eyes. “That day in the scan.”
“About our wedding?” Hope warmed his heart. “Really?”
“Yes.” She put her hand on his face. They stayed that way for half a minute. “I wish… you could kiss me.”
A quick breath stopped him from acting on the sudden impulse. He couldn’t kiss her. No matter how much he wanted to, he wouldn’t. She was too weak, too susceptible to germs.
Instead his smile came easily. “Well…” He traced her cheekbone with his thumb. “Now you know. It’s my dream, too.”
He held her then, until they heard her parents returning. Once more he kissed her cheek, and then he whispered near her lips. The lips he wanted so badly to kiss. “Get better, Annalee. Get stronger.”
As her parents entered the room he stayed there. Then he motioned them close and he prayed for her. That God would make clear the good plans He had for her, and that she would get stronger. By morning.
She couldn’t wear the locket yet because of the port in her chest. But one day… one day soon. Please, God, one day. He leaned near her face one last time. “Merry Christmas, love.”
“Merry Christmas.”
And with that Tommy thanked her parents for the time, bid them goodbye and left her hospital room. On the way to the elevator he could barely see through his tears. What if the cancer was getting worse? Why would she be so weak?
Then as he made his way out of the hospital he realized something. He blinked so he could see better. This was exactly what Pastor Dell had been talking about. Okay, so he was afraid. The odds were against them and he couldn’t do anything about it.
But he could do this. He could keep walking to his car, keep seeking God from now until Christmas dawned and every day after. And, like Mary and Joseph, he could keep believing.
That most of all.
27
Annalee had her answer.
A month had passed since Christmas and now she and her parents had just gotten back from the doctor. He had gone over her results and explained everything. And then he left them alone. Annalee and her parents had clung to each other, talking about what the news meant and what they would do next.
They had prayed together and then they had come home.
Now she had to tell Tommy.
Her text was short and to the point. I know, Tommy. Can you pick me up? Please?
His response was immediate. I’m on my way.
Her parents were in the kitchen, still talking about the results, no doubt. They knew Annalee needed time to process, time to get her mind around everything that came with this news. They always knew just how to handle things. This whole time since she first got sick, any doubts or frustrations toward God, they’d kept between themselves.
Annalee stared out the window at the barren trees. January had never been her favorite month. Christmas was over and summer was a million days away. At least it seemed that way. But here, Annalee was struck by the trees. Every tree out front was bare, stripped of its leaves. Snow covered the ground from last week’s storm, and bits of it still clung to the trees.
Look at them, God. She narrowed her eyes. As far as a tree knew, its branches would never bear leaves again. Yet outside her front window, every one of those branches was raised straight to heaven.
Then she remembered a Bible verse she’d read this morning. Before her one-month doctor appointment. It was from Isaiah 55. The mountains and hills will burst into song before you, and all the trees of the field will clap their hands.
And wasn’t that what the trees were doing right now? The branches moving against each other in the winter breeze? There’s a lesson here, Annalee thought. If the trees could praise God in the middle of winter, so could she. For so many things and for her energy. A month away from chemo and she definitely felt stronger. She didn’t need a wheelchair.
Tommy’s Jeep pulled up. Annalee wrapped her scarf around her neck and slipped on her gloves. She already wore her warmest coat and hat. “Bye,” she yelled to her parents.
They both joined her in the living room. Their eyes were still swollen with tears. “Stay warm.”
“I will.” She nodded. “Thanks for letting me go.”
“Don’t be long.” Her dad’s tone was serious. “Just half an hour.”
“Okay.” A quick wave and she stepped out to meet him. The boy she loved with all her