“Amen,” came from all.
I bit my lip, amazed given how fast my heart was beating that it stayed contained within my chest. Like Jacob’s actions last night, this caught me off guard. I’d had no idea this was coming. If I had, I’d have spent my entire morning imagining what I hoped to see. Squeezing Jacob’s hand, I confessed, “I’m scared.”
“We’ll survive no matter what happens today. You’ve done well for the last three weeks. If you don’t have sight, we’ll learn how to go on.”
I nodded. He was right, as usual. That didn’t mean I wanted to learn to cope. I wanted to see him, to gaze into the piercing blue eyes I remembered, to see their approval and admiration.
“Sister Raquel,” Dr. Newton said, “hand me the scissors, so I may remove these bandages.”
“No!” I blurted without thinking. Jacob unwound them. He didn’t cut them.
“Sara?”
Suddenly trembling, I pulled toward Jacob. “I-I’m sorry. I’m sorry, Dr. Newton.” I sat straight. “It’s the scissors. I’m sorry. I do want the bandages off. I didn’t mean . . .”
Raquel touched my knee. “It’s all right. We understand. Let’s get these bandages off, and then I’m going to help you with your hair.”
She is?
I took a deep breath and nodded again. “I’m ready.”
“Keep your eyes closed,” Dr. Newton said.
I nodded. The snip and clip of the scissors echoed through the pole barn like nails on a chalkboard, yet I remained still. The tightening of my grip on Jacob’s hand and my clenched teeth were the only indicators of my apprehension. While Dr. Newton cut the bandages from around my head, Raquel removed them. Though we changed them daily, my heart trepidatiously soared as I thought that they would not need to be replaced, but at the same time I feared it wouldn’t matter.
“Sister Sara, tell me about your headaches.”
“I haven’t had any for a while. A little yesterday, but I think it was stress.”
Jacob squeezed my hand reassuringly.
“That’s a good sign regarding your optic nerve,” Dr. Newton said. “My biggest concern has always been the flash from the explosion. However, it’s been four weeks since your accident. If they’re going to heal, they’ll be healed by now.”
I nodded.
“OK, Sister, this is it. Slowly open your eyes.”
I took a deep breath and exhaled. Fluttering my lids, I gasped.
I saw light!
I squeezed Jacob’s hand and blinked a few more times. The room was dim, very dim. I knew what I wanted to see. Turning my head, I took in the man who’d been by my side throughout my memory. With his forehead on my leg, his closed-eyed profile made him look as if he were praying.
Tears escaped as my smile grew.
I can see! I see my husband.
As I beheld the dark, wavy hair that covered his ears, my heart stilled. The jaw and chin I’d traced in the middle of the night were also covered with the same dark hair, only unlike the longer waves on his head, it was trimmed close to his face. I saw his closed eyes and high cheekbones. He was bent forward, silently waiting for my response. His light shirt—the color difficult to distinguish in the darkened room—stretched across the broad shoulders that I’d caressed. On his shirt were darker stripes that crisscrossed over the material. The darkness of my skirt contrasted with his skin. As I reached for his hair, my heart overflowed with emotion, as I saw what I could recall only feeling.
“Jacob, I can see.” My voice was barely a whisper.
Dr. Newton and Raquel sighed. I wasn’t ready to look at them. I needed to fully see the man kneeling at my feet. My cheeks rose as his handsome face turned my way. Moisture glistened in his eyes—his dark-brown eyes.
My elation evaporated. I squeezed my eyes shut, trying to hide my disappointment.
“Sara, what happened? Are you in pain?”
I willed myself to listen, to hear the man I loved.
He didn’t have piercing blue eyes!
Shaking my head, I inhaled and exhaled. “No, I’m just emotional.”
A lovely dark-haired woman with light-olive skin, probably in her late twenties, hugged me. Her white shiny smile drew me in. Her round cheeks had just the right amount of pink, and her blue eyes sparkled with compassion. “Of course you are. This is a miracle. Praise God. Praise Father Gabriel.”
I nodded, noticing how her hair was secured at the nape of her neck in a low bun. Staring at her slender frame, I recalled how she’d helped me at the hospital, getting me in and out of bed. The turtleneck sweater she wore under her scrubs accentuated her long neck. I reached for the necklace Jacob had placed around my neck, seeing the same cross on her. On her feet she had warm boots, and I wondered if she wore running shoes in the clinic. Her footsteps had always sounded different from Jacob’s or Lilith’s. I took her hands in mine. “Raquel, I didn’t remember what you looked like. You’re so pretty.”
She smiled and lowered her chin. “Thank you, so are you.”