Lord, should I take it all back? Is he the man you want me to be with? My heart says yes but maybe I’m just high on emotion. The question lingered and there was no straight answer, but God wanted me to trust Him with the unknown. I knew that much.
A few minutes later, we were all walking out to the parking lot. The plan was for me to go with Callie, and she promised to drop me off at Hunter’s house when we were done so I could pick up his truck. Derek hitched a ride with Hunter since he had a few things he needed to do at home and wouldn’t be able to join us. We said goodbye to everyone, and I hopped in the car with Callie.
We drove about fifteen miles to a town called Homer. Callie stopped at a local restaurant where we ate a quick meal and she told me about the Johnson family. I learned that Amy was an only child, and her parents were in their early fifties.
“From what I’ve heard,” Callie said, “Don and Christy prayed for a child for many years, and God blessed them with Amy. She’s such a good kid.”
“Has she had problems with asthma before?”
“I’m not sure. I don’t remember them talking about it.”
When we arrived at the hospital, we picked up a teddy bear at the gift shop and stopped at an information booth to get the room number. Once we had it, we made our way to the pediatric unit and strode down a long hallway until we came to the correct spot.
“Hi, there,” Callie said quietly as we walked into the room. A man and woman sat in chairs on the left side of a hospital bed, and a young girl with blonde pigtails smiled at us.
My eyes followed her gaze to the other side of the bed where a puppet sat on top of a hand, and my eyes slid upward to see the man holding the puppet. It was Clay, and my heart immediately did a flip when he glanced my way.
“Clay, I didn’t know you’d be here,” I said.
A muscle pulsed in his jaw, and he swallowed. “Just thought I’d come by for a few minutes, but I should get going. There isn’t a lot of room for all of us.” He stood and slid the puppet off his hand. It was a green dinosaur with a huge grin and a long tongue hanging out.
“Please don’t leave,” I said. “I’m sure we can all make room.”
He hesitated and looked at me carefully as if trying to gauge my sincerity. I smiled, and he nodded. “Okay, but only if you help me with the puppet show.”
I laughed. “I would, but it appears there’s only one puppet.”
“Nope, there’s another one,” Mrs. Johnson said, snickering. She held up a fluffy lamb, and I couldn’t stop the smile that spread across my face.
“A lamb and a dinosaur? Now that should make for an interesting show.” I reached across the bed to accept the puppet from her and then slid it over my left hand. “I’m Jazmin, by the way.”
“Kate and Evan,” the woman said, gesturing to herself and her husband. “And this is Amy as I’m sure you’ve figured out already.”
“Hi, Amy.” I waved, and she smiled and waved back.
“I’m sorry,” Callie said, “I should have done introductions when we first walked in the room.”
I patted her on the arm. “No problem. I think we were all distracted by the puppets.”
Clay disappeared to the hallway and returned a few minutes later with two extra chairs. He gave one to Callie and then gestured for me to sit next to him. “Now, for that puppet show.” His voice was already deep, but he began speaking in an even deeper tone. “Hi, Amy. How are you doing today?” He wiggled his hand a little so the dinosaur bobbed up and down.
“You’re not a real dinosaur,” she said, giggling.
“What makes you say that?” he asked, staying in character. “I think I look real.” He turned to my puppet and asked, “Do I look real?”
“Well, of course, you do.” I raised my voice to a higher pitch and bobbed my arm the same way he was doing it. “What about me? How do I look?”
“You look beautiful today. Did I tell you that already?”
I made my lamb look bashful by ducking the head and turning away. I did it in an exaggerated manner several times so she was almost playing peek-a-boo. “That’s so sweet, but now I’m embarrassed.”
“You don’t have to be embarrassed,” he said. “Just say thank you.”
“Thank you.” I opened my puppet’s mouth, and it appeared as if she were grinning.
Amy laughed. “Do you like Mr. Dinosaur?”
I moved the lamb’s head slowly and made it seem like she was giving the dinosaur an appraising look. “I’d say he’s a pretty cool guy.”
“Do you love Mr. Dinosaur?” she asked.
The others in the room all chuckled quietly and then I heard Callie engaging Kate and Evan in conversation. I turned back to Amy and Clay. “As long as he doesn’t try to eat me. He’s a scary predator, and I’m a sweet little lamb.”
Amy pointed at Clay’s puppet and said in an authoritative voice, “Don’t you dare eat her.”
“I wouldn’t think of it. She’s my friend.” He made his puppet snuggle up to mine, and I laughed.
We continued playing around with the puppets for at least ten more minutes and then one of the medical staff walked in and announced it was time for Amy’s breathing treatment. Clay, Callie and I waved goodbye to Amy and left the puppets with Linda.
“We’ll be praying Amy makes
