Page 17 of When Forever Comes

Olivia has a shocked smile. Dana’s mouth is still hanging open. I lift my black coffee to my lips and take a sip.

“That’s quite a story,” Olivia says.

“It is.”

“Which is all it is, a story. Right? There’s no way you got out of a shark attack in the middle of the ocean and had the perfect wave save you.” Her skepticism is evident in her voice.

“God works miracles. He has a way of doing things we’d never imagine possible.” I take another sip of coffee.

“I’m aware,” Olivia says.

“Just like this” — I point between us — “wasn’t fate. I’ve been praying for you for the last ten years and asking God to bring you to me. For Him to give me another chance with the girl who I had to leave behind.”

Hurt flashes in her eyes. “Prove it.”

“Prove what?”

“Everything.”

I am ready and excited to see the look on her face when I reveal the proof. I open the drawer stuffed full of takeout menus and random newspaper clippings.

“Despite my efforts to keep the attack out of the news, someone from the hospital snagged the pictures of my injuries from my hospital account and sent them to the paper.”

I hand it over to her. She scans it for a moment before handing it back to me.

“Okay, that’s proof enough for that. Now I’d like to see you prove the other part.”

“You don’t believe that I’ve prayed for you every day for ten years?”

“It’s not like you can prove that, anyway.”

I motion for my Bible and she slides it over to me. I open its pages and pull out the notes on scrap pieces of paper that I’ve written over the years. There are dozens, but I think six should do the trick. I pluck a few out and hand them over to her.

She begins to read the first one out loud. “December 16, 2017. Lord, I pray Olivia comes to know you.” After the first line, she stares at the paper. She looks up at me and there are tears in her eyes. “You prayed for me… and God answered your prayer.”

“What?”

“I had my Jesus moment on December 17, 2017. It’s a day I’ll never forget. Everything was overwhelming and I felt like I’d never make it through. I knew I couldn’t do it anymore on my own. That day I threw up my hands in defeat and asked Jesus to take control. From then on, my life changed forever. After that, I knew that no matter what life threw at me, with Jesus on my side, I’d get through it and move on.” She says no more about it and as much as I’d love to hear her testimony, she doesn’t look ready to share.

Warmth spreads through me. I want to wrap her in my arms and hold her, thanking God for saving her. It’s hard to believe God answered my prayer the day after I wrote it, but then again, God never works in the ways or time we expect Him to.

“So do you believe me?” I ask.

Olivia purses her lips to the side but says nothing.

There’s one prayer, a desperate, vulnerable prayer, that she needs to hear.

Opening my Bible to the last page, I pull out the note I wrote two nights ago. “God, I’m struggling. She’s marrying the guy who bullied me through high school tomorrow. I’ve forgiven him, but it hurts to know my chance with her is gone. Help me accept their marriage and move on.” The pen color changes from black to blue, showing where I came back to finish the prayer several hours later that night. “But God, if it be your will, give me one last chance with her. I know it’s a selfish prayer, but I’m restless. I can’t sleep. Something tells me there’s something going on. If this is just a sinful, selfish hope, forgive me and help me move past this. But God, if it’s real… protect her. Pull her into Your arms and give her peace. And if it’s real… Please give me another chance. Your Word says You give us the desires of our heart if our heart is aligned with You. And Olivia Swann has been the desire of my heart since I was fifteen years old.” I fold the paper and slide it back into place, then swallow the lump in my throat.

Laying myself bare and wide open to a possible hideous rejection has destroyed any confidence I had.

Any hope I’ve clung to disappears as Olivia turns and walks away from me. Leaving the heart I just poured out to her twitching on the floor.

SEVEN

WEST

And just like that, my second chance with Olivia Swann has crashed and burned.

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