Kaila died of a heroin overdose in March, just before the equinox. At the time it was just the latest horrendous thing to happen in Simone’s life, and by far the worst. The girls had been inseparable since they were very little and they would announce unabashedly that they had been lovers since age seven. This was adorable. The really, really funny stories came from their moms.
The funeral was surreal; services for young people always have that quality. Kaila had been the famous kid who survived four open heart surgeries at Boston Childrens’ Hospital. Everyone knew her or had heard of her. Her mom, Toby, works for the publishing company that puts out all the local papers, so she’s also a fixture in the community. Everyone who knew the family had gone through the tumult of the surgeries and coming close to losing Kaila again and again.