After Love
Can be used as a sequel to "Summer" or as stand alone
Summary: Jamie has passed away. This is about what Landon does with his life after she's gone.
Title: After Love
Author: KatieS [katie1@jadinc.com] Feedback appreciated!
Disclaimer: Nah, I don't own it. Wish I did, but I don't think Warner Bros, Adam Shankman, Di Novi, Panadora, Shane West, or Mandy Moore would like that very much...
**Written with no mention of September 11, 2001. Written with no mention to terrorism, Al Qaida, or Osama bin Laden. This is supposed to be a nice story, and there's nothing nice about that stuff!
Author's note: Okay okay... this is my second A Walk To Remember story... don't be too harsh with me, I have basically no idea where this is going as of today... but I think you should read it anyways!! :)
Just for fun, I'm dedicating this story to my classmates at Middle School, for teaching me about life without even knowing it. Even the ones who don't like me.
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One week after Jamie died (September 25)
Landon's home, used to be Jamie's home as well
Beaufort, NC
Landon Carter dug through the wooden drawer in the dresser. It was the top drawer, the one that Jamie had kept her most important belongings in. Her Bible had once been in there, but that had been buried with her a few days earlier. He didn't know all of what was there, but he could recognize what he found. He pulled out the drawer and set it on the bed, and begun to sort through it's contents. First he pulled out a necklace. On the chain was a cross. Her mother's. Landon knew that. Then, there was another necklace. This one had an angel on the chain, with her birth stone. He knew that one. He had given it to her himself. For her birthday. Then there was a small book with a red leather cover. Golden words were on the front. They said "Jamie's Diary". He opened the book and read on the first page. It was dated September 14th, 1995.
I can barely deal with school sometimes. I thank the Lord that I have my faith to keep me happy. The work is fine, my activities are wonderful. My main problem is the people. When I walk by people like Eric, Dean, Belinda, and Landon, I know they are laughing at me. Even if no sound is heard, they are laughing on the inside. They probably laugh because I wear my mother's sweater every day. That's okay. Let them laugh. They do not know. They do not have my faith. If the judgment day comes and I am the only one who goes to the Kingdom of Heaven, so be it. They will have earned what they get. Still, I pray for their souls every night. Forgiveness is in the bible, so I suppose I will forgive them. I hope that they will change their ways though. I hope that they will see soon, that nothing good comes of hurting others.
'And we did,' Landon thought. 'You taught us, Jamie.' He felt so terribly for making her upset. He had never known that her sweater had been her mother's. God he missed Jamie Sullivan. His best friend, his wife, his reason for living. He wished she were still with him, there to comfort him.
Not wanting to think about it, Landon flipped forward a few pages. He landed on April 8th, 1996. Their sophomore year.
The most horrible of things has happened. I found out today that I have Leukemia. Cancer. I will never be able to live, to grow old, to have babies! Why does it have to be like this? I pray that the doctors can treat me. My doctor said that there is little hope. I'm going to die. Why do I have to die? I do not want to leave the earth, when I have barely begun my journey upon it! I pray that the Lord send me an angel to watch over me, and help me through this difficult time. I pray that I will live. Most of all though, I pray that my father will be okay. He has not come out of his study since we found out. I fear he is crying over my mother again. And over me this time as well. Lord help my father. He needs it the most.
This time Landon caught himself crying. Diagnosed with cancer, Jamie had been worried the most about her father. He tried to contain his anger at the world for letting such a wonderful person leave it, but could not suppress the angry shout that had risen in his throat. "DAMMIT!" he shouted. "Jamie why did you have to leave me?!"
Then he paged a few more pages. February of this year.
Landon Carter. The subject of my dreaming. He is my boyfriend. He actually asked my father's permission to take me out. What a charming young man he is as well. He's helped me achieve several of my dreams... I love him. I love Landon Carter. My father is not too happy with it right now but he will be okay. I have love. I am in love. I have been waiting for this for so long! Number five. Fall in love. I fell in love. I AM IN LOVE! I could shout it forever.
