As You Wish (34 page)

They both looked up. Their eyes met. To Christy it seemed as if she were gazing into a reflecting pool. The other half of her heart was gazing back at her, smiling.

Katie's food sat untouched at the empty place beside Christy while the rest of them ate. Randy returned with news about a date in February when his band would play at The Dove's Nest. The soup was good, and the fire had warmed Christy down to her toes. She was happy.

Two guys with guitars, who had been setting up by the front window, began to play. That made it harder for Christy to hear the conversation at the end of the table, where
Sierra sat, but Christy was content to stick with the close conversation between Doug, Tracy, Todd, and her. They were discussing the upcoming trip to the Mexican orphanage when Katie returned to the table, her green eyes lit up like a Christmas tree.

“Can I just say I am stunned? Did you get a chance to talk to that guy? Everything is about how ‘the Lord did this,' and ‘God took care of that.' It's so fun to be around him now.”

“It's awesome,” Doug said.

“Yes,” Katie agreed, “it is awesome. And you guys are awesome. Rick said you kept in contact with him over the years and sent him letters encouraging him to turn his heart to the Lord. And you know what? He finally listened. I'm just . . . well, I'm stunned and amazed and . . .”

“A bit dazzled?” Christy ventured.

“Maybe a little.”

The close group grew silent, waiting for Katie to embellish.

“Well, the guy told me my hair was like a flock of goats, all right? I mean, how can a girl not be dazzled by such poetic brilliance?”

They all laughed with her.

“And look what I found in the stock room.” Katie placed a bag of candy hearts on the table. “Dessert!”

“Can you imagine how old those are?” Tracy asked. “I mean, this place is new, isn't it? They aren't selling Valentine's candy anywhere now. It's still Christmas candy everywhere. I don't want to know where these came from.”

“Bargain Barn.” Todd tore open the bag and spilled the pastel hearts onto the table. “I was in Bargain Barn today,
and they had a whole crate of these up front. Now's the time to buy them.”

“Buy them, maybe. But eat them? I don't think so.” Tracy picked up a heart and read the message. “ ‘Fax me.' Fax me? When did they start writing ‘Fax me' on these things? I thought they said, ‘Be mine' and ‘Stay true' and . . .” She picked up another one. “ ‘Kiss me'?”

“Don't mind if I do.” Doug pulled Tracy close and planted a big one on her lips.

She giggled as if that had been the first time she had ever been kissed. The sight of her two friends so in love made Christy smile. Doug had never kissed a girl until his wedding day, and when he and Tracy married, their kiss at the altar had prompted the loudest roar of applause Christy had ever heard at a wedding.

“Check this out,” Katie said. “ ‘Page me.' ”

They all looked for messages in the hearts. Doug pulled out an “e-mail me” and said, “This must be the interactive bag.”

Todd placed a pink heart in front of Christy as if to prove Doug's point. It read, “Marry me.”

Christy looked up. “I can't believe what they put on these now. I'm with you, Tracy. I remember when they used to say, ‘Be sweet.' ”

“Here you go,” Katie said. “ ‘Sweet lips.' ”

“I want that one,” Tracy said.

“What are you doing, making your own sentence over there?” Katie asked.

“Sure. Try it.”

“Here you go: Another ‘Page me.' ” Christy handed a yellow candy to Tracy.

Todd placed a second candy heart in front of Christy. It also read, “Marry me.”

“I think we already have one of those.” Christy moved the hearts around and looked for one that no one else had found yet.

Todd was looking, too. He picked up a heart and then came around to Christy's side of the table. He placed the third candy heart in a row with the first two he had given her. “There. Once it's spoken three times, it's established. Forever.”

Christy froze. All she could see were the three candy hearts lined up in front of her. All three of them said “Marry me,” “Marry me,” “Marry me.”

She turned as Todd went down on one knee. He covered both her hands with his. His voice washed over her like a waterfall as he stared into her eyes and said, “Kilikina, my Kilikina, will you marry me?”

“Yes,” Christy whispered without a moment's hesitation. “Yes,” she repeated more loudly. Then a third time, with complete confidence and a cascade of tears, she said, “Yes, Todd, my Todd. I will marry you.”

For a moment the whole world stopped, and Christy and Todd remained still. Not breathing. Not blinking. Not moving. Lost in the depths of each other's souls. The only sound Christy heard was her heart beating. But she wasn't sure if it was her heart or Todd's. The two seemed to beat as one.

“What are you doing, Todd?” Katie asked. “Did you lose one of the candies on the ground over there? There are plenty more up here.”

Todd didn't move. Christy smiled.

No one knows! Todd just proposed to me, and no one knows. It's our secret.

Christy and Todd's secret bubble was burst when Katie looked at Christy's lineup of hearts. Katie screamed as only Katie could. Everyone in the café stopped talking and eating, and the two guys playing guitars in the corner paused.

“Finally!” Katie shouted. She bounced up from her chair and yelled, “I have an announcement to make! My best friend just got proposed to!”

