I heard the sound of rain pouring down on the roof before I opened my eyes. I noticed it was late, after lunch time, and I was surprised to find Jamie in bed next to me, still asleep. I wandered downstairs into the kitchen, and rummaged through the fridge, trying to find something that I could cook without burning the house down and waking Jamie up. I had just picked up a package of frozen waffles when the phone rang.

"Hello?" I answered, dropping a waffle into the toaster.

"Hi honey, this is Ellen from Dr. Reynold's office," She replied in t a thick southern accent. "I know this is a bit last minute, but Dr. Reynolds wanted to see Jamie in the office today at 3:00."

I could feel my heart start beating faster in my chest. "Is something wrong, is Jamie okay?" I could feel a lump rising in my throat.

"You'll have to talk to the doctor, but I'm sure it's nothing to worry about. "

"Oh okay, thanks...we'll see you then." I had suddenly lost my appetite. I took an umbrella from the hall closet and walked out across the back yard to the pond. Sitting down on the weathered bench under the tree, I noticed that the weather matched my mood. I watched the rain splash on the water for a few minutes, and prayed for more time with Jamie. I know it was a selfish prayer, but I knew that when she left, a part of me would go with her.

I realized it was already 2:00 and walked back into the house. I intended on waking Jamie up, but found myself sitting on the edge of the bed, memorizing how her hair fell across her face.

Jamie blinked her eyes open and looked up at me.

"Hey sleeping beauty. You slept late. "

"Mmmm. Let's just stay in bed all day.", she replied lazily.

"Can't. We have a doctors appointment in an hour."

Jamie groaned and pulled the covers up over her head. When she didn't reappear after a few minutes, I joined her under the mess on blankets.

"It's nice under here." I noticed, brushing back her hair and kissing her lightly. "So is there anything you want to tell me? Do you have any idea what this appointment is about?"

Jamie took my hand and looked away. "I don't know, but the last time I had an emergency appointment was when I stopped responding to treatment."
I didn't know how to respond, and turned away so Jamie would not see the tears forming in my eyes. A minute later, Jamie appeared on the side of the bed and pulled the covers back.

"Its okay to be scared Landon. We just have to trust God's plan.

There was no traffic on the streets and we made it into town in less than 10 minutes. The doctor's office was empty except for two elderly couples in the waiting room. I walked up to the receptionist's desk and signed my name on the clipboard - Jamie Sullivan. I quickly crossed off Sullivan and wrote Carter. Seeing my new name made me smile, despite the uncertainty of my last minute appointment. I was just about to sit down next to Landon when Ellen appeared through the swinging door.

"Well hello there, Miss Jamie! How's my best patient today?" Ellen asked, hugging me with an exuberant amount of strength.

"I'm okay, how's my best nurse?"

"I'm doin' alright, considering I've been chasing after my grandbabies all weekend." She replied, releasing me from her grip. "We need some labs today, so why don't you two follow me?"

Landon and I followed Ellen down the hall and into a room, where she slid my chart out of the basket on the wall.

"This chart of yours has more pages than a phone book, Miss Jamie. I think you're about ready for your medical degree."

Landon kept his eyes glued to a painting hanging on the wall while Ellen removed 4 small vials and a needle from the cabinet.

"What's wrong Carter, you can't take a little blood?" He glanced over at me, and quickly averted his eyes to the painting, his face turning pale. "I thought you wanted to be a doctor. You'll never make it through med school like this.", I joked.

"I have never seen a man stare at a painting of flowers so intently." Ellen began to chuckle. "You can look now, we're just about done. You two can go back out to the waiting room, Dr. Reynolds is just finishing up with a patient."
We took adjacent seats next to the door. Landon tapped his foot nervously and checked his watch. I handed him a booklet to read from the table.

"Understanding Meningitis. Thanks, it's just what I was looking for." he laughed and swatted my arm with the booklet.

"Made you laugh!", I giggled, as the elderly woman across the room looked up at us sternly. We were just recovering from another round of giggles when Ellen appeared through the swinging door.

"Jamie, the doctor is ready to see you now. Why don't you two come back to his office?"

I entered the small room and took a seat next in an office chair next to the window. Landon sat down next to me and Ellen smiled sympathetically as she closed the door.
Dr. Reynolds looked up from reading my chart. "Jamie, Landon. How are you?"

"I was hoping you could tell us." Landon laughed nervously.

Dr. Reynolds frowned. "Jamie, I have your test results from today." He paused and I could feel my stomach tighten into a knot. "Your white blood cell count has gone over 150,000."

"What does that mean?" I asked, afraid to know the answer. The doctor began reciting facts about the growth rate of white blood cells. I didn't understand. I looked at Jamie, hoping for a simpler explanation, but her eyes were fixed on the floor, blinking back tears. I suddenly understood that whatever we were dealing with wasn't good. I reached for Jamie's hand and squeezed it reassuringly.

"It means...," Dr. Reynolds paused and frowned, "The leukemia has gotten worse."
I could feel Jamie's grip on my hand tighten. The room was silent for a moment and the monotones tick of the clock echoed in my ears. Jamie's voice came out in a whisper.

"How much time do I have?"

"Your case would be considered critical at this point. Normally I would be sending you home on hospice care. Maybe a few weeks at the most."

Jamie stared blankly out the window. "Are you okay, baby?" The moment I spoke the words I knew it was a stupid question.
She nodded confidently. "Dr. Reynolds, do you believe in miracles?"

"Actually," he replied, "That brings me to the reason I called you in here today. There's a new experimental treatment out for chronic mylogenous leukemia. It's not a cure, but it could buy some time."