But Landon Carter does not know... he does not know I am going to die. I feel so guilty that I have not told him yet. I hope that he does not get too angry... I suppose I will tell him the next time I see him. I pray he will not leave me.
Again he was angry at himself. For being angry with her after she'd told him. He should've gone after her and told her it was alright! Why did he have to be so stupid?
Finally Landon paged to the last page of the diary. There was no date, only a note.
Dear Landon,
If you are reading this, I have passed away. I'm so sorry. I hope you are doing okay. Please do not be sad, I want you to be happy, and have a life full of joy. I want you to do what I could not. Landon never forget our love, please. And keep the stuff in this drawer, as memories of me. You can do what you wish with it, but keep it. And fulfill your dreams. Go to college. Get into medical school. Examine a moon rock.
I love you, Landon.
-Jamie Sullivan
Landon Carter was crying. A High School graduate, a man, crying. Crying over lost love. Crying because she would never be able to have a little girl, or go to college.
But true to his promise to Jamie, Landon continued with the drawer. He stopped crying and tried to be happy. However, it just did not work when he pulled out the last item in the box.
It was just a folded up sheet of notebook paper, crumpled from being used so many times. It was slightly yellowed, obviously aged a bit. Already knowing what it was, Landon unfolded it carefully.
It was Jamie's list.
Landon read the list carefully, trying to hold back tears when he saw some of the things that she could never do.
1. Get married in the church where my mother grew up
2. Have a baby
3. Adopt a little girl
4. Go to college
5. Fall in love
6. Give someone faith
7. Save a life
8. Sponsor a child
9. Spend a year in the peace corps
10. Get a tattoo
11. Be in two places at once
12. Make a medical discovery
13. Fly
14. Write a book that will inspire people
15. Go to Paris
Landon kept reading the ever mounting things on the list. Some of them had been crossed off. Number one was crossed off, for some reason with little hearts around it. Number five was crossed off, again with little hearts. Number ten and number eleven were both crossed off. Further down, number forty-two (Befriend someone you don't like) was crossed off.
With a trembling hand, Landon took up the purple ink pen he had found earlier, the same one used on the rest of the small Xs over the numbers that were crossed off, and crossed off number six. For she had given him faith.
Then he took the list and placed it back in the drawer, and there vowed to do what Jamie could not, but what he still could. He couldn't do all of it, have a baby for example, but he could do some. For her.
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North Carolina University (Is there really one?)
Beaufort, NC
Alrighty... first class. Landon looked down at his class list. Sigh... College. He was living at home, in the place where he and Jamie had lived. He really wished Jamie were here with him right now. The first day of college was... well... intimidating. He had always thought of it as an endless party for the smart kids back when he had been in the "in" crowd. Now... it was a challenge. A dream. He truly wished that Jamie, his true love, were there to share it with him.
He had begun on his list already - he was going to college. He had also begun on her list. Sure, he didn't have too much money, so he couldn't do too much yet, but he was working on writing a book that would inspire people. Landon smiled as he thought of it. He always carried with him the notebook in which he was writing it. It was about a girl, a girl named Jamie Sullivan, and how she changed his life forever.
He was not very far yet on his book, but he was working on it. He called it "A Walk To Remember" after the walk that he remembered; her walk on the day of their wedding.
(AN: Nicholas Sparks, please don't kill me... this is just fun. Everybody... Nicholas Sparks wrote the book, kay? And it's the greatest book ever so go read it now!!)
Landon sighed at thinking of Jamie, and said silently to her 'Jamie, help me... I wish you were here... I love you.'
It was almost as if she were answering, for a second later, Landon felt a gentle wind, and thought 'Her love is like the wind. I can't see it, but I can feel it. She is with me.'
