A Walk to Remember - By Nicholas Sparks Page 0,56

lasted nine days, followed by three straight days of drenching rain. Jamie had no interest in leaving the house in such weather, though after Hegbert had gone she and I might stand on the porch for just a couple of minutes to breathe the fresh sea air. Whenever we did this, I found myself worrying about her.

While we read the Bible, people would knock at the door at least three times every day. People were always dropping by, some with food, others just to say hello. Even Eric and Margaret came over, and though Jamie wasn’t allowed to let them in, she did so anyway, and we sat in the living room and talked a little, both of them unable to meet her gaze.

They were both nervous, and it took them a couple of minutes to finally get to the point. Eric had come to apologize, he said, and he said that he couldn’t imagine why all this had happened to her of all people. He also had something for her, and he set an envelope on the table, his hand shaking. His voice was choked up as he spoke, the words ringing with the most heartfelt emotion I’d ever heard him express.

“You’ve got the biggest heart of anyone I’ve ever met,” he said to Jamie, his voice cracking, “and even though I took it for granted and wasn’t always nice to you, I wanted to let you know how I feel. I’ve never been more sorry about anything in my life.” He paused and swiped at the corner of his eye. “You’re the best person I’ll probably ever know.”

As he was fighting back his tears and sniffling, Margaret had already given in to hers and sat weeping on the couch, unable to speak. When Eric had finished, Jamie wiped tears from her cheeks, stood slowly, and smiled, opening her arms in what could only be called a gesture of forgiveness. Eric went to her willingly, finally beginning to cry openly as she gently caressed his hair, murmuring to him. The two of them held each other for a long time as Eric sobbed until he was too exhausted to cry anymore.

Then it was Margaret’s turn, and she and Jamie did exactly the same thing.

When Eric and Margaret were ready to leave, they pulled on their jackets and looked at Jamie one more time, as if to remember her forever. I had no doubt that they wanted to think of her as she looked right then. In my mind she was beautiful, and I know they felt the same way.

“Hang in there,” Eric said on his way out the door. “I’ll be praying for you, and so will everybody else.” Then he looked toward me, reached out, and patted me on the shoulder. “You too,” he said, his eyes red. As I watched them leave, I knew I’d never been prouder of either of them.

Later, when we opened the envelope, we learned what Eric had done. Without telling us, he’d collected over $400 dollars for the orphanage.

I waited for the miracle.

It hadn’t come.

In early February the pills Jamie was taking were increased to help offset the heightened pain she was feeling. The higher dosages made her dizzy, and twice she fell when walking to the bathroom, one time hitting her head against the washbasin. Afterward she insisted that the doctors cut back her medicine, and with reluctance they did. Though she was able to walk normally, the pain she was feeling intensified, and sometimes even raising her arm made her grimace. Leukemia is a disease of the blood, one that runs its course throughout a person’s body. There was literally no escape from it as long as her heart kept beating.

But the disease weakened the rest of her body as well, preying on her muscles, making even simple things more difficult. In the first week of February she lost six pounds, and soon walking became difficult for her, unless it was only for a short distance. That was, of course, if she could put up with the pain, which in time she couldn’t. She went back to the pills again, accepting the dizziness in place of pain.

Still we read the Bible.

Whenever I visited Jamie, I would find her on the couch with the Bible already opened, and I knew that eventually her father would have to carry her there if we wanted to continue. Though she never said anything to me about it, we both knew exactly what it meant.

I