Halfway to forever by Karen Kingsbury

nnah's voice broke. "We all knew that."
Jenny backed out of Hannah's grip. "But Mrs. Parsons said
ere were no doubts! Nothing that would stop her from being
ours. She said the foster-adopt thing was a technicality, remember?" Neither Hannah nor Matt spoke.
Jenny struggled to keep from yelling. "Can't Matt do something about it? He's a lawyer; they'll listen to
him."
"I tried." Matt took a step closer to Jenny. "Grace's grandma is fit enough to care for her. That's all the
courts care about. The law is clear. If an existing relative is suitable for guardianship, then that relative
gets the child. There are no gray areas, Jenny. I've tried everything."
Jenny leaned forward and spread her fingers across her chest. "How can God let this happen to us twice?"
She hesitated and Hannah could see tears on Jenny's cheeks. "Twice?"
Hannah blinked back a lake of tears. "God brought her to us, Jenny. He'll get us through." It was true-
Hannah knew it with every fiber of her heart-but in that moment the words sounded trite and pat.
Jenny's mouth hung open and Hannah wasn't sure if she was going to cry or scream. Instead she turned and
ran to her bedroom. Hannah started after her, but stopped near the stairs. "Jenny..."
The girl stopped and looked back at Hannah. "What?" "Don't stay up there too long; Grace leaves
tomorrow"
The evening had been an emotional roller coaster, one like
Hannah had never experienced before. When Tom and Alicia died, none of them had seen it coming.
There were no final meals or final bedtime talks or final goodnight kisses.
164 That wasn't the case this time, and as evening came, the finality was almost more than Hannah could
bear. Hannah and Matt decided to wait until after dinner to tell Grace about her impending move to
Oklahoma. And since Grace liked the beach better than any place at all, the three of them prepared a
picnic dinner they could eat near the water. Before dinner jenny joined them, and they filled the next two
hours with as much joy and love and happiness as they possibly could.
They ate Grace's favorite meal-peanut butter sandwiches
with raspberry jam, and chocolate chip cookies. Then they built a
sandcastle on the shore and watched as the waves came closer and
closer. A minute later they jumped back when a big wave came
and washed the castle into the sea. Only Grace clapped with
delight as it disappeared.
It was all Hannah could do not to break down right there. The
castle seemed to represent everything about their time with Grace.
All that they'd spent months building. When Grace was gone,
there would be nothing more to show for their time together than
a hole in their hearts where once stood a beautiful castle.
They held hands-all four of them-as they walked back
home, and after Grace's bath they gathered in her room and told
her the devastating news.
Hannah had agreed to do the talking. Matt and jenny would
stay close by, helping Grace know that this decision was not one
they agreed with. That no matter what happened she would
always be their little girl.
"Grace?" Hannah sat on the child's bed, her heart pounding in
her throat. "We have something to tell you."
Grace was lying flat on her back and a quick smile came over
her face. "You mean like a story?"