her shoulder. “You got through it. I’ll get your boyfriend.”
Her boyfriend. Two words that reminded Annalee this wasn’t the Bahamas and she and Tommy weren’t married. She wasn’t lying on a luxurious fresh bed looking out at the ocean and she and Tommy weren’t about to—
He rushed into the room. “Hey.” He stooped down to her level. “How was it.”
“A dream.” She put her hands on his shoulders and smiled. “If you only knew.”
He stayed down at her level. “You… fell asleep?”
“Sort of.” She leaned closer and let her forehead rest on his. “It was the most beautiful dream ever.”
“Well, then…” He took gentle hold of her face. “I believe it’ll come true, love. Someday. Somewhere. Sometime away from here.”
“Yes.” She smiled at him. “I believe, too. With everything in me.”
And so she did. As they left the scan room and headed back down the hallway, Annalee was no longer thinking about her test results or whether she’d need more chemo or steroids or antinausea medication. She was back in the Bahamas.
She could practically feel the sheets on her skin.
21
For the rest of his life, Tommy was sure he would remember this Thanksgiving Day, and the sight of Annalee and her parents and brother walking up the porch of his uncle Landon and aunt Ashley’s house. She was a vision, Annalee. Her flowy skirt swished just above her ankles, and her navy sweater hid just how much weight she’d lost. She wore the blond wig, the one she loved most.
She looked too pretty to have cancer. He opened the front door as they got closer. The Baxters always gathered at the old farmhouse in Bloomington for Thanksgiving, and this year they had invited the Millers. Because the news from Annalee’s scan was so good.
Her tumor was disappearing!
She didn’t need a wheelchair now, even though she’d had another round of chemo since the scan. Maybe because of the great news or maybe because God was working a miracle, she felt stronger these days. Able to walk. And the color really was back in her pretty freckled cheeks.
Tommy met them at the door and resisted the urge to let Annalee lean on him. She wanted to walk on her own, she had told him a few days ago. Like a normal person. She had missed it. Instead he shook hands with her dad and hugged her mom and brother.
“Glad you could make it!” He grinned at each of them. “Everyone’s inside.”
Over the last three years Annalee’s family had shared other dinners here at the Baxter house, so there was no need for introductions. Tommy’s dad had asked the family to avoid talking about Annalee’s cancer.
Better just to enjoy the time together.
When everyone had said their hellos, Tommy walked with Annalee to the back porch, where they could be alone for a few minutes. He had promised that even he wouldn’t ask how she was today. So he put his arm around her and together they stared across the back field.
“It’s so pretty.” She shaded her eyes. “Let’s walk to the stream out back… next time.”
“We will.” He held her close, warmed by the feel of her body against his. “This spring. It’s a date.”
“Perfect.”
They were talking in code. She would finish with her treatments in early January. Then there would be another scan weeks later. That one had to show just one result if they were actually going to take a walk to the stream in spring.
No evidence of disease. NED, her doctor had called it.
“What are you thankful for, love?” He held her closer still. They would talk about it at dinner, go around the table so everyone could share. But he wanted to have this moment with her first. Just the two of them.
She turned to him. “So much.” She paused. “I’m… thankful for the smell of turkey and potatoes coming from your aunt and uncle’s house. And for the chill in the air reminding me that winter is coming. Time is passing. The seasons are changing.”
Here was one more thing Tommy loved about her. She was a poet. Every detail of life landed on her. Moments like this he wished he could write down what she had just said. Because he never wanted to forget it.
“Okay.” He faced her now. “My turn.”
She put her finger softly to his lips. “Wait. I’m not done.” Her eyes danced, the way they hadn’t in far too long. “I’m thankful for my friendship with Jesus and my parents and my brother. And I