Becca, Lee, and Bruno are coming over for a little party after I’m done with my last chemo treatment. I prepped food last night and invited them to celebrate the end to the shittiest type of medicine on the planet.

Instead of Bruno coming with me, I ask Becca to be at my side when they tell me I’m done. I know the chances that I’ll need more in the future are pretty high, but for now, I’m done.

Finished.

Finito.

Finition.

Fini.

Fatto.

“So that’s it?” I ask the nurse as she unhooks me.

“Yep. I’m proud to say you’ve completed your treatment.”

“Huh,” I mutter. “I expected more.”

“I wish we could throw confetti and party, but we do have the bell.”

During the six times I’ve had treatment, I’ve heard the bell twice. Each ringing signals the end of someone’s treatment plan and gives a feeling of hope to everyone still sitting in the chair. We wait for our turn and pray we make it. Today it’s my turn to ring the bell and kiss cancer good-bye.

“Yeah. I think that’s a great idea.” I smile. “But I think confetti would be a nicer touch.”

She digs around in her pocket and holds out her hand. “Sucker?”

I laugh. “I’ll take it. Grape is my favorite.” I unwrap it and stick it in my mouth as quickly as possible. The chemo has left a horrible taste in my mouth, and I’m hoping that the grape will overpower it. I give her a hug before I grab my purse and head straight for the bell.

My fingers shake as I get closer. The excitement and relief that comes over me is something I expect, but the hopefulness throws me for a loop. I don’t go over the top out of respect for the other patients. I ring it a few times and walk away, feeling a new sense of calm and joy.

Before Becca and I walk out, I turn and look back. I never want to be in one of those chairs again. I want to rescue each person who sits there and fights for survival.

My life is moving forward. I know it in my heart, and I know that I’ll be okay. Even if the cancer isn’t gone, I won’t look back with regret.

I turn around, putting everything behind me. Becca winds her fingers in mine as we walk outside into the cold air that has descended upon New York. “You’re done!” she exclaims and throws confetti at me that she’s pulled out of her pocket.

I laugh and spit out some that has landed in my mouth. “I am!” I yell and look toward the sky. “I’m kicking cancer’s ass!” I yell loud enough to earn me a few honks. My arms are outstretched and I close my eyes and take a deep breath. Sticking out my tongue, I let the tiny snowflakes fall into my mouth and melt. There’s something special about this time of year. It makes anything seem possible, including remission. “I’m done, fuckers!”

“There’s my girl,” Becca sings at my side. “And here’s your guy.”

I move quickly, searching for him. And then I see him. Rocco Bruno with a limo and the largest bunch of red roses and a billion balloons. I can’t wipe the smile off my face as I stand there, gawking at him.

“Lucky bitch,” Becca mumbles before smacking my ass. “Let’s celebrate!”

“Cal,” Bruno says when I come close enough to him to touch.

“Hey,” I reply, my smile so large my cheeks hurt. “All this is for me?” My eyes take in the size of the limo before staring at the perfection of the obnoxiously large bouquet.

“It is.” He places his hand against my face, wrapping his fingers around the nape of my neck and pulling my face to his. The warmth of his lips sends tingles down my spine and leaves me gasping for air.

My eyes fill with tears and I can’t stop them. My joy is too much to contain. I throw myself into his arms and pepper his neck with kisses. “Thank you. Thank you. Thank you,” I chant and move my lips to his face. He chuckles and turns his head in time to capture my lips.

“You two really make me ill,” Becca grumbles from behind us before she climbs into the limo. “Let’s go. I see drinks in my future.”

Bruno and I laugh, glancing at each other. I can see the joy in his eyes, the relief that this part of my journey is over. “After you.” He motions toward the limo door.

As I climb inside, I think about how surreal my life has been over the last couple of months. The phone call, the accident, locking myself away from the world, the sickness of cancer, losing my hair—I mean, every fucking strand—growing close to Bruno, depending on him, Becca being at my side…when I let her, Lee coming into my life like a guardian angel, and how I am truly the luckiest girl in the world.