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Ten years later
No more college. No more Med School. Two dreams on Landon's list accomplished.
But also that other dire factor that he remembered all of the time. No more Jamie. Now, more than ever, he wished she were there, for him to hug and kiss every day. She wished that he were there to have children with him, to talk about their jobs, and to just be Jamie, as she always was.
It had been ten years. Still, Landon lived in the house that they had lived in before she passed away. Every year, in the spring, he remembered her in special ways. First, he would visit her grave in the cemetery where they had used to go and watch the stars. He would camp out there for a night, looking at the stars, and pretending that she was there with him. She had been buried near where they had spent so much time, on the request of Landon and Reverend Sullivan. Then, he would cover the site with flowers, fresh for spring, and he would say prayers over her grave. Then he would go to the pier (or whatever it was) where they had first kissed, and sit there, just thinking about her, about their love. Then he always visited Reverend Sullivan, and they would remember Jamie together. He always made time to think of Jamie, no matter how hectic his life was.
Landon had a wonderful job. He was a doctor, treating patients with cancer. Always in memory of Jamie, of course. He had saved lives in his job, even after the little time he had it. He saw children, mainly. Teens, and even younger children. His heart went out to each of them and their families, because he knew how it felt.
Landon Carter had published a book. It was, indeed, called "A Walk To Remember" and it was indeed about Jamie Sullivan, and how she changed his life forever. He had written about their love, how wonderful it had been. He had written about Jamie's list, and how he'd helped her achieve some of the dreams she had put on it. He had written about their nights spent under the stars; and about their wedding. He had shed many tears when writing the book, for at the end, of course, he had to write about her Leukemia. He had received several letters from teens and young adults telling him how it had changed their lives. How it had *inspired* them. Number fourteen. For Jamie.
Today, though, when he went to get the mail, there was another letter regarding his book. (*Sorry Nicholas Sparks!! Pleeeeeez don't sue me!!!) He opened it first, and read
Dear Mr. Carter,
I have written to you today regarding your book, "A Walk To Remember", about Jamie Sullivan and how she changed your life. Reading this book about you and Jamie changed my life more than you could imagine.
Three years ago, when I was fourteen, I had the most terrible life. My mother had passed away of cancer, leaving me with my father who couldn't have cared less whether I'd been there or not. Several times I actually thought about ending my life. I had no faith. None at all. I figured that if there was a God, he would've done something to stop it.
For my seventeenth birthday, my girlfriend got me your book. I picked it up a few weeks ago and started to read. I was immediately hooked on it, and I kept reading, my faith growing all the while. By the time I had finished, I was not only in tears, I was renewed. I had more faith than I'd ever had before, and thanks to your book, I'm going to be going to college next fall to become a minister.
So in short, thank you, Mr. Carter, and to Jamie Sullivan as well, wherever she is, for giving me the gift of faith, and for giving me my life back.
The letter was signed, simply "John".
Landon grinned. Number six, for the second time. Give someone faith. For Jamie.
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Two months later
Parking Lot
Landon pulled into a space in the small parking lot. He got out of his car thingy and headed up to the small building.
The building was three stories tall. It was dingy-looking, the walls a sort of rust color. Vines snaked up them, curling around sets of small windows up the building. The whole place looked rather dilapidated. Still, he headed inside, confident about what he was doing, but still very nervous.
Landon opened one of the glass doors and walked into the building. He rang the bell that was on the desk, and a woman who had been digging for something below the desk rose and looked at him. She was an older woman, probably about sixty, and she wore thick glasses.
"Um... Hello, Ma'am... I'm Landon Carter... I uh.." Landon knew he was tripping over his words. He truly wished that Jamie were there with him, yet again. God he missed her so much...
"Ahh, yes, Mr. Carter, we've been expecting you," the woman smiled knowingly. "Here for Sarah and Leah?"
"That is correct," he answered smiling. He was glad that she knew already why he was there... he wasn't exactly doing too well with words today.
