“You thought it was me,” Kate said. “You thought that I was the one who was going to die.”
“That’s right. I thought it was you.”
Kate glanced back at the hospital. “I guess that’s why Beth wanted to win so bad. Somehow she saw you coming, and I—as usual—had to get there first. The old me, that is.” And she meant that. The old Kate was really gone—and gone for good. She could feel it, as if a part of her—a malignant part—had been cut out of her. And although she had not had a wink of sleep and had been through a harrowing night, she felt relaxed and refreshed.
“I’m sorry,” said Andrew. “I’m sorry that you had to go through it. It could not have been easy for you.”
“Hey,” said Kate, laughing out loud. “God made a mistake. Surely this isn’t the first time He’s done it.”
“No,” Andrew replied quickly. “People make mistakes. Sometimes even angels make mistakes.”
Andrew gazed at her for a moment, and his voice lowered. “But God doesn’t make mistakes. He saved two lives last night instead of one. Three counting Norman Delmonico. I told you that death sometimes passes you by. God chose to make it pass by last night, and that was His decision. We cannot know why. But we know the result. He saved your life in one way and saved Beth’s in another.”
“Yes,” Kate said, “I think maybe He did. So, I’ve still got a few more years left, huh?”
Andrew nodded. “Yes, you do, Kate. And now you know what to do with them, right?”
Kate nodded. “I do know now. Thanks to you.” She shook her head slowly. “It was certainly a wild way of finding out, I’ll have to say that. Do you always operate like this?”
“We work the way God wants us to,” Andrew replied. “It’s really very simple.”
Kate sighed. “A heck of a way to earn a living,” she said with a little smile. “Can I ask you one more question?”
“Of course,” said Andrew. “Ask me anything.”
“These few years that I have left—” she paused a moment as she thought calmly about the end of her life. “—when those years are over—”
“When they’re over, Kate . . .” He took her hand and kissed it gently. “Then I’ll see you for dinner . . .”
Dinner with Andrew Page 12