| When Cheryl was
told she had not long to live, she called me. I spent that
Friday night with her. The first thing she said was that she
didn't want to die. She said she had too much to do. She went out
earlier that day and purchased a dress she wanted to wear at her
funeral. She was in shock. We cried and laughed that night, yet
still she managed some humour during all of this. I don't
know how she did it.
Cheryl lived with us for a short while.
One night, two weeks before she died, I was saying something. She
said, you are always so hard on yourself. Here Cheryl was dying,
and she was cheering me up. That's just the way Cheryl was. The
day Cheryl died, I got to talk to her on the phone, and she asked
me how I was doing. What a woman. Always worrying about someone
else. I didn't get there in time to say good-bye. She passed away
just as I got off the elevator.
My mom passed away this year. To my
surprise. Cheryl drove herself down to Chatham to be with
me. I asked her why she came. She said: "That's what friends
do. They are there for each other."
There was another celebration of life in
London a few months ago. I spoke, and gave some angel gifts in
Cheryl's memory.
I can only hope that if something like
this happens to me, I will be blessed with Cheryl's faith,
determination, grace and a room full of friends to help me go on
to my next adventure.
Gayle Cumming (Cheryl's friend)
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