Freaks Cum Out (Dawn of the Freak)

by Solae Dehvine

  “Well, I can come over and be with him when you go to school or you can bring him to my house.” Momma Montgomery started rambling off things. She picked up her cell phone and started calling people. All Sabrina could do was smile.

  Momma Montgomery could make the best of any situation. Sabrina’s entire house would be furnished with baby items by the end of the week. She would call her church, job, and woman’s group and have everybody helping out. As Sabrina wiped away a few loose tears, she heard her name.

  “Sabrina Montgomery,” a young woman called as she entered the waiting room. The woman wore her hair in a tight bun. Her shirt was white with a hospital name tag fixed to her blouse.

  Sabrina knew instantly that she was the social worker. Standing up, she greeted the woman with a handshake.

  “Terry, I gotta call you back but I’ll let you now what we need,” Momma Montgomery said, abruptly ending her conversation. “Hi, I’m Mrs. Montgomery” Momma said, extending her hand to the social worker.

  “Nice to meet you. I’m Cynthia Townes, one of the hospital social workers,” she said, returning the hand shake.

  “This is my grandmother,” Sabrina stated.

  “Oh, ok. Great. So you’re JoAnn’s mother, correct?” Cynthia asked, making notes.

  “Yes, I am,” Momma Montgomery replied as they all began sitting down.

  “I’m glad you’re both here. I’ve looked over JoAnn’s case in the system. I see that in the last three years she has had another child besides this one. She unfortunately didn’t make it, correct?” Cynthia’s eyes met theirs and she didn’t like what she saw.

  “WHAT?” Sabrina did scream this time.

  Momma Montgomery didn’t utter a word. She was just as shocked and found it better to stare at a wall to hide her shame.

  “Yes, ma’am. I’m sorry. I thought you were both aware of the other child.

  She was born premature and passed away. She was also born addicted to controlled substances.”

  Sabrina felt her anger rising. In the pit of her stomach there was a burning fire. All she could think about was marching into JoAnn’s room and smacking her.

  “We have ruled her unfit to care for a child. We are also aware that you were given custody of Sabrina some fifteen years ago, Ms. Montgomery.”

  “Yes, ma’am. My daughter is sick and we don’t want Corey to be with her. Sabrina and I would like to take care of him. He would stay with Sabrina and I would supplement monetarily and with babysitting while she attends college courses,” Momma Montgomery stated matter-of-factly.

  “I see. I believe that would be great. I see, Sabrina that you have filled out the paperwork already, so that’s great.” Cynthia thumbed through some papers in her lap and found the one that she was looking for. “I just need you to sign this and I’ll schedule a walk-through of your apartment. Is this your correct address, here?”

  “Yes, it is,” Sabrina said, glancing at the address on the paper. “I’ll be moving into a new unit this weekend. Since Corey is coming home with me, I will be moving into a two bedroom..”

  “Wow, you guys move quick. Just let me know later what the unit is and I’ll schedule the walk-through for next week.”

  As Sabrina signed the paper Ms.Townes continued to explain the process.

  “Myself, or someone with family services will come look at the home and make sure it’s a safe environment. After that, we will make a determination and I’m sure, once the doctor signs for the baby’s release, he should be ready to go home with you.”

  Those words made Sabrina smile.

  “All I need you to do, Sabrina, is sign right here stating that I have gone over everything with you and you agree to take care of the child.” Sabrina quickly took a pen from Cynthia’s hand and signed the document. “So you’ve decided to name him Corey?” Cynthia asked, smiling.

  “Yes, ma’am. Corey DaVon Montgomery,” Sabrina stated proudly.

  “Nice name, Ms. Montgomery is recovering from the Cesarean and I haven’t been able to have a coherent conversation with her.”

  “That’s no surprise. She won’t be much help. Once she is feeling better, Ms. Townes, she will be out of here without a care in the world,” Sabrina stated.

  Cynthia gave a nervous smirk. She didn’t like getting into these conversations. She got up and extended her hand to Sabrina and Momma Montgomery.

  “I’ll be in touch and make sure you let me know what unit you will be moving to,” she said before leaving the room.

  Sabrina and Momma Montgomery both hugged each other before Momma’s cell phone broke the silence in the waiting room.

  “It’s Trudy,” Momma said, hitting the green talk button. “Trudy,” Momma answered her phone. “Yes, girl. you got the right message.Yep she’s had a baby and Sabrina is gonna take him in. She’s gonna need some help. I’m about to head over to the church now.”

