The Three Lives of Cate Kay

Sidney secretly travels to Bolton Landing to find out more about Amanda and Annie. She visits Mr. Riley, pretending to be a researcher gathering information on local drama programs. During the conversation, she pretends a casual interest in his Twelfth Night poster and asks him about the production. He tells her that it starred two of the most talented students he has ever taught and that what happened to these two girls was tragic. He explains that Amanda was badly injured and is still in the hospital, paralyzed from the waist down. He states that Annie disappeared and that no one knows what happened to her after she placed the 911 call alerting authorities to Amanda’s accident.

Convinced that Cass is a “once-in-a-lifetime woman” (99), Sidney decides that it is in her and Cass’s best interests that Cass move on from Amanda and find happiness with Sidney in New York. When Sidney returns to Plattsburgh, Cass declares that she is going back to Bolton Landing to be with Amanda. Sidney confesses that she was just there. She then lies, telling Cass that Amanda is dead.

After being told that Amanda is dead, Cass grabs Amanda’s things out of her car’s trunk. She slides down against a tree, hugging the bag of Amanda’s possessions to her chest. She screams, feeling like she is melting inside. When she finally returns to her car, Sidney is still there. Sidney embraces Cass with a comforting hug. Cass kisses Sidney, and that night, they have sex for the first time. Afterward, Cass begins writing the first draft of The Very Last.

An excerpt from the opening of The Very Last is then revealed. In this story, two reporters—Samantha and Jeremiah—are four floors down in the parking structure beneath their New York news station, getting into “Pacino,” Samantha’s car. Samantha thinks about the mixed tape that Jeremiah made for her before they left their home in California to head “east to chase their dreams” (104). There is an explosion; New York has been hit with a nuclear blast. Samantha reaches for Jeremiah and pulls him from the car just before it is flattened by a falling section of the garage ceiling.

Amanda recounts her experience of waking up in the hospital in the fall of 2000. She is confused and lapses in and out of consciousness, but she remembers falling from the zipline and surmises that she is in the hospital. She sees someone curled under a blanket in a bedside chair and wonders if it is Annie. When she thinks of Annie, she remembers their tradition of getting coffee at a place called “Spot.” They would make fun of the name and dog logo and talk about better dog names. Eventually, Amanda decided that if she had a dog, she would call it “Puck” after the character in A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Annie suggested “Persephone,” but Amanda pointed out that this was a better name for a human character than a dog. The person in the chair at her bedside turns out to be her sister, Kerri. When Kerri tells her that Annie is missing, Amanda feels a sudden fear about what it might mean.

Sidney’s narrative skips ahead to 2005. She is now a practicing attorney, and she and Cass are living together in Harlem. Cass, who has been working in a nearby coffee shop, has finally finished The Very Last, and Sidney is sure that the book will be a big hit. Sidney is bothered by Cass’s habit of vanishing into herself so often. She takes this personally and feels that Cass is ungrateful for everything Sidney has done for her. When Cass reveals that she has already submitted the manuscript to a literary agency without consulting her, Sidney grows angry. Cass says that she has submitted the manuscript under the pseudonym “Cate Kay.” When Sidney asks how she came up with this name, Cass claims that she “just [likes] the way it sounds” (112).

Cass states that in 2005, she is consumed with counting how long she has lived without Amanda. She thinks of Amanda constantly and sprinkles details from their friendship throughout her novel, using the story as an outlet to express everything she loved about her friend. The two characters at the center of her novel are “soulmates,” one of whom is in love with the other, and they are separated by a disaster “so big that the world would understand that no one was to blame” (113).

An excerpt from The Very Last is revealed. In this scene, Samantha and Jeremiah bravely emerge into the now-deadly air of New York City to cover the disaster and get information to any other survivors. They pass the remains of their favorite coffee shop, “Spot,” and Samantha is momentarily overcome with emotion.

