Meant to Be by Melody Carlson

Author:Melody Carlson [Carlson, Melody]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9780307563118
Publisher: Random House Digital, Inc.
Published: 2005-01-01T08:00:00+00:00

Thirteen

Friday, March 17

Dad surprised us earlier this week by announcing that he was taking some vacation time next week (which is also spring break for me). “And I've booked a cruise,” he announced, as if that should be the happiest news ever. “I found a great deal online, made a fairly low offer, and it was accepted. We're going!”

“You and mom?” I asked hopefully since I really wanted to stick around and do some things with Matthew next week. We'd already made some tentative plans.

“For all three of us,” he said cheerfully.

“Of course,” said Mom, “we couldn't leave you home alone, sweetheart.”

“Oh, but you could,” I began, then seeing the disappointment in her eyes, I instantly reneged. “What kind of cruise?” I said quickly, as if I was really interested. It turns out it is a Caribbean cruise and something that Mom has always wanted to do. Of course, this is news to me. Still, I have no reason to doubt Dad.

“You could invite a friend, Kim. It doesn't cost much more for another person,” said Dad. “Wouldn't Natalie love to come along?”

Well, under normal circumstances, I'm sure that she would. But understandably, Dad's a little out of touch when it comes to me and my friends lately. Not that I have so many friends beyond Nat. And I doubt that they'd want me to invite Matthew, although I did consider this possibility for a few very brief seconds. “I think Nat's busy next week,” I finally said to Dad. But Mom seemed to see right through me as she put her hand on my shoulder in what I'm sure she thought was a comforting gesture.

“Well, it'll just be the three of us then,” said Dad. “But don't worry, Kim, we'll make a good time of it.”

Okay, I know this whole spur-of-the-moment vacation thing has to do with Mom's illness. I know that Dad is thinking our time with her is limited and that she's not going to get better. And I have to admit that she doesn't really seem to be improving much. I mean, she has good days and bad days…but she usually seems worse after visiting the doctor.

Still, she drinks her veggie drinks and green tea and several other strange-looking herbal remedies she picks up at the health food store on a weekly basis. So who knows? And despite what Natalie thinks about my faith or lack of it, I am still praying for a miracle, and I don't even mind if it's an eleventh-hour miracle. I do believe that God can make hei well—in His timing.

Matthew was disappointed when he heard that I would be gone a whole week, but he was encouraging too. “Of course you gotta go, Kim. This is a once-in-a-lifetime deal. Just go and have fun and come back with a great tan.”

So Mom and I did a little vacation shopping on Thursday night, but she wore out early, and we decided we might just buy some “summer” clothes during our trip anyway.

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