Reunion by Karen Kingsbury Page A

them.
    Of course, in the end it had been easy for Ashley to pull away, to stop before anything serious happened. Like every other time they’d wound up in this situation, a single thought of her health, of being HIV-positive, and she would take a deep breath, stand, and help Landon to his feet. In an instant, disgust with her situation would replace the desire. “I’m tired, Landon.” She would smile to hide her real feelings, “Let’s call it a night.”
    No matter how badly she wanted to lie in his arms and give way to the feelings he stirred inside her, she wouldn’t put him at risk. Maybe her doctor would give her safe ways to be intimate with him. If so, she’d explore those after they were married. For now, she loved him too much to let their kissing get out of hand.
    She was out of her car now, and a cool breeze lifted her pants legs and played around her ankles. Spring in Bloomington was always like this—summer one day, winter the next, almost as if the seasons were battling to see which would win out.
    Her hands trembled, and her heart beat faster than before. But 45
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    she wasn’t afraid. In the next hour she’d know more about her future than she had in all her years combined.
    She made her way inside and smiled at a woman behind the information desk. “I’m looking for Dr. Dillon’s office. He said he’d be here today.”
    The woman directed her to the third floor, and five minutes later Ashley found the door with his name on it. Holding her breath, she knocked. Every heartbeat seemed to shout the same thing over and over at her: Soon, Ashley… soon, Ashley… soon, Ashley.
    She’d have all the answers soon.
    The door opened and Dr. Dillon smiled at her. “Come in.” He ushered her to a chair in front of a big desk, and he took the one behind it. “You said you wanted to talk about your results?”
    Ashley pulled a folded piece of paper from her purse, opened it, and read the results one more time. Then she pointed to the line near the bottom that read “HIV.” ‘Right here, Doctor. Could you.., could you explain this to me?”
    A grin spread the width of the man’s face. “It says negative, Ashley. You know what that means, don’t you?”
    Heat filled her cheeks, and she gave a quick shake of her head. “I’m HIV-positive, Dr. Dillon. You know that. I showed you my last test and you told me—” she grabbed a quick bit of air—”you told me the other lab had done the test twice. Just to be sure, and ,so we did these tests at your office to see how close I was to getting AIDS, and now I get this—” i “Ashley.. i” The doctor held up his hand, his eyes dancing
    with joy, his smile gentle and sympathetic. “You don’t have HIV. The test I had them do takes longer because it’s much more detailed. I trust it completely.” He leaned back and tossed his hands in the air. “You’re fine, Ashley. Perfectly fine. I contacted the lab yesterday after you called, and they verified the information you have in your hand. The test was negative.”
    Ashley’s mouth hung open, and the room began to spin. All the emotions she had held at bay since opening the test results 46
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    surrounded her, filled her so she could do nothing but cover her face with her hands and let the reality sink in.
    She was HIV-negative? She didn’t have a disease lurking in her bloodstream that would make her sick and put Landon at risk and rob her of every beautiful thing she and Landon and Cole wanted for their future? She didn’t have it?
    Since taking the first HIV test, she had simply owned the truth. She’d been intimate with a promiscuous man, and now she would pay the price with her life.
    Her prayers, in the mean time, had been directed toward staying healthy as long as possi ble, and wanting someone to take care of Cole once she contracted AIDS
    and died. She had even asked God to give her the courage to see a doctor, to accept whatever treatments that would