Truly, Madly, Deeply (The Baxters #31) - Karen Kingsbury Page 0,49

reaching Annalee’s favorite part and all around the room the people she loved began to sing along.

These were the lyrics Annalee clung to, the ones that sang about God working even when they couldn’t see Him or feel Him. The sound of their soft voices breathed peace through Annalee. The same way Tommy’s hands around hers did.

Next came her dad. “Hi, honey.” He put his hand alongside her face and looked long into her eyes. “You probably don’t remember when you were a little girl. Three or four years old.” He laughed, blinking back tears. “At bath time you absolutely hated having your hair washed.” He ran his thumb over her eyebrow.

“I do remember.” Annalee felt two tears spill down her cheeks. “I was afraid the soap would sting my eyes.” A quiet laugh came from deep inside her. For a few seconds she was that same little girl again. “You remember what you would do?”

“Yes.” Her dad put one hand on his hip and raised the other out to the side. “I’m a little teapot, short and stout. Here is my handle… here is my spout.”

Soft laughter came from others in the room as they watched Annalee’s dad bend at the waist. “Something about that song always made you laugh. And I would take that light blue plastic cup and we would pretend it was a teapot.” He brushed at a tear on his cheek. “Only then would you let me rinse out the shampoo.” His smile faded. “I always loved washing your hair, honey.”

He took a deep breath and paused for a minute. Then he lifted the scissors to a section of Annalee’s still soft blond strands. “Father, this is the hardest thing I’ve ever done. Watching my little girl go through this. Seeing her lose a part of her she’s loved since she was a toddler.” His voice broke and it took half a minute before he could speak again. “We trust You, God. Please… heal our girl. Heal Annalee for us, Lord. Only You can help us.”

Annalee squeezed her eyes shut. She hadn’t cried once since being admitted to the hospital. But now her tears came in a flood, quiet streams of sadness and release running down her face. Her mother brought her a tissue and Annalee let go of Tommy’s fingers long enough to press it to her eyes. Then she tucked the tissue into her other pocket and held his hands again.

Tommy was so close, their knees touched. She could feel his heartbeat in his fingers, smell the minty fresh of his breath on her face. He was holding her up, making good on his promise.

The song changed and this time it was “Lord, I Need You.” And every word mixed with Annalee’s deepest thoughts. I do need you, Lord. I need you every hour of this journey. Stay with me, please, Lord. Help me.

Her dad cut one section—same as her mother. Then he too laid it on the floor. Once more he touched her face. “I love you, baby girl.”

Annalee could barely see through her tears. “Love you, Daddy.”

Austin was next. Her younger brother looked uncomfortable, like he was sick to his stomach at the thought of taking scissors to Annalee’s hair. But he came, anyway. This was what Annalee wanted and Austin wasn’t going to back down from that. Clearly.

He stood next to Tommy and grinned at her. “I keep thinking of the time we went camping. Just the family. You were, I don’t know, maybe eight years old.” His eyes were dry, but the sadness there could fill an ocean. “We found that stick covered in sap. Like… dripping with sap, remember?”

Annalee’s own laugh caught her off guard. She nodded. “What were we thinking?”

“You wanted to be a forest princess. Something like that.” He shrugged. “I did what you asked. I wrapped your hair round the stick until it was poking out from either side of the top of your head.” His laughter faded. “Dad had to take his pocketknife and cut the stick out. Right?” He looked at their parents, standing together a few feet away.

“It was like doing surgery.” A faraway look came over her father’s face. “You thought you’d have to stay home from school for a year.”

Annalee could still see herself looking in the mirror once the stick was finally out. “I lost a lot of hair. But just from one side. No one ever noticed.”

Austin took the scissors from their dad. Then he lowered his voice