"Come with me," the woman told him. She led him up two sets of stairs and down a narrow hallway. The hallway had carpet, but it was dingy carpet, and the walls appeared to have been stained by something or other, the wallpaper pealing in places. Each of the winding hallways was lined with doors on either side. They approached one door with the number "219" on it, and the old woman knocked on it. Then she opened the door to reveal a teenager and two toddlers sitting on one single bed. The room was tiny, too small for even one toddler to live in.
"Nina, this is Landon Carter, he's here to pick up Sarah and Leah," the old woman told the teenager.
"Oh! Right!" the girl, obviously Nina, exclaimed. She smiled at Landon and shook his hand. Then Nina helped the toddlers off of the small bed and holding their hands, she led them to Landon. "Meet Sarah," she said, raising one child's hand, "And Leah," she raised the other.
The little girls were probably about three years old. They were quiet, with chubby faces. Yet they were not chubby children, they were rather thin for three. Each of them had blonde hair, wispy around their faces, and the bluest eyes Landon had ever seen.
He was so nervous. He was going to have little girls. He was adopting them. It was on Jamie's list. Plus... he had always wanted children himself, he had hoped that Jamie would've given him some, but she died so young... it just hadn't been meant to be. So now... now he was fulfilling one of his own dreams and one of Jamie's all in one.
"Hi, Sarah, Hi Leah!" Landon smiled cheerfully.
"Hiiiiiiii Lahnden," Sarah replied in the most adorable voice...
"Lahndeeeeennnn," Leah echoed. He grinned. This was going to work just fine.
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Landon's home
Beaufort, NC
Later that evening. Hey lets' call this day... um... November 16.
Sarah and Leah Carter sat on the floor in the living room of the nice house that Landon lived in. The two little girls were playing happily with the wooden blocks that Landon had bought for them earlier that day when they'd gone shopping. Landon was in the kitchen, preparing dinner for them all. They were going to have chicken. (My favorite food... *wink*)
"Sarah, Leah, come in for dinner," he told the little girls, as he set a platter on the table.
"Di-ner," Leah smiled at Sarah.
"Dinner! Dinner!" Sarah exclaimed.
"Wow, you don't have to get so excited, it's just chicken..." Landon laughed.
"Chicken! Chicken!" the girls chanted together, as they toddled into the dining room.
Landon helped them into their chairs (each with a booster seat... Landon Carter came into this prepared!) and then sat in his own. He grinned at the children that were now his daughters. This was what life was supposed to be like - all except for one thing. There was an empty chair at the table. Landon held back a sob, wishing that Jamie were sitting in it and enjoying dinner with them. He knew how much she would've enjoyed motherhood. Well he was just going to have to enjoy it for her.
Then, the curtains in the dining room window blew, as though there was a wind. Landon, Sarah, and Leah felt the breeze. The little girls looked up, startled, but Landon just smiled. "That will happen around here sometimes," he told them, with a sad smile. "That would be your mother, telling us that she's still here for us."
Jamie never did leave Landon. Whenever he was in a time of trouble or sadness, whenever he was missing her, that wind would come, unlike any other wind, it warmed him deep inside. He knew. It was her, Jamie, telling him that she would never leave him. She had once told him that he was her angel (NOT "Angle", Cinders...), but now... now she was his angel.
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The next day
Beaufort, NC
9:00 AM
Landon, Sarah, and Leah walked into the church, Landon holding one of each of their hands. The little girls looked adorable in their church dresses. They seemed very excited to be in the 'Pretty building'.
Landon was the first person into the church, besides Reverend Sullivan. Reverend Sullivan looked up, upon hearing a small voice say "Ohhhh... pretty building!!" Sarah.
"Landon!" Reverend Sullivan greeted merrily. "It's good to see you... let me guess... Sarah and Leah, right?" he asked. He had known that Landon was adopting the girls, Landon always kept in touch with Jamie's father.
