Halfway to forever by Karen Kingsbury

Tanner existed in a fog of prayer and encouragement from
Matt and Hannah and the others. At least once a day Ty was
allowed in the room, and that was usually when Tanner was at his
best. He would encourage Ty to talk to Jade, to touch her. And in
the process he would find himself believing she could really hear
them.
It was strange how his fears had changed time and again since
Jade's diagnosis. Before her surgery, Tanner was most afraid that
somehow she'd wake up a different person, no longer knowing
him or loving him.
Now, though, at dawn of the fourth day since her operation,
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H A L F W A Y T O F 0 R E V E R
Tanner only hoped she'd wake up at all.
He studied her face, serene and still, and glanced at the prayer chart above Jade's bed. It was still
happening. Somewhere in the city of Thousand Oaks someone was praying for Jade's recovery. Tanner
was grateful. There were hours when he couldn't find the strength to form another prayer, times when the
knowledge of the Jade Chain was all that pulled him through.
His eyes fell back to Jade. The medication had made her face look full again, like it had been before she'd
lost so much weight. Her head was still swathed in bandages, but otherwise she looked better than she
had in months.
He took her limp hand in his and massaged his thumb over her wedding ring. "Jade, baby, good morning."
Tanner cooed the words, inches from her ear. "Today's the day you wake up, honey, okay?"
It was the same thing he said to her every morning. And every time, when she failed to respond, he would
start telling her stories. Dr. Layton had told him that conversation was one of the greatest ways to rouse a
person from a coma. Memories were another.
That being the case, Tanner had decided to talk about the past. Every day, every hour if necessary. As
much. as was humanly possible.
"Remember that trust game we used to play when we were kids?" He searched her face for signs of a
response. When there was none, he continued. "You'd close your eyes, and I'd lead you around the
backyard. Remember? And when the weather was good, remember how we'd ride bikes around the
neighborhood?" He relaxed back into the chair, his fingers still clutching hers. "Back then my favorite
times were when we'd race. Really, Jade, I used to let you win. I mean, I wouldn't tell you back then, of
course, but I loved the way your eyes sparkled when you'd win. It was worth losing just for that."
326 He took a sip of water and continued, sharing stories about her leaving for Kelso and him promising
anyone who would listen that one day-no matter how long it took-he would marry her. Even if he had to
search the whole country to find her again.
Tanner tried to sound upbeat. "It worked. I'm here, aren't I?" Story after story spilled from him, even the
sad ones, and in Jade and Tanner's years apart there had been plenty of those. He talked about finding her
in Kelso that summer and how attracted he'd been to her, how difficult it was to keep his distance. He
celebrated again the choice she'd made that summer to become a Christian and the strength she'd roused in
him by challenging his intention to be a politician.
"I would have hated that lifestyle. I can never thank you
enough, jade, for helping me follow my dreams."
His voice grew somber. "After I came back from that trip and
found you gone, married to someone else, I thought I'd die from
grief. It was all I could do to-"