Page 6 of Love Story
Whatever the reason, however she had fallen short of Cody’s forever love, she had to admit the reality of the situation. She couldn’t make Cody Coleman love her. And so it had been time to leave.
After the breakup, knowing she was not sure what to do or where to go, Andi’s parents had told her about a job opening with the disaster relief group. The next week Andi became part of their team. So far she’d spent time in Indiana after tornadoes hit the state and on the flood-ravaged East Coast in the wake of Hurricane Hermine.
With every day on the job, Andi was more sure she was right where she needed to be. Helping people recover from a tragedy they never saw coming. Praying with strangers and handing out food and water. Raking mud from the ruined remains of homes and businesses. Yes, this was where God wanted her.
But that didn’t mean she loved Cody any less. She would love him until she drew her final breath. But the lyrics to the song were spot-on. She couldn’t make him love her, she wouldn’t try. Besides, she was getting comfortable with being single. She was making friends now.
Her new life was better than rejection.
She and God had a plan. Andi helped people all day and God helped her fall asleep at night. Not everyone got married, not everyone was supposed to. Life could still be good and rich and full and complete. The Lord was enough.
And when the loneliness crept in and her broken heart got the better of her, Andi pulled out her journal. So all the aching and hurting and loss of her own tragedy would have somewhere to go.
The sound of voices broke through the memory. She needed to keep moving. Andi took the box of sandwiches down the long aisle where the flood victims rested on cots. More rain was expected tonight—something the rivers and levees and bayous couldn’t take. She and the others from the agency staff had an inexpensive hotel on higher ground. But at some point if it kept raining, none of them would be safe.
That didn’t bother Andi.
Life wasn’t safe. And no matter what happened God was with her. If she could get through saying goodbye to Cody Coleman, she could get through anything. Even a disaster like this.
“Sir.” She put her hand on the shoulder of an older man. He sat on a thin cot, his eyes glazed over like the clouds outside the tent. “Are you hungry?”
The man stared at the ground. Andi had seen shock on the faces of disaster victims often enough to know the signs. She looked at his hands. Fingers trembling, and his teeth were chattering. Andi set down her box of sandwiches and jogged through the tent to the place where dry blankets were stacked. “There’s an older man on Row One,” she told the woman behind the table. “He’s in Bed Eleven. He needs a medical examination.”
“I’ll put him on the list.” The woman had worked with Andi on other disaster projects. The two of them and the rest of the team knew how to give their best in a situation like this. How to stay calm and collected and process the victims as quickly as possible.
Andi hurried the blanket back to the man. She opened it and eased it around his shoulders. He still didn’t make eye contact, but his shaking fingers grabbed hold of the ends of the blanket. He pulled the edges around himself and turned to Andi.
“They... can’t find her.” His teeth shivered together with every painful word. “Have you... seen her?”
“Your wife?” Andi crouched down so she could look into his eyes. “Is she still out there?” Keep it positive. That was her training. She searched the man’s eyes.
“Yes.” His gaze drifted again. “She’s out there. Somewhere.”
Andi pulled a sandwich out of the box and handed it to the man. “Maybe if you ate something. You have to keep your strength up. She’d want that.”
He cast her a frantic glance, the way a lost child might look. “You think so?”
Andi understood what was happening. The man needed hope more than he needed a sandwich. “I know she would. You need to keep up your strength. You’d want that for her, right?”
The man nodded, never breaking eye contact.
“Okay, then.” Andi partially unwrapped the sandwich and handed it to the man. “Let’s pray for her, okay.”
He clasped the sandwich and started to cry. Not the quiet tears of the woman Andi had met a few minutes ago. The man’s tears came in sudden waves. Like the storm itself. He sobbed while Andi spoke. “Lord, You know this man’s wife and where she is. Please... will You be with the rescue workers and help them find her? And will You protect her until they find her?”
Andi covered the man’s hands with her own. His skin was cold and clammy. Definitely shock. She took a quick breath. “Comfort this man and let him know You’re here. All things are in Your control—even this.” She paused, her own emotion welling up in her throat. “We trust You, Lord. We do. In Jesus’ name, amen.”
“A–a-a-men.” His eyes found hers one last time. “Thank you.” He held out his hand. “Please... can I have a sandwich for h-h-her?”
Andi smiled. “Good idea.” She reached in the box and handed him another. “She’ll be hungry for sure. I’m Andi, by the way. What’s your name?”
“Harry.” He set the sandwich beside him and stared at it. “She’ll be hungry. That’s right.”
“What’s your wife’s name?” Andi’s tone said she didn’t doubt for a minute that the woman would be found. “I’m sure she’s worried about you, too.”
“Her n-n-name is Patsy. Harry and Patsy. That’s us.” He looked at Andi again. “Thank you for thinking of her. I always think of her.” He was still shaking, but he seemed calmer than before. “We’ve been married forty-nine years.”
Tears filled Andi’s eyes, and she blinked them back. She forced a smile because the man was still watching, still hanging on to any thread of hope. “I’m sure she loves you very much.”
