Cathy's Best Friend

Cathy and I met in 1982 as obnoxious eighth graders. Our attitudes grew along with our hair and we entered high school ready to take on the world.



By the time we left, Cathy and I, along with most other students, were forever changed.

The usual experiences were only part of it. We liked boys who didn’t like us back, changed our hair color, learned to drive, tried tequila, and went from Madonna to Motley Crue in the blink of an eye. Our home lives were pretty typical in that we both had divorced parents and felt horribly misunderstood. Cathy had to work extra hard to please her mom and sometimes buckled under the pressure.

Stephanie made life easier for Cathy. They were best friends. Stephanie’s outlook and charm made gaps between disaffected youth and disapproving parents disappear. Cathy’s mom loved Stephanie and Cathy cherished her above all other friends. They did everything together.

Senior year, Stephanie drove Cathy home one day after school. She couldn’t stay, had to request more hours at work before chorus practice.

Stephanie never made it to any after-school activity. She disappeared somewhere between her car and the drugstore where she worked.

Days followed where everyone felt confused and scared. Where did she go? Stephanie wasn’t the running-away type. We attended vigils and Cathy spent weeks passing out fliers and hoping for the best. Tragically, Stephanie’s body was found a month later.

Years passed before police announced that her killer had been found. I won’t name the man who killed Stephanie. He thrives off attention and I won’t add to it. Stephanie wasn’t his only victim. This week he was sentenced to life in prison for killing Natalie Holley and a few years ago he was sentenced to death for killing Teri Lynn Matthews. In the past, his guilty verdicts have been overturned. Let’s hope these stick.

This January, he will stand trial for Stephanie’s murder for the third time. I suspect he will be found guilty again. I wonder if Cathy will have to take the stand once more and describe that sad time in her life for another courtroom of strangers. We went from carefree teenagers one day to scared young girls the next who spent hours talking about how to react if someone tried to steal us away from the people we loved.

At his sentencing Tuesday, Natalie Holley’s sister spoke for all those affected by violence. But this pathetic killer is not the reason we were forever changed. Our reaction to loss was because of a red-haired girl, her infectious laugh, and the way she took care of her friends. Especially Cathy.

Like most girls from our high school class, Cathy and I grew into women



– a blessing stolen from Stephanie, Natalie, and Teri. We know we’re the lucky ones. You can see that we know it, too. Just look behind our smiles.