Julie was dismissed from the hospital several days later and returned to work. Life proceeded as normal for a few weeks, and then something devastating happened.
It began as just a routine call for Johnny and Roy. They arrived at the home of a woman who'd overdosed on sleeping pills. The woman's roommate met them at the door and introduced herself as Cathy. "Diane's in the bedroom," she told them.
They entered the bedroom to find Diane still conscious and lying on the bed, the empty bottle of pills on a table beside her. "Did you take all of these?" Roy asked her, holding the bottle up.
"Yes, I did," she said defiantly.
"Then you're going to be very sick in a little while," he told her. "You'll have to let us take you to the hospital to have your stomach pumped."
"I'm not going to any hospital!" Diane threw a vase at the mirror and shattered it. "Can't you see? I want to die!"
Johnny and Roy walked back into the living room where Cathy was. "She refuses to come with us," Roy told her.
"But you have to do something! She's going to die!" Cathy cried.
"We can't do anything while she's conscious and coherent," Johnny told her. "We'll just have to wait until she loses consciousness. Then we'll have a patient."
They returned to the bedroom to find an increasingly disoriented, but still conscious, Diane. She'd stumbled from the bed to a nearby coffee table for a pack of cigarettes, and was attempting to climb back onto the bed. She faltered, then fell in a heap beside it.
"Now we have a patient," said Johnny. They called in the woman's vitals and prepared to transport her to the hospital.
Julie entered her apartment to find the telephone ringing. "Julie! Thank goodness you're home!" said her mother's voice. "Something terrible has happened!"
"What is it, Mom?" Julie's heart began to pound madly as she wondered if it was her father or one of her younger brothers.
"Your Aunt Bertha just called. Your cousin Diane's gone. She...killed herself today."
"What!" Diane was Julie's age. They'd grown up together and had always been close.
"She took pills." Julie's mother was crying so hard that she could hardly speak. "The hospital did everything they could, but they couldn't save her."
Julie's mind reeled as she recalled the last time she'd spoken to Diane. Her cousin had seemed so happy. She'd finally gotten her dream job, and she was dating a man she'd met at work. Everything had seemed to be going so well for her.
"Oh, no, Mom!" Julie groaned. "I can't believe it!"
"Neither could I," her mother replied.
"Well, what are the arrangements?"
"She's at Lowell Funeral Home. They're planning on having the funeral Saturday."
Julie's stomach was in knots as she sat the receiver down and went to sit on the sofa. Normally she was starving after work, but today her appetite was completely gone.
The telephone rang again a couple of hours later. "Hey, babe!" Johnny said cheerfully.
"Oh, Johnny! I'm so glad to hear your voice!"
"What is it?" Instantly he was very concerned.
"It's my cousin Diane. She killed herself today."
"Oh, no, Julie! I'm so sorry!"
"My Mom told me she swallowed a bunch of pills."
Johnny was silent for a long time.
"What is it?" Julie finally asked.
"Did you say her name was Diane?"
"Yes. Why?"
"That's the woman Roy and I tried to save today! Her roommate, Cathy, told us what had happened, but Diane was still conscious and refused to let us take her to the hospital. We had to wait until she'd lost consciousness, but by that time, it was too late. God, Julie, I'm so sorry."
Julie couldn't believe it. Johnny had been one of the last people to see Diane alive. "I just don't understand it," said Julie. "She had so much going for her, so much to live for."
"Sometimes there just isn't an answer," Johnny said softly. "God, Julie, I had no idea she was your cousin. Were you very close?"
"We grew up together. I never had a sister, and Diane was kind of like a sister to me."
"Well, would you like for me to come over?"
"That would be great!"
He did, and stayed for several hours. Julie cried on his shoulder as she recounted her favorite memories of Diane. "Will you stay with me tonight, Johnny?" she asked when he got ready to leave. "I don't feel like being alone right now."