"How much time?" I asked hopefully.

"A few months maybe even 4-6."

I looked at Jamie, her face alternating between expressions of shock and joy. Apparently I wasn't the only one who could see the question in her eyes.
Dr. Reynolds laughed. "I think it would be safe to say that you have a chance of making it to Christmas."

"When can we start?" I asked enthusiastically.

"I want you both to take some time to think this over before we jump into it. Although it is a pill, it is still a form of chemotherapy. While it doesn't involve most of the chemotherapy side effects, it still has some side effects that could be troublesome or potentially dangerous - headaches, weakness, nausea, abnormal heart rate..."

"I want to two to go home and think about this and call me when you've made a decision."

Jamie's smile when we were leaving the office was contagious. When we got into the hallway, I reached into my pocket for my car keys, but Jamie reached for my arm and stopped me.

"Landon, I don't have to think about this. I feel like God has given me a gift today and I don't want to miss this opportunity. If you need more time to think about it we can go home, but..."

"Jamie," I said stopping her mid-sentence. "I would never need a second to decide about spending more time without you. I just wish that medicine could give us a hundred years."

She squeezed my hand with tears in her eyes and led us back into the doctor's office. Dr. Reynolds was waiting for us when we opened the door. "

"Jamie," he said, not looking not the least bit surprised. "I thought you might be back."

"I don't need any time to decide."

"Say no more. I've already written out the prescription." He reached into the pocket of his lab coat and retrieved a slip of paper. "I'll see you again in three weeks. Best of luck to you two."

"Thank you, but we don't need luck. We have faith."

I sat in the car in front of the pharmacy staring at the prescription. "Did you ever see the movie Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory?"

Landon shot me a quizzical look."Umm...yeah..."

"I wonder if this is what Charlie felt like when he found the golden ticket."

"I was wondering where this conversation was going with that one." Landon laughed, brushing a strand of hair out of my face. "Better go turn in your golden ticket before we lose it."

Although it was still summer, in my mind I was already forming plans for Christmas by the time we got home. As I unlocked the front door, I made a mental note to get a wreath for it.

"Wouldn't this be a perfect place for the Christmas tree?" I couldn't contain my enthusiasm as I surveyed the front corner of the living room. "That way people could see the lights from the window and it wouldn't block the fireplace. Our stockings could go on this side over here, and what do you think about putting the nativity up on the mantel?" Landon smiled at me coyly.

"This", he replied, pulling me into the doorway," Would be a perfect spot to hang the mistletoe." He wrapped his hands around my waist, pulling me closer, and kissed me passionately.

A few minutes later we were sitting on the porch swing drinking sweet tea. The rain had cleared and steam rose from the pavement in shimmering waves of heat.

"Landon, what do you think about having our parents over for dinner tonight? I still haven't told my father the good news."

"I think it a great idea. I'll go call everyone."

I went into the kitchen and began peeling peaches for a pie. I could hear Landon on the phone in the living room making arrangements. A few minutes later he appeared in the doorway. "They'll be here at 7. I figured that didn't really give you enough time to make anything, so my Dad and I can just grill some burgers."

"It sounds perfect." I answered, putting the last of the peaches into the pie pan.

"Jamie, this whole day has been perfect."

We were already finished with dinner and half way through dessert, and I had yet to find the perfect opportunity to share my news.

"Jamie, this pie is amazing!" Landon's mom exclaimed, cutting another piece of peach pie. "How did you learn to cook like this?"

"I had to. We would have starved if my Dad had been in charged of cooking."

"Unfortunately its true.", my father laughed, "She was raised on instant oatmeal until she was tall enough to reach the stove."

"Lucky for me, or I would be surviving on frozen pizza and burnt toast." Landon reached over and tickled me, and after our laughter died down the conversation fell into a lull again.

"Actually there's a reason we invited you all over tonight. This was kind of a celebration dinner...We have something to tell you." I looked around the table at the confused expressions on everyone's faces. Landon smiled at me and I squeezed his hand before continuing. "Daddy, remember when I was 5 and you taught me Mark 9:23?"

My father nodded. "All things are possible to him who believes."

"I'm starting a new experimental treatment. It's not a cure, but it could give me 6 more months. There's hope that I'll make it to Christmas."

My parents' expressions quickly turned from shock to joy, but it was Jamie's father I could not take my eyes off of. Tears rolled down his cheeks as he embraced his daughter.

The sun was barely visible in the sky by the time the hugging and cheerful outbursts and died down. As I helped my mother clear the table I could see Jamie and her father out of the corner of my eye. They were sitting across the yard, on the bench by the pond, and above them the sky began to turn deep shades of purple and orange. I watched them together, the two people with more faith than anyone I had ever met. I wondered if even their faith could withstand the trials they were facing. How could they still have so much trust in God after all they had been through? It was a question that haunted me for the rest of the night.

Later that night, after everyone had gone home, I joined Jamie in the hammock under the stars. It had become a tradition for us to lie there together, staring at the sky on nights when we didn't take the telescope out.

"Hey you." She whispered softly, moving over and putting her head on my chest. She had her mother's book of quotes tucked under her arm.

"I thought I'd find you here." I kissed her gently, still pondering her unwavering faith.

"Let's see what we've got here." I said, taking the book from her arms and opening it to the marked page. In a moment my eyes had adjusted to the dim moonlight and I began reading from the top of the page. "Trials are not enemies of faith, but opportunities to reveal God's faithfulness. I closed the book and glanced at Jamie's sleeping form. I had gotten my answer.