Waiting by Erin Dennington ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Chapter 61 Stella hurried over to the restroom door and knocked on it. She could hear sobbing from inside. "Who is it?" Christina asked, her voice shaking. "It's Stella. May I come in?" Christina didn't answer but a moment later the door slowly swung open. Stella pushed past the door, letting her hip shut it after her. Christina was sitting on the toilet seat in front of her, holding a tissue up to her face, trying to blot away the tears that refused to stop. Her body was shaking with the effort to regain control. She was wheezing. Stella reached behind her, grabbed a wad of toilet paper, and gently dabbed at Christina's cheeks, murmuring little nonsense sounds. Gradually Christina's breathing slowed down and she leaned her head against Stella, letting the younger woman calm her, smooth her hair. "I know how you feel," Stella said. Christina muttered something, but Stella guessed what she had said. "No, I haven't been in your situation exactly, but I've been betrayed by the person that was supposed to love me more than anyone else. I'm adopted. I was adopted by my parents when I was 6. I have some memories from before that, not many, but some. And I remember why I was adopted. It's not easy, knowing that someone who loves you could do something like that to you. When I got older and realized the enormity of the consequences, I shut myself in my room and shut everyone else out. It hurt." She put her arms around Christina, offering a warm and inviting hug to which Christina felt safe and secure enclosed inside of, a feeling she hadn't experienced in a long time. Finally Christina spoke. "It's just that...he did so much for me. And then everything happened with my depression...and I left our company...and I haven't been the same since. First I lost 'me.' Now I've lost him, too. I've now lost everything. And I don't know what to do." She sounded as if she was going to cry again, but Stella shushed her. "Sometimes life hurts," Stella said, "but it makes us better for it. We grow stronger and better able to handle things. I gained a loving family." "But I lost him," Christina said, her breath catching. "And you still have your children. They are great kids, Missus Richardson," Stella said. She held Christina close and dried her cheeks. Looking down into Christina's eyes, she spoke again. "I think that you will be just fine. You're strong. You'll think of something. Obviously there is something going on out there that we're not totally aware of, and it's something that might change our lives forever. But I think we should go back out there and hear what the others have to say." She pressed her glowing hand to Christina's forehead and watched as the woman visibly regained control. Stella didn't know where her miraculous power had come from or why she suddenly had it, but already she had noticed its healing properties when she'd been able to take away Davis' pain. She was glad that to discover that it worked for the emotional well being of others as well as the physical. Christina sniffled and said, "You know, for someone so young, you're pretty wise, Stella." She allowed herself to be helped up and, together, the two women opened the door and entered the waiting room. 21:40 - 11.18.02 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
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