"Yup," Landon answered. "This is Sarah, and this is Leah." He sat down in the first row of seats with the girls on either side of him. Reverend Carter set down his pen that he had been using and walked over to where they had sat down. He shook each of the girls' hands with a grin.
"Hello, Sarah, Leah... it's wonderful to have you here at church with us," he told them. The girls just sat there, grinning at him like crazy.
"I guess they can tell a good guy when they see one," Landon laughed. Then his face turned slightly serious. "Sir... Jamie... she has met them... she was... well Sir she was with us last night. At dinner. All of the windows were closed, the doors shut, yet we all felt a really warm wind... Sir it was her, she was there for us..."
"I don't doubt that, Landon," Reverend Carter replied. "Jamie would never leave you."
"I know, Sir," Landon answered.
At that moment, the church doors opened and Cynthia Carter walked in. "Mom!" Landon exclaimed, standing and hurrying over to give her a hug. Sarah and Leah had followed him curiously. "Mom, meet Sarah and Leah, they're your adopted grandkids."
"I was wondering when I was going to meet them!" Cynthia exclaimed happily. She bent down and gave each of the children a hug. "It's nice to see you, Sarah, Leah," she smiled. "I'm Grandma."
"Ga'ma," Leah giggled happily.
"Gama! Gama!" Sarah piped up.
Slowly, at first, people begun to pour into the church. Landon, Sarah, and Leah greeted everyone as they came in, as a sort of way to introduce the girls to everyone. They all made a *major* fuss.
Then the service begun, with the Reverend's voice, resounding through the church. "I want to say a special sermon today... about families." And Landon thought... 'Number three'.
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Seven years and six months later
Beaufort, North Carolina
Sarah and Leah Carter walked downstairs, still dressed in their pajamas. Landon was already in the kitchen making pancakes for the girls, who were now ten and a half years old. He was so proud of his girls. They had become... well... like Jamie. Okay, so not exactly. For starters, their long blonde hair and blue eyes was different... but that was physically. The girls, were like her mentally. They did not care what others thought, wore what they thought was comfortable, did well in school, they were loved by everyone in Beaufort.
"Morning, Daddy," Sarah smiled at him.
"Morning," Leah added.
"Well good morning, girls," Landon smiled. He placed a plate in front of each of them, carrying pancakes (which were smothered in syrup) and bacon. "How was your night?"
He was laughing on the inside, knowing the question would make them giggle. He had personally heard them talking and giggling into the night.
"It was good," Sarah giggled.
"Yeah... and weird," Leah added, with a glance at her sister. They both erupted into giggles.
Landon smiled. He was used to this. "We're going to do something special today," he told them. "I've got a book I'd like to read to you two, and then we're going to go and see Reverend Sullivan, and we're going to see Jamie."
"See... but daddy I thought... you said..." Leah wondered.
"Leah, sweetheart... Jamie doesn't have to be here for us to visit with her... it was seventeen years ago today that we got married. Jamie changed my life... matter of fact, she still is. You girls have felt the warm winds we get in here sometimes... it really puzzled you both when you were younger. That was her, girls," he told them. He wiped a stray tear from his eye. Jamie *had* changed everything... simply by being... well being Jamie.
"You loved Jamie didn't you daddy?" Sarah asked.
"More than life itself," he answered. "You know... if she were here today she would be your mommy. She always wanted children... she wanted to adopt a little girl... when she... died... I promised her and myself that I would do everything that she could never get the chance to do, but I could. Jamie... she had this list... I still have it. It was a list of everything she wanted to do in her life... spend a year in the peace corps, adopt a child, get a tattoo, be in two places at once... and to marry in the church where her mother grew up..."
Landon snapped out of the trance he was in. "We're going to talk about this some more later... right now you two should finish up eating and get dressed. I'll be back in a few minutes, I'm just going to get a shower..."
