Standing at Jamie's door after having walked her home late that afternoon, Landon tried to stay cheerful. "I'll see you at school tomorrow." He leaned in to kiss her but she stopped him.
"That's another thing I didn't mention, Landon." She lay her hands flat against his chest. "We all agreed today, Your father and mine, and me too, that if I am to go through with this surgery, that I try to stay as well rested and healthy and I can. School would be too strenuous. So I will study from home."
Trying to be understanding, but not quite achieving it, "What about Prom?" Landon asked. "That's in two weeks. And than graduation, you're missing your last month of high school, Jamie."
"I know that, but if I don't do this I might be missing out on a whole lot more." She said with a sigh.
It was then, for the first time he noticed how tired she looked. She had purple smudges under her eyes and her skin was so pale. Immediately feeling guilty for making such a fuss about prom and graduation when Jamie was fighting for his life, he apologized.
"I'm sorry, Jamie." 'For everything', he wanted to say, 'for never treating you the way you deserved to be treated, for not being good enough for you, but most of all for you being sick, when you are the last person on earth who should ever have to be scared like this!'
He wanted so badly to be able to say all this to her but the words seemed to stick in his throat, "I'm just so sorry," was all he could manage.
Seeming to understand she took his face in her hands and looked him right in the eye. "Don't be too hard on yourself, Landon. Miracles happen everyday, maybe I'll be one."
She kissed him on the lips and stepped back. "I should really go in, I'm tired and I am following Doctor's orders after all." The last part said with a smile.
He held the door open and watched her go in, "I'll stop by after school tomorrow." He called after her.
He was just about to turn and walk away when he heard his name being called. He turned back to the door where Reverend Sullivan stood.
"Thank you, Landon." He said simply. "Jamie told me about your relationship with your father. It was a brave thing you did, putting aside all those hard feeling to do what you thought was right."
Stuffing his hands deep in his pockets Landon just shrugged. "I did it for Jamie. I love her." He said simply.
The Reverend nodded seriously, "You've proven you are an adult now, Landon. That you can deal with everything that goes along with Jamie. I just want you to know that I trust you with my daughter."
Feeling a lump rising in his throat, Landon forced himself to calm down as he said "Thank you, Sir". Now was not the time to get emotional He was beginning to understand that this was not only Jamie's fight, and his now as well, but her fathers too.
As if reading his mind Reverend Sullivan came over and sat on the front step, inviting Landon to sit next to him. "The night Jamie was born, my wife died. Complications, something that rarely happens anymore. That was hard enough, I didn't think I could feel anything again. Then they showed me Jamie. She was so tiny and beautiful, Landon" He stopped for a moment, going back to the moment he first saw his daughter.
"They didn't tell me right away about her heart. They figured I had enough to deal with. But the next morning her heart just stopped. Maybe it was selfish of me to have put her through all this, when I could have just let her go peacefully, up to be with her mama." He stared down at his hands in his lap. "I gave permission for them to do whatever was necessary to save her, to bring her back to me."
Finally her looked up at Landon, "I would still do anything on earth to keep her here, and today for the first time in a long time we got a bit of hope. I have you to thank for that Landon, and your father as well, but mostly you."
Landon began to object but the Reverend cut him off "You don't think what you did was such a big deal, calling your father. You stopped being a child today, you're a man now. You put someone else's well being above your own pride and that means more then you will ever realize."
Still not knowing what to say Landon only sat there gaping, Reverend Sullivan had never been discreet about his dislike and distrust of 'that Carter boy'. That made what he had just said mean even more.
Slapping Landon on the knee as he stood up, he seemed to go back into character, "Go home now, Landon. See to your studying. Jamie will be just fine at home and you can come see her whenever you like." Heading for the door her turned one last time "And, Landon. Call you dad. He's a good man and he loves you."
Standing up Landon began to slowly head towards home. He had a lot to think about.