Page 83 of Hidden Chance

“Sorry,” Jemi said. “I thought this would be a good surprise.”

“I don’t understand,” Peter whispered. He struggled for breath.

Another woman appeared at the door, a heavyset woman in her forties with a broad smile of white teeth.

“Can you believe it!” she said, bouncing on her toes. “It’s happened. It’s really happened. She made me wait in the kitchen, but I couldn’t take it anymore.”

“What’s going on?” Hannah said, afraid to believe the impossible. Jemi looked nearly the same as the last time she’d seen her. A little older maybe and tired, but not the way Peter had described her.

Jemi’s eyes moved to hers. “It’s been too long, Hannah. You’re so grown up.”

“I thought—” She looked at Peter, then back again. “Are you…are you sick, or…”

“No. Not anymore.” Jemi reached out to Peter and took his hand, pulling him a little closer. She was being careful with him.

He reached up and touched her face. “This is real? I don’t understand.”

“It’s amazing how you can pray for something for so long, but when it finally happens, it’s too much to grasp.”

“I’m afraid to believe it’s true.”

She wrapped her arms around him, and he collapsed into her, sobbing.

Robby put a hand on Hannah’s arm. “God really healed her?”

“I guess so. But he’s right. It’s a little terrifying to accept in case it gets taken away.”

“Why would it get taken away?”

“We are trained to believe that, when something’s too good to be true, it probably is.”

“Except right now.”

“Yeah. Except right now. This is incredible.”

Peter pulled away from Jemi but kept his arm around her. He wiped his sleeve across his face. “I can’t stop looking at you. You look amazing. I want to know everything that happened. When it happened. How it happened.”

“Why don’t we go inside? It’s a little chilly out here.”

“I’m Carla, by the way,” the other woman said as she led the way to the living room.

“Sorry,” Peter said. “I should have introduced you.”

“You have other things on your mind. You guys settle in, and I’ll get some drinks and snacks.”

“Thank you.” Peter reached out and took her hand. “Thank you for everything.”

“No. Thank you. I got to be the first one to find out. That is a real gift.”

Jemi and Peter sat close on the couch. “When did it happen?” Peter asked.

“Last night. I woke up, and my mind was clear of its fog. I looked around the room and wondered what was happening. At first, I didn’t know where I was. I didn’t recognize the room, and I couldn’t figure out why I was in bed. I found it hard to move, so I laid there for a while thinking.”

“That must have been frightening,” Hannah said.

“You’d think so, but no. I was just confused. Then, slowly, everything came back together. I could remember being sick, and then I remembered not being able to get upstairs, so we built this room. Jay was here. You remember, Peter?”

“I do.”

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