"Okay daddy," Leah and Sarah replied in unison. When he was gone, the girls looked at each other.
"I wish she was here. Jamie," Leah told Sarah.
"Remember what daddy said, Leah? She is here," Sarah said with a sad smile. Just then, they felt that wind again, that warmed them even deep in their hearts. "See," Sarah smiled. "She is here. She is our mom."
"We have a mommy!" Leah grinned.
"And daddy has Jamie."
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Later that day
Landon's car
The car was loaded with flowers... all kinds of them. Sarah and Leah were practically drowning in flowers there in the back seat. They were relieved when the car stopped and they could get out. Landon helped the girls out and then they begun to unload the flowers and carry them to a spot under a tree with a stone of marble that read:
Jamie Sullivan-Carter
1980-1998
We'll Always Remember
The three arranged the flowers around the headstone, and then they all sat down under the shade of the tree, on top of a dark green blanket that Landon had brought. Landon Carter took a small paperback out of his back pocket, and begun to read to his daughters. They saw the cover of the book. It was titled "A Walk To Remember" and written by Landon Carter. (NOT REALLY!!!! Pleeeeeez don't sue me!! It was written by Nicholas Sparks!!!!)
Sarah and Leah listened silently as their father read the book from beginning to end. Several times he had to stop because he was crying, or because Sarah and Leah were crying. He would always comfort them, or them him, and then they would go on.
When they finished the book, Sarah and Leah dried their eyes and just sat, looking at their father. He seemed vacant, thinking about something.
"Daddy. That really happened, with Jamie. Didn't it?" Leah asked.
"Yes, Leah. That was how it was... only... not even the words in this book can express how much we loved each other... when Jamie left... it was like... like a part of me was gone. She was... she was the best person I ever knew. Now it's time for you to meet her," Landon told them. "Jamie Sullivan - Jamie Carter... she lies here, under this stone. Well... her body does. Her spirit... it is with us... wherever we go. Always, for eternity."
So there they sat. Each of them talked to Jamie, in turn, Landon for the longest. Then they got back in the car and went to visit Reverend Sullivan, Jamie's father.
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Same day
Sarah, Leah, and Landon were now heading back to that cemetery where Jamie was buried. They went to the same spot where Landon and Jamie had used to watch the stars, where so many years ago he had told her that he had a star named for her. Where so many years ago, Jamie and Landon had kissed, told each other of their love for one another, and where they had slept overnight (YES, they actually *slept!*!!) so they could see Pluto in the morning. It was so special to them all, especially to Landon, and though she could not tell them, to Jamie.
An angel touched Jamie's shoulder. "Jamie, come and look at this," she spoke softly. Jamie stood and went over where the angel was pointing. She looked through a hole in the clouds and watched as Landon, Sarah, and Leah spread blankets on the ground in that cemetery where they had watched the stars so long ago. Well... not exactly long to Jamie... not when you're comparing fifteen years to eternity. She watched Landon tell the two girls something. Then she saw... they were all three crying. Knowing what they needed, Jamie softly blew air out, and then she saw them all look up at once.
"I love you," Jamie whispered, and she watched as they all smiled, their hearts warmed by the breeze they had felt. Then they settled down and fell asleep, and she watched them as they slept. Jamie felt a hand on her shoulder and looked up. There, behind her, was Jesus Christ himself.
"Jamie," he said to her. "You miss them, do you not?"
"I do," she answered softly. "I loved him so much." She did not need to explain who she was talking about, for the Lord already knew.
"Be patient," he said. "They will all be here, in their own time. That is when this really becomes heaven."
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Carter Residence
Two weeks later
Landon grabbed the mail from the mailbox. He shuffled through it. Bill... bill... bill... magazine... Leah... Sarah... Then he reached something addressed to him. The return address was from the agency he'd contacted recently... about sponsoring a child. He opened it first.
