“OK thank you Connie.” Lara answers

“So Dana just sit back; try to relax. It’s going to take about three hours all told.”

“OK.”

“And we do have IPods with lots of ToTo, Survivor, White Snake. Just if you want to feel worse.”

Neither Dana nor Lara appreciated the dry humor and just looked after Connie as she walked out of the room.

***

“How does it feel now?” Lara asked when they were alone.

“How the fuck do you think it feels Lara? How do you think it feels to get everything under the kitchen sink pumped into your veins? My skin is fucking crawling. Where did my life go?” Dana laments.

”Baby your life is right here. I’m here. Your friends are here. Your family. Your fans.”

“What fans? I wouldn’t be surprised if everyone’s forgotten about me already. They probably think I retired after winning that Mercedes Benz tournament.”

“Dana no one has forgotten you. Have you been to your website lately? One of your fans created a Get Well/Best Wishes link. People are writing personal messages to you. Haven’t you seen them? I thought you were visiting the site?”

“No … I haven’t. I was afraid of what they might be saying so I haven’t been on it.”

“Well I have. Here let me show you.” Lara reaches into her satchel and removes her netbook. She’d brought it along to pass the time. She quickly booted it up and opened Dana’s webpage. They’d decided not to make a big announcement about Dana’s illness. Dana wanted to maintain her privacy but her publicist did make a statement on her behalf. Since then the fans had flocked to her website sending her good wishes.

Lara opened the site and quickly saw three new messages on the ‘Get Well/Best Wishes Link’. She read the first one from as1219.

“Hey listen to this. Here’s a message from as1219 … she writes …”

“Dana, as a big fan of yours and following your career for several years now, I was shocked to hear about the news about your health. Understanding that this must be a difficult time in your life and that there is little I, as a fan, can say to make it easier on you, I just wanted to express that I wish you all the best and I hope you stay as strong and determined to fight as hard as we got to know you to be on the court to overcome that time in your life to at the end come out stronger than you already are. Again all the best to you and those close to you.” as1219