Larry said to Grandpa, “Everyone is here.”
Grandpa said, “If you recall, Albert bought some candy, and he was stopping at his friend’s house on the way home.“

—-

Albert went to the front porch of Alex‘s house.

Alex‘s mom said, “Hi, Albert. Thanks for stopping by this afternoon. Alex was excited when he heard that you were coming for a visit. You can go to Alex‘s room now.”

Albert knocked quietly.

Alex said, “Hi, Albert. Thanks for coming by.”

As Albert walked into the bedroom and looked at Alex in his bed. Albert had a hard time holding back his tears.

Alex was looking much better than the last time that Albert visited him. Albert was so pleased to see that his prayers were being answered for his best friend.

Albert said, “Hi, Alex. As usual, I brought some candy to share with you.“

Alex said, “Thanks.” His eyes opened wide. “You did it, again, Albert. This candy looks fantastic. What is it?”

Albert said, “The store owner described it as ‘a strawberry mint truffle, which is mostly strawberry flavored with just a touch of mint.’ “

Alex said, “Well, Albert. Your memory may not be very good for most things, but you sure do remember how to describe candy.“

Alex took a piece of the candy, and said, “This is better than I could imagine.”

Albert took the other piece of candy out of the box. “Yeah. All of the candy in Mr. Steinberg’s store is the best.“

Albert asked, “Did you take the math test last Friday?”

Alex responded, “Yes, Mom gave me the test, and asked the teacher to score it for me. The teacher said I gotta B. How about you?”

Albert answered, “I gotta B, also. Looks like I’m gonna have to work harder to stay ahead of my best buddy.”

Alex said, “Guess what, Albert. The physical therapist said that I might be able to try walking a few steps tomorrow.”

Albert responded, “That’s fantastic. Looks like you’re ahead of schedule. You are looking a lot better today. How are you feeling?”

Alex responded, “I feel great. Thanks for praying for me. I know that Jesus hears your prayers.”

Albert added, “And a lot of other people’s prayers as well. We are all believing that Jesus is healing you, and that you will be able to walk soon.”

Albert looked at his watch and said, “I’m sorry, Alex. I’m gonna have to go home and work on my homework before dinner. I am so glad that you’re feeling better, and that you got a good report from your physical therapist.”

Alex replied, “You are a good example for me because you always do your homework, and you’re always on time. Thanks for stopping by. I hope to see you again, soon.”

Albert said, “Of course. I will try to come by as soon as I can, and make sure that you’re still doing OK.”

Albert said to Alex’s mom, “Thanks for letting me come by.”

Alex‘s mom gave Albert a little hug and told him, “You can come to visit Alex anytime you want. I am so happy that Alex’s best friend is just down the street.”

As Albert walked slowly to his house, a few tears came out of his eyes. Then, he raised his head, looked toward heaven, and said, “Thank you, Jesus.”

——

Grandpa said, “That’s the end of this chapter. Do you want me to continue with the story?”

All the kids said in unison, “Yes.”

Larry had a questioning look on his face, but he didn’t say anything.

Grandpa asked, “Larry, did you have a question about this part of the story?“

Larry answered, “No. It was very exciting. But I thought there might be more to this chapter.“

Grandpa said, “It can be difficult to tell where to break the chapters. I will continue with the next chapter.“

Lisa asked, “Is Alex going to be able to walk again? What happened to his legs?”

Grandpa answered, “You will just have to wait and see.”