Unexpected Friendship closed a bit dramatically. If you’ve not yet read that first section of the saga, I encourage you to do so before continuing. If you read Friendship, you probably have a feeling for what is to come, but this tale does not end here.

Yes, cancer won the battle. June’s husband and children were facing life without her. Her friends and coworkers would no longer see her smile, hear her laugh, or watch her walk primly up to a new guest and begin to make them feel like they owned the resort.

Rosy had a hard time with the loss. June was younger and had access to England’s health care system. Her cancer was small and contained, like Rosy’s. She should have beaten it. At least the doctors in England told her she would beat it.

Rosy returned to Cancun regularly for a time. Each time, she was reminded of the friend she lost, but she was also reminded of the life June led in Mexico, one she was so happy to have found. Eventually, the sadness faded, but there was still a bit of a void that even the great food, beautiful scenery, and fascinating people one met on each trip could not fill.

There was also one nagging thought Rosy could not get out of her head. You see, Rosy was not just a cancer survivor. She volunteered at one of the largest hospitals in Texas. She was involved in fundraising and providing aid to cancer patients. She knew cancer doctors and other survivors. None could help her shake the feeling that June could have been saved. After all, she knew hundreds of people who survived breast cancer.

The truth is that June might have been saved. Sadly, she was dependent on England’s government-funded healthcare system. That system only authorized surgery and radiation as treatment for June’s cancer. If she’d been wealthy, she could have sought care outside the government system that might have included chemotherapy.

As we know, that was not the case. Cancer won, and many people missed the chance to know if only for a week or so, a wonderful person living her dream in a beautiful part of the world.

To be continued ….

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