Until Tomorrow (34 page)

“You drove his car here?” Christy hadn't noticed any fancy
cars parked out front, but then she had arrived on a rather wobbly set of wheels and hadn't been paying much attention to anything outside her immediate path.

“I parked at the train station. Seemed safer than parking in the
verboten
zones along here.”

“I can't believe this,” Christy said, smiling at Marguerite as she delivered Christy's coffee, cream, and pastry to the table.

“Believe it,” Todd said. “And are you ready to believe something else?”

“What?”

“Marcos became a Christian.”

“You're kidding! That's awesome! When?”

“About a week ago. He said he started to read Romans because we told him that was the letter written just for Italians. God's Word is powerful. Marcos read it, he believed, he repented. You should see him; he's totally on fire and telling everyone on all his business trips about his new relationship with Jesus.”

Christy shook her head. “God is so incredible.”

“Yes, He is.”

“And it's so incredible to see you. Todd, I hate to say this, but I don't know if I can stand saying good-bye to you again. I mean, this is exactly what I wanted—to sit with you here and talk with you from my heart, but it's only for a moment, and then you have to go again.”

“I know,” Todd said. “I feel the same way. But I needed to see you one more time.”

Todd hesitated and Christy froze.
This is it!
a torturing voice of doubt chanted in her head.
This is when he breaks up with you for good. He's probably going to leave you and go serve the Lord on some remote island, alone, for the rest of his life
.

No
, Christy told herself decisively.
No more fear. No more doubting. Take each mercy that comes every morning. Whatever happens
is in God's care. He's the Master Designer of our lives. He's in control
.

Todd looked at his hands and then back at Christy. “I thought we might have had a few more times to talk on the trip than we did. Alone, I mean.”

Christy nodded. “I know. I thought the same thing.”

“I wanted to tell you a couple of things.”

Christy nodded, waiting.

Todd swallowed and looked at her intently. “You have become a part of me. Not a day goes by that I don't think of you and pray for you. When we've been on the opposite ends of the Earth, I feel you right here.” He patted his chest. “I hold you, Kilikina. I hold you close in my heart. I always have. I always will.”

Christy felt the tears rush to her eyes.

“But,” Todd said and then seemed to draw in a deep breath as if gathering the courage to finish his sentence.

No!
Christy screamed inwardly.
Don't say anything else!

“But I honestly believe I need to tell you something I've never told you before. And I feel certain this is the best time to tell you.”

Todd, don't do this! Don't break my heart. Not here. Not now
.

“It's not because I think you don't already know this, because I think you do.” Beads of perspiration glistened on Todd's forehead. “I want to . . . No, I need to tell you this because I think you need to hear it. You need to know . . .”

Tears were now streaming down Christy's face as she braced herself for the worst.

Todd reached up and brushed away her tears with a tender hand. “You need to know, Kilikina, that I love you.”

Christy couldn't breathe. She couldn't blink. She couldn't feel her heart beating.

A shy grin inched up Todd's face. “Do you need me to say it again?” He leaned closer and whispered, “I love you.”

A breath of relieved joy burst from Christy's lungs, followed by a ripple of laughter.

“You seem so surprised,” Todd said.

“Oh, Todd, I wasn't expecting you to say that!”

“You don't have to respond,” Todd said. “Not right away. Think about what that means. We have a couple of months to pray through what the future might hold for us.”

Christy nodded and blinked back the rest of her tears. She felt her lower lip quivering. “These are going to be the longest two months of my life.”

“It's only a short time, really,” Todd said. “Sixty-seven days, to be exact.”

“You counted?”

Todd nodded. “And you know what we'll do for those sixty-seven days, Kilikina? We'll pretend we're at the ends of the Earth, where the sun never goes down. Instead of sixty-seven days, it will be one long day. And then we'll be together again.”

“One extremely long Narvik day,” Christy said.

“That's right.”

“Then you know what I will say sixty-seven times during that extremely long Narvik day?” Christy asked.

Todd reached over and brushed back her hair with his hand. “What?”

“Sixty-seven times I will say, ‘I can't wait until tomorrow.' ”

Todd grinned and pulled her close. Right before his lips kissed her earlobe, he whispered, “Until tomorrow.”

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
Until Tomorrow
is Robin's forty-ninth 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

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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