Butterfly Effect

20: Date night

Hailee's Pov

It was friday, and the last period of every school week was always the most horrible one of the whole week, just because Jasper was in the same class as me.
Every time it was always the same, he tried to convince me that I was worthless and that nobody loved me, while I tried to remind myself that he was just a piece of shit and that he was wrong. I was loved. Or at least that was what my moms reminded me every time that I needed to hear it...
"So my moms are out on a date tonight. Do you want to hang out?" I asked my best friend after the sound of the school bell.
"Sounds fun, I'm in" she said "I know a place".
"Should I be worried?" I joked, earning a death glare by my best friend, and right after that, we both burst out laughing.
That afternoon at home, I was reading Heartstopper in my room when Carina opened the door and looked at me with kindness.
"What are you reading, Bambina?" she asked from the doorstep and I invited her in with a nod of my head.
"Heartstopper, it's a graphic novel. I want to read 'To kill a mockingbird' next" I answered as she sat down on my desk chair. I knew right there and then that she wanted to talk about something.
"What is it, Mamma? I know that you want to tell me something" I said with a smile, loving how much I could read them. That meant that I'd been living with them for a while and that I was starting to be a part of the family.
"Are you sure that you'll be okay on your own, with me and mom out tonight?" she asked.
"Mamma! I'm sixteen, I can be on my own for an evening!" I exclaimed "And also, I was planning to hang out with Manon tonight. She said that she knows a place she wants to show me".
"Oh..." she sounded surprised. "I can't believe that my little girl has her first date tonight".
"It's not... This is not a date..." I mumbled, blushing hard. Was it a date? No, we were just friends... And she was straight... right?
"Okay Bambina" she said, not convinced with my answer "I'm going out now, see you tonight. I love you".
At seven I headed out of the apartament and in the lobby of our building there was Manon with her golden locks loose on her back and a casual pair of ripped jeans, a white t-shirt, a red flannel shirt over it and a pair of red high converse. She was just stunning...
"Hi..." I whispered.
"Hi Lia. Wow, you look wonderful" she said cheerfully and the nods in my stomach disappeared. She made me feel at ease just with her lightful smile.
"You are mesmerizing..." I complimented her as we got into her car.
The drive wasn't very long, and when she stopped the engine we were at a panoramic point on the coast. The bay opened in front of us and the sunset was burning the sky.
It was so romantic...
"There is a place that sells milkshakes a couple of minutes from here. I thought that we could go there and then we could watch the sunset over the bay" she said, and for the first time I noticed that she was fidgeting with her fingers. She was nervous...
"Yes, it's perfect. Let's go" I said reassuringly, and we started to walk to that little shop.
We ordered two shakes, strawberry for me and chocolate for Manon, but when I tried to reach for my wallet, she stopped me and she paid for both of us.
"I can pay for my own shake, you know that?" I said during our walk back to the panoramic spot "I owe you one now...".
"You can pay for mine the next time" she responded and the blood rushed into my cheeks at that answer. N-n-next time?
When we arrived back at the panoramic spot, the sky was burning in the shades of red and orange. It was extremely beautiful, but my gaze was actually directed to the person next to me...
I loved her smile that lighted up her eyes and made dimples appear on her rosy cheeks. She was the most gorgeous girl I'd ever seen in my life...
"What is it?" she asked and I looked at the ground, embarrassed that I've been caught staring at her.
"Nothing... I'm just so happy that you are my best friend" I answered and for a split second I thought that she was disappointed with what I'd just said, but then she smiled wider and my heart relaxed.
"I'm happy that you are my person Lia" she said, leaning on my shoulder with her head.

Maya's Pov

My wife was drop-dead gorgeous and I had to blink a couple of times to make sure that she was really standing in front of me with her eyes locked in mine.
"My love... You are-you are... Wow. How did I get so lucky?" I said and she shook her head. I knew that she was having a hard time with her figure lately because of her pregnancy.
"Don't lie to me Maya. I know that I'm not like I was before..." she said sadly, and I felt like I needed to do something to show her how much love I had for her, even with all of these little changes, and how grateful I was for what she was doing for our family.
"I'm not lying. My love, you are doing something for us that I find completely mesmerizing, and yes, you are a little different than before, but all of those changes only prove how strong you are..." I reassured her as we arrived at the restaurant.
It was an Italian restaurant, and I knew that my wife was really picky when it came to food from her own country.
"You brought me to an Italian restaurant?" she asked surprised "You must be really sure of your choice, Bella".
I just winked at her, opening the door to let her pass. The waiter took us to our table and he gave us some time to decide what we wanted to eat.
After a while, we ordered our food and when it arrived, Carina tried and almost moaned at the wonderful taste.
"Okay, now I need to know how you found out about this place. This is amazing!" she said and I laughed at her expression.
"When you first moved into our apartment, Andrew told me that if I ever wanted to take you back in time, I should have taken you to this place... He said that this place reminded him of your mother... At first there was a pandemic, and then we started our journey to become mothers and it slipped my mind... After that, there was my nervous breakdown, me winning you back slowly, my diagnosis... So I kinda forgot about this place" I explained and she smiled.
"And how did you remember it after all of these years?" she asked, curious about my next answer.
"The first time that Lia called me mom... We were talking about names for our little boy and I said that I wanted to honor your brother" I paused for a moment "That's when it all came back to me".
"Well, thank you Bella. It was very thoughtful that you remember what my little brother told you. It really reminds me of my mom's cooking..." she admitted and I bashfully grinned at her.
We ate our food, talking about everything that was going on in our minds, and after that wonderful dinner full of laughter and heart eyes, we started to walk around Seattle.
I was trying to keep an eye on Carina, careful about any sign of discomfort on her face. I knew that she was not made of glass and that she could take care of herself, but she was pregnant, and I wanted to make sure that her and our son were okay...
"Look at how beautiful all of this is..." Carina said, pointing up at the Space Needle lit up in the night sky.
"Yeah, stunning" I said, looking at her instead.
When my wife noticed that I was staring at her, she smiled embarrassedly and she gently pushed my shoulder.
"Come on Maya! I was serious" she complained and I giggled.
"Well, I'm serious too" I said "It's not my fault that my wife is the most beautiful star in the galaxy".
"Maya!" she exclaimed.
"What?".
"I love you" she said, getting closer to me and holding my cheeks in her palms.
"Ti amo anche io (I love you too)" I answered, uncertain about the Italian but sure about that she would definitely appreciate the fact that I was trying to speak in her own language.
We kissed like it was the first time, like every cell of my being was attracted to her like a magnet, like it was the only thing keeping us alive...
The ring of her phone interrupted the moment, but we were still close to each other. She read the text and I noticed that her smile was still there.
"Did they page you at the hospital?" I asked, praying that she didn't have to go to work right now.
"No, it's actually our daughter asking for permission to sleep over at Manon's. I'm just going to text her back that she can go and then..." she stopped.
"And then what, Doctor Deluca?" I teased with a half smile.
"And then I'm gonna take you home and make you scream my name until the early morning".

A.N. This is my favorite chapter in the whole story. I'd had so much fun writing it, and I particularly love the little mention of Andrea during the date. Hope you like it as much as I do. See you on Wednesday...