In 2005, Melody Huber, a literary agent, discovers the manuscript for The Very Last in the slush pile of Eloquence, the literary agency from which she has just been fired. She has long been in charge of reading the agency’s slush pile, and on the day she is fired, she takes the pile home out of habit. Because she enjoys the quest to find new authors, she reads the manuscripts as a way to comfort herself. Alongside many terrible stories, she finds a gem: The Very Last.

Amanda recalls her experiences in the fall of 2000, immediately after her accident. As she goes through endless days of physical rehabilitation, she wonders how far away Annie has gone. She confesses that she was aware, even before the accident, that Annie was pulling away from her, and she admits that her daredevil behavior was an attempt to reel Annie in.

Her narrative shifts backward in time to recount her own perspective on the day, just before they were supposed to leave town together, when they were packing Brando’s trunk. In that moment, Annie asked whether Amanda had had other dreams for the future before they met. Amanda asked if Annie was really trying to say that she wanted to go to Los Angeles on her own. Amanda immediately regretted asking this and was relieved when Annie deflected the question instead of answering honestly. (In the past years of their friendship, Annie had once made fun of a local theater that spelled Cate Blanchett’s name “Kate.” The phrase “Cate with a K” (127) had become a running joke between the two, who had felt that they could not possibly stay in such a backward town.) Amanda knew that something was seriously off between her and Annie when, standing at Brando’s trunk, she joked about “Cate with a K” (127) to remind Annie of why they were leaving, and Annie’s response was merely a sullen “Yup.”

In 2006, Vanity Fair writer Jake Fischer sees an article about Cate Kay, the mysterious author of the best-selling book, The Very Last. He wonders if he can find out anything about Kay for a potential cover story, so he calls his brother, Brian, who works in publishing. Brian is able to give him the name of Kay’s agency and publishing house, but nothing else. Jake contacts Melody Huber, who is now running her own literary agency, Slush, but Melody can only give him Sidney Collins’s name because Sidney has been her go-between with Kay. Jake finally convinces Sidney to meet with him. She is very careful about what she says, giving him almost nothing that he can use for an article.

After a year of hating physical therapy because it is so filled with long-term goals that seem unachievable, Amanda asks her physical therapist, Janet, to help her work on something short-term: regaining enough dexterity to turn the pages of a book easily. She sees that this goal pleases Janet, who loves reading. Slowly, physical therapy helps Amanda to find new hope and regain “a modicum of normalcy” (138). At home, Kerri devotes much of her time to taking care of Amanda, and this makes Amanda feel guilty and useless. After five years of physical therapy, Janet and Amanda both know that they have done as much as they can, but Amanda does not yet want to admit that her progress has stalled.

One day, when she comes into the building, she finds Janet absorbed in a new book called The Very Last. Janet offers to let Amanda borrow the book. That afternoon, Amanda is stunned to discover that the book is filled with details that are clearly lifted from her friendship with Annie. When she finishes, she angrily writes a note to Cate Kay, whom she is sure is actually Annie. She keeps the book on her bedside table, and each night, she feels the same rage as she imagines Annie living a glamorous life as a famous author—a status that Annie has earned by sharing details of her history with Amanda instead of honoring that history by staying at Amanda’s side.

By January of 2007, Cass realizes that her relationship with Sidney is toxic. She sees that Sidney is controlling every aspect of her life, and it does not surprise her when she finds out that Sidney has failed to tell her about Ryan Channing’s invitation. By coincidence, she overhears a phone conversation in which the letter from Ry is mentioned, and she insists on reading it. Cass is intrigued by the sentiments in the letter and by Ryan herself, and she immediately decides to accept Ry’s invitation. Sidney insists that this will destroy the secrecy they have built around Cass’s identity. She angrily accuses Cass of wanting to get away from her, but Cass leaves for Los Angeles anyway. As her plane lands, she is lost in sad memories of the dreams she once shared with Amanda, and she wonders what might have been.