A rush of hugs and well wishes poured over Todd and Christy.

Katie looked at Christy. “And what did you say?”

Christy grinned confidently. “I said yes!”

“She said yes!” Katie burst into applause, and the rest of the people in the café joined her.

Matt wrapped his arms around Christy and gave her a home-boy kind of hug. “Your grandma is going to love him,” he said. “And I won't say eenie-meenie boo-boo to you anymore because it's obvious that Todd is ‘it.' ”

Christy grinned and giggled. “Yes, he is.”

Tracy dissolved into a puddle of tears and so did Sierra. When Sierra hugged Christy, Sierra said, “I didn't cry this much at my sister's wedding! What is it with you and Todd?”

Rick appeared and gave Christy a warm smile. He leaned over and kissed her cheek. “You held out for a hero,” he said in her ear. “Good for you, killer eyes.”

“Thanks, Rick.”

Christy looked at Todd. He was taking in all the well-wishing with the biggest smile.

He looks like a five-year-old, and everyone just showed up for his surprise birthday party
.

As Christy thought that, one of the waiters approached the table carrying a round carrot cake with one lit candle in
the middle. “Compliments of Mr. Doyle,” the waiter said.

“Make a wish!” Katie chanted. “Make a wish!”

“I already did.” Todd wrapped his arms around his beloved. “And she came true.”

“That is so sweet!” Tracy said. “Todd, I never knew you were such a romantic.”

“You haven't seen anything yet,” he said. Tilting Christy's chin up with the slightest touch of his finger, Todd kissed her like he had never kissed her before.

As they slowly drew apart, Christy saw the still-burning candle out of the corner of her eye. She had nothing left to wish for. And most certainly not enough breath left to blow out a candle.

“The candle,” Katie said. “What about the candle?”

Christy looked into Todd's eyes. He was looking at her “that way.” The warm glow seemed brighter than ever behind his screaming silver-blue eyes.

“Let it burn,” Todd murmured. He held her cheek gently in his hand. “Let it burn for the rest of our lives.”

Christy kissed the palm of Todd's strong, scarred hand, and in a voice so soft that only God and Todd could hear, she whispered, “As you wish.”

ROBIN JONES GUNN loves to tell stories. Evidence of this appeared early when her first-grade teacher wrote in Robin's report card, “Robin has not yet grasped her basic math skills, but she has kept the entire class captivated at rug time with her entertaining stories.”

When Robin's first series of books for toddlers was published in 1984, she never dreamed she'd go on to write novels. However, one project led to another and
As You Wish
is Robin's fiftieth published book. Other series include T
HE
C
HRISTY
M
ILLER
S
ERIES
, T
HE
S
IERRA
J
ENSEN
S
ERIES
, and T
HE
G
LENBROOKE
S
ERIES
. Combined sales of her books are over two million, with worldwide distribution. Many of the titles have been translated into other languages.

Robin and her husband, Ross, were involved in youth work for more than two decades and have two grown children. They have lived in many places, including California and Oregon. Currently they live in Hawaii.

Visit Robin's Web site at
www.robingunn.com

From Robin Jones Gunn

T
HE
C
HRISTY
M
ILLER
S
ERIES

1 •
Summer Promise

2 •
A Whisper and a Wish

3 •
Yours Forever

4 •
Surprise Endings

5 •
Island Dreamer

6 •
A Heart Full of Hope

7 •
True Friends

8 •
Starry Night

9 •
Seventeen Wishes

10 •
A Time to Cherish

11 •
Sweet Dreams

12 •
A Promise Is Forever

C
HRISTY
& T
ODD
: T
HE
C
OLLEGE
Y
EARS

1 •
Until Tomorrow

2 •
As You Wish

3 •
I Promise

Christy & Todd: The College Years (3 in 1)

T
HE
S
IERRA
J
ENSEN
S
ERIES

1 •
Only You, Sierra

2 •
In Your Dreams

3 •
Don't You Wish

4 •
Close Your Eyes

5 •
Without a Doubt

6 •
With This Ring

7 •
Open Your Heart

8 •
Time Will Tell

9 •
Now Picture This

10 •
Hold On Tight

11 •
Closer Than Ever

12 •
Take My Hand

K
ATIE
W
ELDON
S
ERIES

1 •
Peculiar Treasures

T
HE
G
LENBROOKE
S
ERIES

1 •
Secrets

2 •
Whispers

3 •
Echoes

4 •
Sunsets

5 •
Clouds

6 •
Waterfalls

7 •
Woodlands

8 •
Wildflowers

S
ISTERCHICKS
S
ERIES

1 •
Sisterchicks on the Loose!

2 •
Sisterchicks Do the Hula!

3 •
Sisterchicks in Sombreros!

4 •
Sisterchicks Down Under!

5 •
Sisterchicks Say Ooh La La!

6 •
Sisterchicks in Gondolas!

Gentle Passages

Mothering by Heart

Take Flight!
(a Sisterchicks Devotional)

Tea at Glenbrooke

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