Dario asking me to come there didn’t necessarily mean anything was amiss –
But it didn’t bode well.
“Okay. Thanks,” I told Adriano, then smiled at Raffaelo again.“Ciao.”
As I walked down the corridors of the giant mansion, I rubbed the beads of my rosary.
I loved my new home. More than that, I loved my new family – and I adored my husband.
And yet, I was afraid. And not just of the parlor.
I was afraid that God was angry with me for marrying amafioso.
I was terrified He would punish my baby for my sins.
I knew it was horrible of me to think that.
God would never take out His displeasure with me on an innocent child.
And yet…
In the Bible, King David seduced a married woman. When Bathsheba became pregnant, David ordered her husband, who was fighting in a war, to return home and sleep with her. When Uriah refused to leave his men, David ordered him sent to the front line, and he was killed in battle.
David married Bathsheba…
But God sent the prophet Nathan to rebuke him and pass God’s judgment.
Bathsheba’s baby died because of their sin.
The second the doctor diagnosed me with preeclampsia after we returned from Rome, I had only one thought:
This is my fault.
God is punishing me.
I knew I shouldn’t think that…
But all I could think of was Bathsheba and her baby.
My fear became all-consuming.
I immediately went to Mass in Florence and said confession. I admitted to my sin, albeit obliquely:
Father, I married a sinful man, and I fear God’s judgment on my baby.
The priest told me,All men are sinful, my child, but God is love. He loves you and your child, and He will protect you both.
I wanted to ask,What about Bathsheba?but I was too afraid to hear his answer.
The priest told me to say 20 Hail Marys and another 20 Our Fathers.
After I finished them, I couldn’t stop.
I began praying all the time.
Please, Mother Mary… please intercede on my behalf.
Please protect Elena…
