Free A Walk to Remember by Nicholas Sparks Page B

beautiful.”
    “Uh-huh.”
    “You should count your blessings.”
    “Oh,” I said, “I do. I’m practically the luckiest guy alive.”
    Somehow she didn’t catch the sarcastic tone of my voice.
    We got to the orphanage just about the time it was getting dark. We were a couple of minutes early, and the director was on the phone. It was an important call and he couldn’t meet with us right away, so we made ourselves comfortable. We were waiting on a bench in the hallway outside his door, when Jamie turned to me. Her Bible was in her lap. I guess she wanted it for support, but then again, maybe it was just her habit.
    “You did really well today,” she said. “With your lines, I mean.”
    “Thanks,” I said, feeling proud and dejected at exactly the same time. “I still haven’t learned my beats, though,” I offered. There was no way we could practice those on the porch, and I hoped she wasn’t going to suggest it.
    “You will. They’re easy once you know you all the words.”
    “I hope so.”
    Jamie smiled, and after a moment she changed the subject, sort of throwing me offtrack. “Do you ever think about the future, Landon?” she asked.
    I was startled by her question because it sounded . . . so ordinary.
    “Yeah, sure. I guess so,” I answered cautiously.
    “Well, what do you want to do with your life?”
    I shrugged, a little wary of where she was going with this. “I don’t know yet. I haven’t figured that part out. I’m going to UNC next fall, at least I hope so. I have to get accepted first.”
    “You will,” she said.
    “How do you know?”
    “Because I’ve prayed for that, too.”
    When she said it, I thought we were heading into a discussion about the power of prayer and faith, but Jamie tossed yet another curveball at me.
    “How about after college? What do you want to do then?”
    “I don’t know,” I said, shrugging. “Maybe I’ll be a one-armed lumberjack.”
    She didn’t think it was funny.
    “I think you should become a minister,” she said seriously. “I think you’re good with people, and they’d respect what you have to say.”
    Though the concept was absolutelyridiculous, with her I just knew it came from the heart and she intended it as a compliment.
    “Thanks,” I said. “I don’t know if I’ll do that, but I’m sure I’ll find something.” It took a moment for me to realize that the conversation had stalled and that it was my turn to ask a question.
    “How about you? What do you want to do in the future?”
    Jamie turned away and got a far-off gaze in her eyes, making me wonder what she was thinking, but it vanished almost as quickly as it came.
    “I want to get married,” she said quietly. “And when I do, I want my father to walk me down the aisle and I want everyone I know to be there. I want the church bursting with people.”
    “That’s all?” Though I wasn’t averse to the idea of marriage, it seemed kind of silly to hope for that as your life’s goal.
    “Yes,” she said. “That’s all I want.”
    The way she answered made me suspect that she thought she’d end up like Miss Garber. I tried to make her feel better, even though it still seemed silly to me.
    “Well, you’ll get married someday. You’ll meet some guy and the two of you will hit itoff, and he’ll ask you to marry him. And I’m sure that your father will be happy to walk you down the aisle.”
    I didn’t mention the part about having a big crowd in the church. I guess it was the one thing that even I couldn’t imagine.
    Jamie thought carefully about my answer, really pondering the way I said it, though I didn’t know why.
    “I hope so,” she said finally.
    I could tell she didn’t want to talk about it anymore, don’t ask me how, so I moved on to something new.
    “So how long have you been coming to the orphanage?” I asked conversationally.
    “Seven years now. I was ten years old the first time I came. I was younger than a lot of the kids here.”
    “Do