Free Reunion by Karen Kingsbury Page A

life.
    It was the way she’d felt all those years ago when she and John ere in trouble, the way she’d felt when Kari’s husband was killed, and again when Ashley was diagnosed with HIV. It was the way she’d felt when Hayley fell into a backyard pool last summer and came out a changed little girl. And it was the way she felt now.
    God… heal me. Let them open me up and find that it’s all a mistake, please, God… She hesitated, the whisper of a prayer still on her lips, the stream of water washing .the shampoo down her
    If not, God… then give me the strength. Please give me the strength.
    Ever since the diagnosis, she’d finished her prayers that way.
    because she needed strength to face the surgery and the 60
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    cancer and her family tonight as she told them the news. But because every time she prayed, God gave her the same overwhelming sense. A sense that the cancer was worse than any of them realized, that the double mastectomy would only be the beginning.
    And that sometime in the not-too-far distance, she would be leaving the people she loved so much.
    It was a thought that terrified her beyond words, beyond her ability to take even a single step toward tomorrow. So she prayed for strength now as much as she’d been doing, and she was sure the Lord was listening. Because somehow she was able to turn off the water, step out of the shower, and dry off.
    Knowing that every step led her closer to Monday and whatever the future held.
    Kari was practically bursting with the news.
    She held Jessie’s hand as the two of them walked toward the football field.
    Jessie jabbered about the grass and the flowers and the birds overhead. “Mommy, see that birdie?”
    “I do. He’s pretty, isn’t he?”
    “He’s a robin, Mommy.” Jessie sounded like a cartoon character, her singsong voice small and petite the way everything about her was. “See his red. He’s a robin.”
    “You’re right, honey. Very good.”
    “Robins come in spring, Mommy. Pretty red robins, right?” “Yes, honey.”
    Kari chuckled to herself and kept them moving. Jessie was still a towhead, but her blonde hair was getting darker all the time. At two years old she looked like a miniature Kari, but she was every bit as intellectual as her father had been.
    Kari gazed at the blue sky and wondered again. If Tim could see his daughter; he’d be so proud. But the truth was, his mark 61
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    on her life was all but gone. She was far more Ryan’s little girl, a child full of life and light and her daddy’s precious faith, “Daddy!” Jessie pointed at a tall figure on the sidelines of the football field.
    She pulled her hand from Kari’s and ran toward him, her yellow sneakers lighting up with every step, “Daddy.,. here I am, Daddy!”
    Ryan was holding a practice with a few of the quarterbacks. : Spring passing leagues would begin in a few weeks, and the guys had asked him to come out and throw a few balls around. It was
    afternoon, but Kari didn’t mind. She’d been more tired than usual, and after church she and Jessie had spent the morning cleaning Jessie’s closet, while Ryan headed for the school. It wasn’t until they’d finished cleaning that Kari had the idea. She needed supplies at the store, so why not pick up a pregnancy test?
    Her period had been due a week ago, and her body didn’t feel right. She and Jessie had done their shopping, and
    got home she took the test to the bathroom and stared at it. The last time she’d taken a pregnancy test, she’d dreaded
    results. This time would be different.
    She and Ryan had wanted another baby, but month after month her period would come. They’d talk about what they be doing wrong, how maybe it wasn’t the right time, or
    she needed vitamins, or perhaps something was wrong something left over from the football injury years ago. Whatever it was, their concern was beginning to demand some
    sort of plan. They had agreed to see a doctor this summer if she