Summary: Between Jamie's death and Landon's epilogue from present day. Landon misses Jamie and decides to take a leap of faith.
My Perfect Match
She had been my perfect match. I had read somewhere that the great artist Leonardo
DaVinci said that everyone on Earth had a perfect match. Jamie Sullivan was my match,
and now it was as if I was missing half of myself. I was a widower at seventeen, and the
pain in my heart may have rivaled that of Hegbert Sullivan, Jamie's father. Suddenly, I
knew what I had to do. I took off running for the place that had been the site of the most
important day of my life.
The church was quiet as it always on a Monday afternoon. I found Hegbert in the office. He spent all of his time at the church office now that Jamie was gone. I guess it hurt too much for him to be in his home office. I knocked on the door. He looked up, mildly surprised to see me.
He opened the door. "Landon?" he asked. "What can I do for you?" I followed him into his study. He motioned to a chair, and I sat. He took the one next to me instead of the one behind the monstrosity that was the oak desk.
"Well," I began. "I've been reading in the Bible, about marriage."
"And?" he raised his eyebrows. "Do you think you jumped into it too soon?"
"No, sir." I shook my head. "I was just reading about how a couple, dating, courting, or married, shouldn't be unevenly yoked." Before he could say anything, I continued. "I know that I was certainly unevenly yoked with your daughter. She was so much better than me in each and every way."
I could see him fighting back tears at the mention of Jamie. I went on. "Which is why,
sir, I wanted to invite Christ into my heart to stay." A smile filled with both joy and
sorrow came to Hegbert's face. "Repeat after me, son." he instructed. I nodded."
"O Lord, I know that I've sinned, and I know that your word is truth. I believe that you sent your son Jesus Christ to give up his life for me on the cross. Come into my heart to stay, Lord."
I repeated the prayer. I didn't really feel any different, but I felt like I knew exactly where I was going when I die. I'm going to be in heaven with Jamie. As I walked out of the church, Hegbert said hoarsely, "I'll be praying for you, Landon." And as I remembered the seventeen year old girl who told me that countless times, the sun came out from behind the clouds. It was a beautiful day.