"Is there anything else I can get for you Dr. Turner?" Sister Bernadette asked
"Some of your faith perhaps? It is at times like this I wish I had one" he replied
"It's at times like this I wished it made a difference" she added
She starred into his brown eyes with compassion, but quickly looked away to avoid the feeling rising in her.
"Sorry, I should leave you to your work" she told him as she started to walk out of the room
"No, please, stay. Take tea with me" he pleaded
In this moment, she knew that the right thing to do would be to politely decline his invitation. She was about to do that, but the next thing she knew, the answer that came out of her mouth was
"Sure"
Sister Bernadette watched him look at the desk he was sitting in and looked back at her, and realized that he was trying to think of how to make a place for her to sit.
"Why don't we go into the kitchen and sit at the small table in there" she suggested
"Sounds great" he replied as he gathered his papers from the desk.
Sister Bernadette walked over and grabbed his tea cup to make sure the important documents would stay safe and she walked down the hall to the kitchen with Dr. Turner following behind. Once they entered the walkway, Sister Bernadette placed the teacup on the table and went over to the stove to pour herself a cup of tea. Dr. Turner took a seat at the kitchen table, sorted out his papers and began to look at Nurse Miller's notes. Once she finished making herself a cup a tea and added sugar, she stepped over to the kitchen table and took a seat directly across from him. She took a sip from her tea as she watched Dr. Turner look through all of the paperwork.
He had a puzzled look on his face when he said "I've looked through these papers and everything seems to have gone okay at the delivery"
"Hopefully the post mortem will give everyone some answers" she replied in an attempt to comfort him.
"No matter how much experience a person has, this never gets any easier" he said
"I agree, my heart breaks every time I see parents lose their child" she replied
He looked back down at the paperwork and Sister Bernadette kept on siping her tea, unsure on what to say next. The longer the silence dragged on, the more awkward she felt as she questioned why she even said yes to his offer for tea in the first place. In that moment she realized that the reason she had agreed to this in the first place, which was to explain her comment about wishing her faith could make a difference and to spend time with him.
"I wish so much that faith could somehow magically bring Thomas back to life and that Patrick and Rene could know the joy of raising their child. But no matter how much I pray, Thomas will still be dead" she proclaimed
Dr. Turner looked up at her with a serious look on his face trying to take in everything she had just said.
"Then why do you believe in God?" he asked
"Because even though all of the prayer in the world will not bring Thomas back, the Holy Spirit can provide comfort like nothing else in the world. Patrick and Rene will find hope in knowing that they will meet their baby boy again in heaven someday. I know firsthand that God's love heals every hurt and pain that this world can give. He has granted me forgiveness for my sins, so everyday I choose to live for Him" she answered
"There is no denying that faith plays a big role in the healing of a patient. I've seen it countless amounts of times over the years" he said
Just when he finished his statement they both heard footsteps that were heading towards the kitchen. They both turned their heads and saw Sister Julienne walk in as if she was looking for something.
"There you are, you didn't come back to the dining room and I've been wondering where you had gone off to" she said in a casual tone to her
"I'm sorry" she replied
"Sister Bernadette was just helping me look over Nurse Miller's notes" said Dr. Turner
"Although I have read them over twice and I haven't found any answers so I am going to head home. Thank you for your help Sister Bernadette" he added as he got up out chair and stacked the papers.
"You're welcome" she replied
"Goodbye sisters" he said
"Goodbye Dr. Turner" Sister Bernadette replied
"See you tomorrow" Sister Julienne said
He handed Sister Bernadette the stack of papers and left the kitchen to leave. She got up and walked back to the dining room with Sister Julienne, wondering when she would get to see Dr. Turner again.