Butterfly Effect

6: The chapel

Maya's Pov

I was walking in those familiar hospital hallways, rushing in the direction of my wife's office, happy that my day had been great somehow.
I knew the way like I knew how to read Carina's smile and her eyes, but I found myself completely lost in the exact moment I realized that her office was empty even if she had texted me, saying that she was free...
I opened the door and, while I was walking toward a nurse station, I ran into my wife's favorite colleague and one of her dearest friends: Jo Wilson.
"Hi doctor Wilson, have you seen my wife? She told me she was free, but she's not in her office" I asked and she stopped for a moment, thinking about where she could be.
"She's not there?" she was surprised "We had a difficult morning today... If she's not in her office, she might be in the chapel".
Jo knew as much as me about my wife's faith, because she often called her when she was at the mass, finding me at the other end of the phone call.
"Thanks doctor Wilson. Thank you so much" I answered with a small smile, and I started to walk rapidly toward my wife's comfort place in the hospital. How did I forget about this place? How did I forget about the place where she comes when she has a hard day? She always comes here to think and to say a small prayer to her God. A God that I was getting to know slowly but in whom I didn't believe...
I opened the door of the chapel, and there, kneeled on a wooden bench, was Carina. My beautiful Carina that was praying for her daughter, for me, for her friends, her family, her patients and, lastly, for herself... She always prayed for others before praying for herself.
"Carina?" I called softly, and when she turned her head in my direction, she patted the spot next to her on the bench, inviting me to sit. I sat next to her, and we stood there in silence for a while, next to each other.
"Jo said that today was a difficult day... Do you want to tell me what happened? If you don't I can let you talk with God in peace" I started and she put her head on my shoulder, holding my hand. I recognized right away that it was her way to tell me to stay, but that she wasn't ready to talk yet.
In that moment she needed silence like she needed to breathe, and I wanted to give her everything that she might need.
I looked around and I felt the usual feeling of confusion that for me accompanied faith. How could someone find peace in this? I knew the impact that God had on a lot of people, I just knew that I could never trust something I couldn't see and that has been a negative figure in my life while I was growing up. But for Carina... For Carina the lord was love... It was acceptance... I wished that I could understand that...
"Today I had to do a sexual assault evidence kit to a sixteen years old" she explained with a low voice so full of emotions.
"Oh Carina... I'm sorry" I whispered "I can't even imagine how hard that must be".
"It's not all..." she added, and with that simple sentence I stayed silent. I didn't know what there was to say, but if it was worse than what she had just told me, I could understand why she needed God's sense of peace.
"It was Hailee." those three words made the world fell down on me.
"Hailee? Is she okay?" I asked, rumbling with a worried tone in my voice.
"She's as okay as she can be... We are waiting for child protective services" she answered "And this time we have proves, so she will finally be removed from that horrible foster family".
"Do you want to take her in? You said that at the station..." I asked, suddenly anxious about that answer.
"Something else happened when we were talking... And I did something that was probably very wrong...".
She seemed nervous too. That for me was the most confusing thing. My wife at work was always at her best. She has always been the best doctor to all of her patients.
"Please don't get mad at me" she begged and I stared at her for a moment. Why would I ever get mad at her?
"I won't,Carina. I promise that I won't be mad at you" I reassured her and she looked at the trembling little flames of the candles in front of us. Suddenly I had a sense of deja-vù from her brother's death...
That was the only time, before that day, that I've set foot in a church with my wife. The first time the story ended in tragedy, and now I was hoping for a completely different outcome. I was hoping for good news.

Carina's Pov

Maya had promised not to be mad at me, but after what happened in her office I wasn't sure that she was going to keep that promise for long.
"Hailee was born in Seattle on July 22nd 2006, and she's been in the system her whole life..." I started, still looking at the candles in front of me to avoid her gaze.
"This looks like a weird coincidence" she whispered and I shook my head. I knew that Maya didn't believe in God, so her coincidences for me were signs from God that was trying to tell me something.
"This is more..." I looked at her, finding confidence and love in her icy blue eyes "I think that she's... I know that it might sound crazy... But I'm convinced that she's her. She's Benedetta".
It was like the world had just stopped and everywhere there was only silence. The only sound that I could hear was Maya's breath caught in her throat.
"I thought that her name was Benedetta, not Hailee" she answered, clearly not believing me. I was not gonna lie, that hurt like hell.
"If I had the chance to name her, she would have been called Benedetta. But I didn't name her, so Hailee could be her name" I explained.
I knew that my wife was doing her best to keep her panic on the inside of her body, but she didn't have to pretend. Not with me...
"Bambina? What are you thinking about?" I asked and she took a shaky breath, looking at everything in the chapel but me.
"How do you know?How can you be so sure?" the coldness in her voice made me shiver. That tone reminded me of some bad moments of our story... And I knew that she was doing it as a defense mechanism, but that was still terrifying to see.
"It's intuition... And I also did a blood work" I said "The genetic test was what I shouldn't have done...".
I gave her a close envelope, looking at her holding it tightly between her fingertips. She seemed on the edge of tears...
"Why is this close?" She asked, her voice was tense and shaky. I knew just by the sound of it, that she was swallowing back tears.
"I thought that I needed God's guidance to open it, so I came here. But I didn't have the strength to do it, because I realized that this was something I needed to do with you. I needed you to be with me".
She let one single tear run on her rosy cheeks, and I knew right there how scared she was.
"Before we find out, I need you to know that I love you with all of my being and that we'll figure stuff out together, okay?" I asked and she nodded with a little smile.
"I love you too, and I hope for you to find her... It's just a lot... Now it all seems so real" Maya said, looking down at the envelope.
"I know... And if I have to be completely honest with you Maya, I would admit that I'm paralyzed with fear" I admitted and I noticed her shoulders slightly relaxed.
I looked at the result of the test that my wife held in her hands, thinking about the chance that I've finally found my babygirl...
Yes, I was scared, and I knew that Maya was too, but I was convinced that whatever was going to happen I had my wife with me. She was the last stable thing in my life after my brother's death.
"If it's her, do you want to take her with us?" she asked at the same time that her fingers started to open the envelope.
"I would love to, because I know what she's been through... But if you are not ready, I will respect that and I will be happy with getting to know her. No pressure on this Bella, okay? We'll see" I answered honestly and she nodded, focusing on the result.
I looked at her, trying to read Maya's expressions like I did when she was nervous and she didn't want to talk. While I was waiting for her to read the results, it was like time was moving forward in slow-motion. I could perfectly see and count every single second that was slowly walking away forever.
When she finished reading, she folded the piece of paper and she stared at it with tears wetting her cheeks. Why was she crying?
"Bambina?" I asked scared. She was making me nervous...
She brought her gaze to mine, and in her eyes I could see a spark that I've never seen before. They looked like the reflection of the sun in the sea. Shiny and beautiful...
"Carina..." she started.

A.N. What do you think? Let me know❤