Dear Mr. Landon Carter,
Thank you for your interest in sponsoring one of the children that we are trying to care for. All you need to send us is five dollars per month (don't ask me how much it really is) and a child will be fed.
Enclosed is a picture of the child you are sponsoring, and information about the child.
Sincerely,
Some agency (don't ask me what that's called either)
Landon looked through the stuff, and found the picture of the child he was sponsoring. It was a little boy, probably about six years old. He was thin, probably from lack of food, and his hair was somewhat matted. Most of the children from these agencies seemed dirty and poor, but this one really got to him. Maybe it was because... because it was like this child was his son. He was, essentially, saving a life. Landon smiled. 'Number eight,' he thought. 'For Jamie.'
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One year later
Dinnertime
Carter Residence
Sarah, Leah, and Landon were all seated around the table. One chair empty, as usual. They always set a place there anyways, though, because they knew that Jamie was always there.
"So, girls, what's going on for you two in school now?" Landon asked.
"Not much," Sarah told him. "AnnaMaria is sick again... she spends more time out of school than she does in, I feel so bad for her. Oh and guess what?? Tyler..."
But Landon never really found out what about Tyler. For at that moment, his other daughter, Leah, started turning red. She put her hands up to her neck to signal her father that she was choking. Leah wasn't even coughing. Landon jumped up immediately, and started to do that Heimlich maneuver (Hey I DO know how to do this one... I just can't spell it... thank God for spell check). Less than thirty seconds later, the obstruction was gone, but Leah was severely shaken. She started crying immediately. Landon put his arm around his daughter. "Shh... it's okay, Leah... you're okay now," he reassured her. "There... it's okay..." Leah calmed and then sat down, and Landon returned to his seat. Still slightly shaken, Sarah and Landon both watched Leah without speaking or doing anything.
Leah smiled at them. She looked at Landon. "Daddy... number seven. You saved my life."
Landon's mouth opened, then shut. "Number seven," he whispered. "For Jamie."
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Landon's office
Three months later
A little girl, probably about eight years old, sat in the waiting room with her mother. Both of them looked very sad, and Landon figured, they would be sad if they were visiting his office. For that meant... that that little girl had cancer. He looked down at the registration sheet at the front desk and read her name. Jennifer. Jennifer Marshall. And her mother. He looked up at them. "You two can come on back if you wish," he told them. "We'll be in room three." They followed him back to room three, and then the girl's mother helped her up onto the examining table without a word.
"So, what's the case?" Landon asked Jennifer's mother.
"She's been diagnosed with.. with Leukemia," the woman replied. "Her doctors couldn't do anything, but they told me to come and see you. They said that you were well practiced in the area... and that maybe you could help."
Landon sighed and sat down. "That I am," he said, a note of sadness in his voice.
Then, they filled him in on the details, and he sat in his chair. After they'd finished talking, Landon still sat there with a puzzled look on his face. It *seemed* that all was lost, that the case was hopeless. But Landon knew, for some reason, that it was *not* hopeless. He had been working on a new treatment. It was still in the experimental stage, but it just *might* work. He shifted his gaze and looked at the woman. "Ma'am... I'm working on a new sort of treatment for Leukemia patients that just might work on Jennifer... it's still in the experimental stage, but my staff could tell you about it, and if you agreed, we could try it."
The woman's face was bright suddenly. "You could save Jennifer?" she asked incredulously.
"Probably," Landon answered.
"Thank God for the world of medicine!" she cried with a grin.
Landon sighed. "Yeah... if only it had been this advanced sixteen years ago..." he sighed sadly.
Jennifer's mother looked at him curiously, as though asking him to explain. "My girlfriend... er... my wife... she died of Leukemia when we were just eighteen," he explained. "She's my reason... for doing all of this. I don't want anyone to ever have to go through what we did... well at least that part of it."
As Jennifer and her mother left, Landon was thinking 'Lord... please let this work.. please... Jamie help us make it work...'
