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Levi began to pray. “Heavenly Father, thank You for giving us life. We come to You now because Mags is sick. Make her well. Give her rest. Strengthen her body to overcome this. Protect her henceforth from bad food. I wish I were there with her because I’d have told her not to eat the fish if it smelled bad. But I wasn’t there. Forgive me, Lord. I failed to protect her. I was so busy with my own selfish needs…”
Needs? They were more like wants.
He drew a deep breath. Jumbled thoughts made him unable to say another word. Had he lost his way? He’d been singularly focused on pursuing Forsythia. She seemed like a dead end. In the process, he’d neglected his best friend.
A hand touched his arm.
Levi opened his eyes. “I’m still praying. Lie down.”
Maggie frowned. “I ate the fish. You didn’t. Stop feeling guilty.”
“Stop interrupting me when I pray.”
“I’m sorry. You weren’t speaking for a while. I thought…” Maggie put her head back down on the pillow. “Go on.”
Levi sighed. Closed his eyes. “Lord Jesus, please heal Mags completely. In Your holy name I pray. Amen.”
“Amen. Thank You, Jesus.” Maggie smiled. “And thank you, Levi, for praying for me and for coming over to check on me.”
A little glimpse of Maggie had returned. She was always appreciative of anything Levi did for her. A small prayer here. A visit there. Maggie noticed.
Yet she had withheld information from him. Behind the couch were more various sized boxes stacked up. He couldn’t miss seeing them. “Why am I seeing moving boxes everywhere?”
At first Maggie was quiet. Then slowly she said, “I was going to tell you next week, but I guess you found out. I’ve handed in my resignation at Midtown. After Christmas, I’m moving to Lakeside to live near my parents, whom you know have just retired from the mission field.”
“This is so sudden. Have you prayed about it?” Levi asked.
“It’s best for us all.” Maggie felt sad, but she had to do this. “You can still come see us if you want. Only seven hours. Like driving around Atlanta two or three times. No big deal.”
Levi nodded. “Your parents must be very happy that you’re moving closer to them.”
He felt resigned to the separation. As though there was nothing he could do about it. Maggie was moving away.
“What about this house?” Levi looked up at the ceiling and all around.
“My parents want to sell the house, so we have to clear out.” Maggie pressed a palm on her tummy. It was aching again. “I’ve been packing what I can, but the movers are coming twice. On the eighteenth, they will haul away my parents’ stuff they left behind here the last forty years. On the twenty-eighth, they’ll come back to move my things.”
“You’re not packing alone, are you?”
“Since I haven’t told anyone but Mrs. Kim that I’m leaving, I wasn’t able to ask anyone to help me, but there’s not a lot to do, really. I’m just packing mementos and books and breakables I don’t want anyone to touch. The movers will do everything.”
“Must be expensive.”
“Well, the owner of Lakeside Resort is Tally’s grandmother, and she’s decided to pay to move Mom and Dad’s stuff. I’ll pay for my own move because I don’t want to bother anyone this Christmas season.”
“You forgot me, Mags.” Levi didn’t know what to think. “How quickly you’ve forgotten your best friend who’s coming this afternoon to cook chicken soup for you and help you pack.”
“I do love your chicken soup.”
“Yeah, you told me. To the moon and back.”
Maggie chuckled. “Truth be told, I can eat canned soup. No big deal. Save you time and take Sunday afternoon off.”
“I’d rather spend it with you?—”
She gasped, covered her mouth, threw back her blanket, and ran to the bathroom.
Levi heard the door slam shut.
