Chapter 79
1086words
"Drive safe," I commanded my husband.
He waited for Jamaica and I to enter the building, before driving off.
I grinned.
God was so good to me.
He gave me the best husband any woman could ask for. Valdo loves me, and it wasn't just his words that assured me. It was his actions.
I walked in the building, ready to spread my happiness. But something was different. The mood of the room was dense instead of its regular welcoming mood.
The smile was slowly wiped from my face when I noticed the look on everyone's face. Emily was crying and shaking her head. Zuria had her head bent, and Hannah was talking to them both.
"What's wrong?" I asked, walking farther into the room.
Hannah lifted her head, "Christina is gone. She's no longer with us." I could see the hurt and pain in her eyes.
I frowned, "What do you mean by gone?"
"Her parents moved her to Canada. They said we weren't motivating her to give up the baby, that we were encouraging her to keep the baby. They cut all connections we have with her. We have no idea where they took her." I heard the pain in her voice as she spoke and something in me sank.
I took a seat in one of the chairs. Christina and I had become close these past few months. She always found a way to smile, even though she was sad. She never wanted to give her baby up, but her parents were pressuring her.
"Why would they do such a thing?" I asked rhetorically.
"They don't want her to keep the baby. They think that her keeping the baby will ruin her future." Emily answered.
Fourteen-year-olds get pregnant all the time. It wasn't the end of the world. They were so many options for her if she decided to keep the baby.
Life doesn't end after having a child.
But why did they move her to a different country?
All her friends were here. Why would they take her away from persons who loved her? People who only wanted the best for her? People who could set great examples?
I looked around the room, "Did any of you get to speak to her before she left?"
"She called," Hannah responded. "Around 2 am last night, she called me begging me not to let them take her away, but I couldn't do anything. I had no area where she was. When I called her parents, they told me we were ruining their daughter's life. They took away her phone after that." How were we ruining her life? She came to the Center to learn a skill while she was out of school. She was great at baking and even better at painting.
"How could they be so cruel?"
"They're a super religious family. It was a shame to have their young daughter get pregnant in the first place. It would be a disgrace to let her keep the girl that was born out of wedlock. I was somewhat in the same situation, but my family didn't want me around. They told me to leave." Hannah had told me her story, and it was a sad one. It's so sad what persons could do in the name of religion.
Religion should have motivated them to draw closer to their child instead of further.
"It's never good to be extremely strict to a child," Zuria muttered.
"It's never good to be too loose either," Hannah stated.
"I never had parents so I wouldn't know." I looked at Zuria with my eyebrows raised, what did she mean by that? "I grew up in Foster homes, one after the other. I was just a paycheque." She added when she noticed our looks. This was the first time she's told us anything about her past other than having a dead husband.
"I was homeless, too, for four years, actually." She looked at me, "That's why I can relate to you. I was a homeless teen, minus the pregnant part." I could hardly believe Zuria had been a homeless teen. She was so well kept. I was even more curious to know her story now. How did she make it? "My husband, Gabrielle, saved my life."
"Like how Valdo saved me?"
She chuckled, "Something like that."
"I'm going to miss that kid." Emily expressed with a sigh. "I hope they treat her well in Canada. I hope she heals from this and I really hope that we get to see her again one day."
"I hope so too." Hannah stood from her seat, "I really do."
"What was your husband like?" I asked. Zuria's life was so mysterious, and I wanted to know more.
"Well," Zuria glanced at me, "He was a very cold and calculated man. He liked giving commands. He liked being in charge. He didn't like big gatherings." she paused, "If you're talking about physical features he was extremely handsome, I mean like drop-dead gorgeous. He had thick dark hair. His eyes were like midnight."
I frowned at her. He didn't sound anything like Valdo. "Did you love him?"
She smiled, "Very much."
I didn't understand. Apart from his good looks, he seems very toxic. How could she have loved a man like that? She's so sweet, completely opposite from her husband. "Why?"
Was it possible to love someone who was cruel and demanding?
"When I met him, I needed someone like him in my life. My life was out of control, and he fixed it. He taught me how to control my emotions and so many other things." she shrugged. "It never bothered me that he was a dick to most people because he was romantic, passionate and caring when it came to me." She sighed, "The only problem I had with him was that he never expressed his feelings. We were married for years, and he never once told me he loved me. It was something I needed because I grew up without love. Not knowing how to love and not being loved by anyone. The only person who has ever told me 'I love you' is my son." I heard the pain in her voice.