---

“Surprise!” Lee shouts when we walk through the front door and she throws more than a handful of confetti at us.

Bruno grunts and I turn to look at him with the biggest smile on my face, breaking out in a fit of uncontrollable giggles. The tough guy has confetti everywhere. The majority of her throw landed on him, sticking on his eyelashes, on his lips, and all over his head. Pink sparkles even cover his coat. He looks adorable and miserable.

“Don’t say it,” he mumbles.

“But you look—” I don’t finish the statement because he starts trying to blow it off his eyelashes using his lips, and the face he makes has my laughter returning even harder.

“Oh my God,” I blurt as I try to catch my breath.

“Sorry,” Lee apologizes, looking not a bit sorry for covering her brother like a sparkly pink cupcake.

His hand runs furiously across his head, the sparkles falling onto his shoulders like the most beautiful dandruff in the world. “Jesus, Lee. Overboard much?”

“It’s a party, bro. Smile a bit, fucker.” She winks at me.

We all laugh except him. He isn’t really pissed, but no matter how hard he tries, he can’t get it off. It’s as if it wants to be part of him. I understand it completely. I never want to be apart from the man either.

“Did ya get it?” Bruno asks Lee, wiping off the confetti from his lips.

She nods and motions toward my living room. “Everything is as you requested.”

I turn, following their eyes, and see it instantly.

A Christmas tree.

Not just a tree, but one unlike anything I’ve ever seen. It reminds me of a smaller version of the one I visit every year in Rockefeller Center. Wide and tall, it touches my ceiling and has so many lights and ornaments I wonder how it stays upright.

“You did this?” I glance back and forth between him and tree.

He nods and looks at his sister. “Lee helped.”

I head straight for her and wrap her in the biggest bear hug. “Thank you, Lee. Thank you,” I whisper and squeeze her.

“You’re welcome, Callie. Anything for you and my big brother.”

I hold her hand and grab Bruno’s too before walking to the tree to get a closer look. I can’t even adequately describe the magnificence and grandeur. The lights sparkle, and instead of being the typical tiny bulbs you can get at any drug store, they are large, round globes that twinkle. The ornaments are every color and shape imaginable. Large ones bigger than my fist are spread out among the smaller, more delicate glass bulbs.

It’s modern, yet classic. No tinsel or tacky garland, but it has wide red ribbon cascading down the tree in streams. It is…spectacular.

“Drink! Who wants one?” Becca yells from the kitchen as the rest of us check out the tree.

“Me!” Lee walks away, leaving Bruno and me alone.

I wrap my arm around his waist and rest my head on his chest. “I don’t even know how to say thank you.”

“I don’t want a thank-you. Seeing the look on your face right now is all I need.”

I smile and wipe away the tears. I’m a freaking train wreck of emotions, but not one of them is sadness.

“You’re too much, Bruno.”

“I know.” He laughs before kissing the top of my head.

I feel his lips against me, the warmth of them as he kisses me. When I left for chemo, I decided to forgo the wig and go au naturel. It just felt right. By now, I’m used to seeing my bald head, and I know the people sitting with me going through treatment look the same.

I slap his stomach and laugh before I stand on my tiptoes, wanting to feel his lips on mine.

Just as his lips touch mine, the girls walk back into the room. “These two can make a girl sick, y’know?” Becca complains and makes a puking noise.

“Yep. I can’t wait to deal with it for days at my parents. Not,” Lee adds.

Bruno and I smile like idiots and ignore them. “Happy?” His hand touches my face.

I close my eyes, melting into his hand. “More than ever.”

Funny how that works.

Darkness showed me the light.

Bruno is the sun that scatters the rays in my world, driving away the dark and shining the beautiful light on my life. Standing among the three of them, I realize that I’m the luckiest girl in the world.