The One Who Holds Me (Sovereign Love #4)

37. Olanna

37

OLANNA

NOW

I plant another kiss on Ayannah’s cheek and bounce her up and down on my lap before letting her slide down to the floor. I came over to Manny and Heather’s for our weekly Bible study, which we finished half an hour ago. Heather stepped out to get some snacks for our movie night, so Manny and I will have to choose the movie.

Ayannah grabs her dark-skinned doll and crawls over to Manny, who is sitting next to me on the couch. She pulls herself up and sends me a smile, which warms my heart.

“Aww, look at how strong she is. I bet she’ll start walking soon,” I say as Manny lets her play with her dolls.

“I won’t be surprised.” He smiles at his daughter before turning to me. “So, what’s up with you?”

I sigh and pick up one of Ayannah’s dolls before lowering my head. While playing around with the doll’s textured hair, I replay the last conversation with Alex in my head.

“I spoke to Alex yesterday, and he finally told me why he broke up with me.”

“And?”

“He wants us to get back together. I told him I’ll pray about it and give him an answer on Monday.”

“Do you know what you’ll tell him?” Manny asks, and I shake my head.

“No, but I know I still love him,” I admit out loud and instead of Manny taking his usual stance to talk me out of it, he pauses and replies.

“I know you do. And I know he loves you, too.”

I look Manny in the eye. “How do you know?”

“He told me.”

I lift my eyebrows and lean forward. “What do you mean, he told you? You spoke to Alex?”

Manny shuffles closer to me and nods. “Yes, he came here two weeks ago and spoke to Heather and me.”

“What?” My eyes widen. “How did you and Alex end up in the same room together without you breaking his face?”

“Oh, come on, cut me some slack.” Manny chuckles and elbows my side.

“You were the one who promised you would do that to him if he ever broke my heart.”

“Yeah, yeah, yeah.” He rolls his eyes. “I know what I said, but I’ve changed my mind about him.” He takes the comb Ayannah hands over to him and starts combing the doll’s hair at the instruction of his daughter. That’s what he gets for being a girl Dad.

“Okay, I’m really curious.” I turn to face him squarely. “What exactly did you guys talk about that made you change your mind about him?”

Manny shrugs. “Everything. The cancer diagnosis, how he found out he was adopted, and how he took a solo trip to Ghana to find his birth parents but ended up experiencing rejection, which threw him into what he described as the darkest season of his life.” He pauses before continuing.

“I wanted to fault him. I really did. But I could tell he was being genuine. He jumped through a lot of hoops to get my number from Yin. Then he reached out to me multiple times and even when I ignored his messages and calls, he came over here when he knew there was a possibility it would not end well. He asked me to give him your favorite family photo so he could make a Secret Santa present for you. People don’t go through that amount of trouble for anyone.”

Wow, so that’s how he got the photo.

Manny reaches out and holds my hand. “I know you’re scared. But it’s just like Heather said. What if God has really granted you a second chance with Alex?”

Heather walks in carrying a bag of snacks and Manny helps her take the bags to the kitchen while Heather joins me on the couch. After planting a kiss on Ayannah’s cheeks, she turns to me. “Aww, honey, are you okay?” She catches me swiping a tear away.

Stupid tears.

“Yeah.” My voice cracks.

It’s Heather’s turn to hold my hands now as Manny sits next to her on the sofa. “Is this about Alex?”

I nod, sniffling. “I still love him.”

“Oh, honey.” Heather touches my cheek and thumbs a tear away. “One thing God has taught me so far in my journey with Him is that there’s nothing too irredeemable that He can’t restore. He doesn’t make mistakes with things like this. Don’t close your ears to what God is saying. Listen to Him.”

Restoration. The word echoes in my heart as I ponder on it and the more I think about it, the more it makes sense. The main thing holding me back from saying yes to Alex is that I’m afraid things won’t go back to the way it was. But a lot has happened in the last two years and we’ve both grown closer to God—who can restore and make things brand new—including my relationship with Alex.

“Push away our opinions and your fears, sis,” Manny adds. “It’s important to stay in the secret place where there’s quietness and solitude. I’m sure God has already been speaking to you. Listen to Him, obey Him, and trust what He says to you. He’ll never lead you wrong.”