Butterfly Effect

42: Family time

Hailee's Pov

Italy was amazing.
During the first few days of our vacation, we focused on visiting some cities in Sicily like Catania, Siracusa and Noto, getting lost between tiny streets and beautiful places to see.
The day before, we decided to hike on Mount Etna, exploring the lunar atmosphere of the volcano, and then we walked into the streets of Catania, enjoying the fresh summer breeze.
During our walk back to the hotel, Carina bumped into someone that immediately recognized her, inviting her to see her aunt the next day.
That's where we went the next morning, and as we walked toward the door of a simple house, I could feel the anxiety bubbling underneath the surface. It was the first time that I was actually meeting someone that was related to me.
Except for Carina of course...
She knocked on the door as I tried to cover up my nerves, but when the door opened, I saw a woman with dark curls that immediately engulfed Carina in a big hug.
"Dio mio, Carina! Sei sempre più bella! (My God, Carina! You're more and more beautiful everyday!)" she exclaimed happily "E chi hai qui con te? (and who do you have here with you?)".
"Ciao zia Stella. Loro sono mia moglie Maya e i nostri figli Hailee e Rowan (They are my wife Maya and our children Hailee and Rowan)" my mamma answered and her aunt looked at all of us.
"Hi" she greeted us "It's wonderful to finally meet my niece's family".
After that, we entered together in the house, finding a comfortable environment full of memories from Carina's past with her mother and her brother.
"I want to... Say sorry for my English. Carina's mamma, my sister, tried to teach me, but it's very hard" Carina's aunt apologized and I shook my head slightly.
"Trust me, it's way better than my mom's Italian" I said, making everyone laugh with happiness.
"Yeah..." Maya admitted between giggles "That's... That is true".
"Well Bambina, don't worry about that. You have all the time in the world" she reassured Maya with a soft smile, and then we started a casual conversation about Italy and Carina's past.
"I remember one summer when Carina basically lived in the water. Lucia tried in every way to take her out of there, but she was into the Disney movie about Ariel, so she said that she would come out of the water only with a prince" she said in a laugh "Her mother called her Sirenetta (Little mermaid) for months after that".
"Oh God! I remember that... It was so embarrassing" My mamma exclaimed, her cheeks were burning red as she had a wide grin on her face.
She looked so happy talking with her aunt.
"I think it's really cute" Maya commented "But I'm glad that a prince didn't show up that day".
"I'm happy too..." Carina answered "I prefer a fire captain to a prince anyway".
"Have you taken them to San Lorenzo's beach?" Stella asked "I know that it's your favorite place here. It was your mother's too".
"Yeah, I plan to take them there very soon. I'm waiting for the perf-" Carina's answer was cut off by the sound of someone knocking ferociously on the wooden door. Stella excused herself quietly, going to open the door, while my moms and I kept talking about everything and nothing at the same time.
At one point of the conversation Carina, who was facing the entrance of the living room, stopped mid-sentence and her face turned pale.
"Papà?" she said "Che cosa ci fai qui? (What are you doing here?)".
I immediately turned around to look at Carina's father, my grandfather, with a mix of fear and curiosity.
"Un mio collega ti ha vista in giro per Catania, così ti ho cercata (A colleague of mine saw you around Catania, so I looked for you)" he answered calmly "Who are you travelling with?".
Carina stood up with Rowan in her arms, and after a knowing look between me and my mom, we stood up too as a support system for her.
"Papà... This is my wonderful wife, captain Maya Deluca-Bishop" Carina started "And these are our children: Hailee and Rowan".
Vincenzo Deluca stared at his daughter for a while with disappointment written in his eyes and an angry frown on his face.
"Spero tu stia scherzando, Carina (I hope you're joking, Carina)" was all he said.

Carina's Pov

Hearing my father raise his voice at me brought back a lot of bad memories from my childhood and his constant disappointment toward every single part of my life...
"No, I'm not joking papà" I responded sternly, holding Roo closer to me.
"Why are you like this? Why can't you be normal like your brother was? Why can't you be a good person?" he questioned and the mention of Andrea felt like a knife stabbing me in the back.
"I am a good person, papà..." I whispered, looking at his eyes full of rage and feeling like the scared seventeen years old girl that I was when I lived with him.
"You are not a good christian though...You live in sin" he explained "You have a sinful relationship with a woman and you call it a marriage. You had children and now you are convinced that they can grow up without a father".
"John in the Bible said 'A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another'. You don't get to call me a bad christian just because who I love is not okay for you. I'm following the Bible because I decided to get married to a woman that loves me and that I love so much" I responded, starting to feel exhausted by his judgment.
I let him dictate my life way too many times. I didn't care about his opinion of me anymore...
"Your mother would be very disappointed in you, seeing that you're one of those sick people... Andrea would be disappointed too" he stated.
"Mamma and Andrea knew exactly who I was and they both loved me just as much as before I told them. Andrea met Maya and he was extremely happy for me, they were friends... And you don't get to say if mamma would have loved me or not. Not after everything you did to her" I exclaimed, looking at his face that was bright red with rage.
He was about to say something, to yell at me and at my family, but my aunt stepped forward and stopped him with a stern glance.
"Vincenzo" she started, her voice was cold as ice "Non hai il diritto di venire a casa mia e insultare mia sorella e i miei nipoti. Adesso vattene! (You have no right to come to my house and to insult my sister, my niece and my nephew. Now get out!)".
He looked at all of us, and then his eyes locked into mine with the only thing that I've ever seen in his gaze: disappointment. I've always been his greatest disappointment...
"I wish it was you, and not Andrea, the one who died..." he whispered and every word was removing the dagger that he stabbed in my back, leaving me bleeding.
For a long time I thought the same thing, but Maya was there for me, picking me up when I was down.
"I don't want to be related with someone like you" he growled, walking toward the door of the house "You are no longer my daughter".
"I haven't been your daughter for a long time, papà" I answered as he slammed the door behind his back.
After his departure from the house, I passed Rowan to my wife and I walked to the back garden to calm myself down. I didn't care about most of his words, not anymore, but what he said about Andrea reopened old scars that stung deeply into my soul.
"Are you thinking about your brother, my love?" Maya asked, sitting next to me on the grass.
"How do you know?" was all I said.
"You have the same expression that you had on the week when you sat down in the shower, saying that everything else was...".
"Too soft" we concluded together in a whisper.
"Tomorrow is San Lorenzo. My brother's favorite day of the year, and I miss him more than ever" I explained "He shouldn't have died... I wanted him to be an uncle to my children".
"He is an uncle to your kids, even if he can't see them in person..." my wife whispered softly in my ear "We will talk to them about the wonderful man that their zio Andrea was. We will share stories, pictures, and traditions... But he is, and always will be, their uncle".
"Thank you Bella. That's exactly what I needed" I answered, smiling a little at the feeling of my wife's tender kiss on my forehead.