Ryan returns to her discussion of the moment in January of 2007 when she first laid eyes on “Cate.” She thinks that the woman before her is “effortlessly cool” and beautiful. She points out that Cate is very early, and Cate tells her that she was so excited about the meeting that she took an earlier flight. Ryan shows her guest into a bedroom and offers her some time and privacy to freshen up after her flight. They lock eyes, each reluctant to be the one to break contact. Cass tells Ryan her name—introducing herself as Cass—and Ryan is pleased to believe that she finally knows Cate Kay’s real name.

Cass offers her perspective on her first meeting with Ryan. When Cass first finds Ryan in her backyard, she is amazed at the experience of seeing such a famous and beautiful woman so at ease in bare feet and basketball shorts. She feels “unburdened for the first time in six years” (150). She is also aware of the sexual tension between her and Ryan and hopes that she is not imagining it. Cass is feeling so relaxed that she almost slips and introduces herself as “Annie.”

Cass has planned to stay at Ryan’s for just a week. However, after the two spend days relaxing by the pool, ordering food, and enjoying one another’s company, Ryan invites her to extend her stay for several more weeks, at which point Ryan will have to leave to begin filming in Charleston. They talk for hours, and Ryan learns much about Cass’s childhood. Cass shares that she suffered something traumatic, but she does not explain what it was. Cass tells Ryan that she has always wanted to live a life just like Ryan’s and that this goal was a factor in her decision to accept Ryan’s invitation. She says that she wants many things that she thinks she can no longer have. They share a moment of deep understanding when Cass explains her yearning for “Cosmic bigness” (155) and Ryan realizes that she feels exactly the same way. Ryan asks about Sidney’s reaction to Cass’s trip to L.A. Because Ryan is sure that the truth would hurt her career, the fact that she is a lesbian is a closely-guarded secret that only her sister and Janie know—but she wants Cass, and she wants to know whether Cass might want her, too. As their arms move closer and closer together along the back of the couch, Cass confesses that she thinks Sidney is worried that Cass is attracted to Ryan. Ryan, thinking about a possible future with Cass, asks, “How bad could it have been, this thing you’re hiding from?” (157). Cass instantly retreats, saying that she is tired and is going to bed.

In the early days of her visit, Cass wonders if Ryan is attracted to her. She also wonders guiltily if she even deserves the happy lightness she feels in L.A. with Ryan. She texts Sidney, saying that the studio has asked her to extend her trip. As she writes about all of the important work that she and Ryan are doing, she knows that Sidney will discern the lie, but she does not care. She is more drawn to her connection with Ryan than she is to the idea of spending a lifetime with Sidney. She reminds herself that Sidney doesn’t “own [her],” then adds, “not exactly” (160).

Ryan lies awake in bed night after night, thinking about Cass’s proximity. Finally, one night, she gets out of bed and taps at Cass’s door. Cass quietly calls for her to come in and lifts the covers on her bed for Ryan to get in. Ryan lies beside her, forcing herself to move slowly because she wants their first sexual encounter to be perfect. Finally, Cass closes the distance between them, asking, “What took you so long?” (162).

During those first nights, Cass also lies awake, thinking about Ryan and willing her to come into her room. When Ryan finally knocks and slips into her bed, Cass is nearly overwhelmed with a desire that she has never felt. This first night with Ryan is the best night of Cass’s life.

Sidney offers her perspective on the events of that January in 2007. She points out that she built Cate Kay’s entire legal edifice and has protected Cass from discovery. She is bitter that this was not enough to earn Cass’s love. She is well aware that Cass is lying to her about her motives for going to Los Angeles, as well as her motives for staying in Los Angeles. Sidney is angry, but she understands that there is nothing to be gained by confronting Cass. A coworker takes her to a Soul Cycle class to blow off some steam, and she meets an instructor to whom she is very attracted. She goes to the class every day for the next month.