I’m at Cedars-Sinai.”
“Okay, honey. I’m leaving now. I’ll get to you. I will get to you.” It takes all my willpower to hang up and even more willpower not to fall apart. “Steffi wants me there. It’s almost over.”
“I heard.” Esben takes me in his arms and rubs my back. “The airline strike. And it’s spring break. We have a problem.”
I push away and look at him, panicked. “There’s no way I can reach her. What am I going to do?”
He smiles sweetly at me. “I said we have a problem, not that we can’t do this. Kerry?”
She’s next to us in a flash. “I’m ready. Tell me what you need.”
“Start checking flights out of Bangor and out of Boston. Try Manchester, New Hampshire. Anything. We’re getting to LA. One way or another.”
“You’re coming with me?” I drop my head against him in appreciation.
“I think we’re going to have to finagle one hell of a trip, and it’ll be easier if I’m there. That is, if you want me to come, of course.”
“I do. I don’t think I can do this without you.”
“You could, but you don’t have to,” he says as he hugs me. “I need a picture of her. Do you have one on your computer that you can send me?”
“Yes. Why?”
“Just do that, then throw a few things in a backpack, and let’s go. I’m driving us . . . somewhere. Kerry? How are things looking?”
“Gimme a minute, gimme a minute . . . I’m trying to find something . . .” She’s shaking her head, though.
“Is Danny around?” he asks.
“No, he left for home already.”
“Then get Jason. We need him. I’ll do a post, and you monitor Twitter, and Jason can stay on Facebook.”
Kerry gives him a friendly shove. “You’re not messing around if you’re bringing in Jason.”
“Shut up. You know I love him.”
“Wait, what’s happening?” I’m nearly speechless. “What are you doing? You’re posting this?”
“If you’re okay with it, it’s the best way.” His arm goes around my shoulders, and he kisses the top of my head. “There are hundreds of thousands of people out there who are going to hear about this. And they are going to help us reach Steffi.”
“Two minutes ago, you were going to get off-line. You can’t possibly think this will work. God, Esben, it’s one thing to get help for a kid’s party. Or to adopt a dog. But there’s no way even you can do this.”
“Yes, there is.” He squeezes me tightly. “Watch me.”
“What about . . . you two are supposed to go home tomorrow.”
“Our parents will understand,” Kerry says. “They know us. They know Esben.”
“Thank you. Thank you both, so much.” I look between these amazing people. “I don’t know what else to say. You guys are—”
“We love you,” Kerry says firmly. “And we’re going to get you to Steffi.”
“We will,” Esben agrees. “Send me that picture; then we’re leaving.”
My emotions are trying to take over. “What if . . .” Dammit, this hurts. “What if we don’t make it in time? What if—”
“Don’t talk like that,” he insists. “We will get there. Listen to me. We will.”
I hope he’s right about that. He has to be.
CHAPTER 27
#ALLISONANDSTEFFI
Esben’s post has exploded. He had to break it into a ton of tweets to get it all up on Twitter, but that’s probably good for exposure anyway.
My friends, I need to ask for your help. #girlfriendallison has a best friend, Steffi. A best friend who has been Allison’s support through hell and back, especially while growing up in the rocky and often scary and unstable foster-care system. Many of us understand what it means to be lucky enough to have a true, hard-core friend, and Steffi has been Allison’s saving grace over and over.
With a heavy heart, I am asking for your help.
Steffi is in the final stages of a brutal cancer, AML. It’s imperative that we get Allison to her as soon as possible so that these friends can be together when Steffi leaves this world. We need to make it to Cedars-Sinai in Los Angeles as quickly as possible. Between the airline strikes and spring break, we need your help. Starting this journey now from Landon, Maine. Please use the hashtag #allisonandsteffi if you can help. Thank you in advance, and love you all.
He’s attached a beautiful picture of Steffi and me, and I’m torn between looking at it constantly and never wanting to see it again. She is healthy and vibrant in the photo, and I know she won’t look anything like this when I get to her. If I get to her.
An hour into the drive, I’ve accepted that I cannot keep up with the three of them. Esben, Kerry, and Jason are alternately silent and rapid-firing back and forth as they track comments and try to make a plan. There’s talk of too many airports, too many cities, too many time slots. Mention of trains and rental cars and overnight stays that will never get us there while there is any life still running through my friend and hero. I’m terrified that I won’t be able to give Steffi what she needs in her final hours.