A new life for Sofia

Chapter thirty-seven

The blood tests didn't really hurt. The first time they did it was the morning after Sofia's fall. Before cooking breakfast, the three of them sat downstairs at the dining table.

Sofia didn't want to make a big deal out of this. She let Carina draw a little blood from her finger, and as soon as the blood was on the test strip, she left to make herself a bowl of cereal. She didn't know how to read the numbers anyway, so there was no point in waiting, because Maya would keep a list with all the results.

She was recovering well from her fall. She stayed off school for two days, just to be sure she didn't worsen the small concussion. She got some worried texts from Rachel and Olivia, which was nice.

One thing she didn't like was that she had to sit out at least a week of training. Sofia is very driven, so she had a hard time accepting that she wasn't going to play in Saturday's match.

She didn't tell anyone about her current medical situation. When people asked, she told them she simply slipped on the stairs. She didn't want any attention.

When Sofia woke up Saturday morning, initially she felt a bit sad, because she knew she would miss today's match. But, after the blood test and breakfast, she quickly showered and hopped on her bike to the club. Even though she couldn't play, she would be there to support her girls.

She wasn't the only spectator. Miles, Liam and a couple of other boys and girls were there as well, some from her class, some from Miles' class.

Turns out Sofia is a terrible spectator. She wasn't normally nervous before or during matches, but that was certainly different now that she couldn't play.

Her nerves eased when Olivia scored the first goal. But it didn't stop her from joining the coach and the other girls in the dug-out. The girls were all happy to see her, but Sofia was mostly interested in telling the coach how to improve the way the team played.

Jonas Benson, a 37-year-old man from the state of Florida, was a well-respected coach. He trained some of the higher men's teams in The United States, before finding a job here in Seattle, as a PE teacher and coach of the girls' team.

He laughed a little at Sofia's eagerness but did end up listening. In the end, the team won 5-2, partly thanks to Sofia's tactical suggestions.

After the game, she quickly went home. Ever since the fall, she was pretty tired after doing something. She asked Amelia about it, but Amelia reassured her that this is normal after a concussion.

Back home, Carina was not very happy. At almost 35 weeks, she was done being pregnant. Maya and Sofia heard her speak Italian way more often than normal, and she snapped more often. Of course, the snapping than leads to an emotional breakdown with Carina telling either Maya or Sofia how sorry she is for snapping.

It didn't bother Maya nor Sofia. They both knew it was because of the pregnancy and Carina's tiredness.

A positive thing is that the nursery was now completely finished. Maya's colleagues came to help her with installing the cribs and painting, but besides that Maya did almost everything on her own. She was grateful that she was able to do this for both Carina and the boys. With Carina carrying, Maya sometimes felt like her wife was doing all the work.

Carina was resting on the couch when Sofia came back. It was difficult for the parents to find a balance in how much they could ask Sofia about her health. Sofia was quite like Maya in that way and didn't like to seem weak or vulnerable in any way. But Maya has improved a lot, and the wives knew they could help Sofia too.