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A month later
Landon's office
A nurse walked into the small office where Landon was looking over some prescriptions. "Sir," she said. "Dr. Carter... your treatment worked! Jennifer Marshall is going to live!"
Landon looked up and grinned. "Really?" he asked.
"Really," she answered.
"Thank the Lord!" Landon shouted. "And thank you, Jamie."
"Er... Jamie sir?" the nurse asked.
"My wife," he explained. "She passed away three months after we were married at eighteen, of Leukemia."
"Ohh...." the nurse sighed, suddenly understanding Landon's determination to help Jennifer Marshall. "Good evening, Dr. Carter." And then she was gone.
As she left, Landon thought 'Thank you, God, thank you, Jamie.' Then he thought one more thing. 'Number twelve. Make a medical discovery. For Jamie.'
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Three years later
Airport
"Flight 334, now boarding," called a voice over the intercom.
"That's us," Landon told Sarah and Leah, who were both now fourteen. The girls followed him to the place where a woman was taking tickets, and then they boarded the plane and sat down in their seats. Landon let Leah and Sarah sit closest to the window, and he took the aisle seat. The two girls were pointing and giggling at some odd teen magazine. They were excited, and he knew it. After all... they were going to Paris.
It had been a dream of Jamie's. Why else would they go to Paris?? It had also been her dream to fly, Landon remembered this as the plane took off. The second it lifted into the air, he whispered "Number thirteen. For Jamie, of course."
The flight was long, but Landon, Sarah, and Leah enjoyed every moment of it, in knowing that Jamie *was* truly going with them. It was only a week long vacation, but they were going to PARIS! As a family! It was a wonderful feeling, going on a family vacation such as this one. They hadn't done much in the way of vacations before... they had been to Florida a couple of times, and New York once... one year they'd gone out to Hilton Head...
But this was different. Not only was it a vacation, it was on a different *continent*! And they all knew that it had been on Jamie's list to go to Paris. They were doing it for her, more or less, but all the while thanking her for giving them the gift of having a reason to take this vacation.
"Hey, daddy, look! It's the ocean!" Leah exclaimed, pointing out the window. Landon leaned over a bit.
"So it is," he smiled. "Beautiful, isn't it?"
"It really is, daddy," Sarah grinned.
"Jamie and I... we used to love to go out to the ocean and just sit on the shore and watch the waves roll in and out. We also loved it... we used to walk on the beach, just barely in the water, and watch the sunset over the ocean. The water would sparkle... it was so beautiful you wouldn't even imagine... not half as beautiful as she was though..." Landon sighed.
Sarah, who was sitting next to Landon, gave him a kiss on the cheek. "Don't be sad, daddy. She's still here, remember?"
"I'll always remember."
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I have no idea what time it is or what day, but they're in Paris
Landon, Sarah, and Leah all walked out of the airport. Landon looked around at their surroundings and turned to the girls. "Welcome... to Paris," he grinned.
Then all three of them looked at each other, and at the same time, they said "Number fifteen. For Jamie."
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Landon Carter was an old man. Retired for only a month, yet still a very old man. He lived by himself, still in the very same home that he and Jamie had lived in so long ago, together, after their wedding. He still slept in the bed that she had once slept in beside him. He still loved Jamie very much, and thought about her every day. And now, more than ever, he missed her. Had she been there, he would've been so much happier. He had never imagined what it would be like to be alone again after he'd adopted the girls, but now they were moving on, had families of their own. Sure, they came to visit him very often. He saw them every Sunday in church. But still... he missed Jamie.
He had done as much as he possibly could from both her list and his, and now it was time for them to reunite. "Jamie," Landon said aloud. "Jamie, baby, I'm coming. I'm going to see you again." And then, Landon Carter took one last breath, and settled into eternal sleep.
*~*~*~*~*
Please read the next one... "In The End" for what happens *after* this; after life.