  Grabbing her purse, Momma walked into the hallway. Seeing Momma Montgomery on the phone made Sabrina think of the calls she needed to make.

  “Damn, I forgot to call work,” Sabrina cursed as she reached for her phone which was nestled in her jean’s pocket.

  “Hey Rick, sorry I’m just now calling you back but I’m going to need some time off.”

  “Is everything ok?” Rick asked, sounding concerned.

  “Actually, it’s not,” Sabrina said, pausing and taking a deep breath. “I’m going to be a mother.”

  CHAPTER 3

  Nervous and scared, she walked through the green tiled floors of the hospital. Her apple red nail polish was chipping away at the tips from her constant gnawing throughout the day.

  She had abandoned chewing her nails and began popping her knuckles as she waited for the elevator to open. Today was the day she would take Corey home.

  “You ready?” Momma Montgomery asked as they waited.

  “Yep, been ready for awhile,”

  Momma Montgomery nodded in agreement and watched the numbers of the elevator descend to one. Sabrina focused on her shoes and prayed, searching her mind for the words and trying to find the strength to embark on this journey of sister turned mother.

  Thinking of the word, “mother,” made her mind drift to her egg donor

  “Have you seen or talked to JoAnn?” Sabrina asked over the dinging sound of the elevator. It finally made it to their floor and alerted everyone of its arrival.

  Momma Montgomery shook her head as she handed Sabrina the car seat she had been carrying. Weeks ago, Sabrina would have laughed at the sight of a car seat that big for Corey. That was four weeks and six pounds ago. Corey had ballooned since then and both of their lives had changed drastically.

  Sabrina pressed the round elevator button for the sixth floor. Quickly, she and Momma Montgomery ascended to the floor of miracles, where the babies were delivered. This floor had been Sabrina’s second home for past few weeks.

  Sabrina’s decision wasn’t so much about Corey, but about her. She didn’t want her own brother growing up like she had. More so, she wanted to return the favor. It was a no-brainer to take on the responsibility of caring for Corey.

  They arrived to the sixth floor and walked towards the nursery room. Sabrina had walked these floors so much, she felt like she worked there. Many long nights, she had slept in the waiting room, studied in the cafeteria, or made a mattress out of the couches.

  After Sabrina was given the approval to take care of Corey, there was no turning her away. She wanted to be with him all of the time. Corey recovering and being healthy was now Sabrina’s main priority.

  Rounding the corner, Sabrina heard Corey before she saw him.

  “Is that him crying?” Momma Montgomery asked.

  “Yep, it sure is. Lungs are getting strong.” His car seat and diaper bag were in Sabrina’s hands and she couldn’t wait to get him home.

  The nurses explained things in a hurry. Sabrina took notes as Momma Montgomery dressed him to go home. They handed her prescriptions for medicines and all of the po
ssessions he had accumulated in his stay.

  “We’re gonna miss you, little Corey,” one of the nurses said, holding Corey’s miniature hand as he was buckled in his car seat.

  “Alright, this is everything,” another nurse said. “We gotta walk you down to your car, per hospital policy.”

  A nod of the head was Sabrina’s only response. Corey was quietly bundled up in his car seat as they made their way to the entrance.

  “I’ll go get the car. You all wait for me at the door,” Sabrina said. Making her way to the car, doubt began to set in.

  Can I do this? She asked herself as she got in her car and pulled up to the hospital entrance.

  Momma Montgomery emerged, smiling and holding the car seat that contained Corey. Sabrina got out and securely placed Corey in the backseat of the car.

  “Alright, Core. There you go,” Sabrina whispered as she finished buckling his seat in.

  Closing the door softly, she turned to the nurse that was patiently waiting and talking to Momma Montgomery. Sabrina shook her hand and said a brief thank you as she and Momma Montgomery got in the car. Things were no longer fun and games. She was now responsible for a human life. A life that had already had a rough start.

  Driving away from the hospital, there was no other sound in the car.

  The tension was felt by Momma Montgomery as well. She searched her mind for scriptures as she looked out the window.

  Sabrina hoped she would be quiet through the ride home. She wanted peace. Can I do this? Sabrina repeated the question to herself.

  This time, as she thought about it, there really was no answer to the question. It was more rhetorical than responsive. Her approach was that she had to do it. There was no other alternative.

  Of course I can. I have to, Sabrina told herself as she pressed down on the accelerator. She moved between the cars towards home. Towards her newfound mother and sisterhood.

  Dawn

  Of

  The Freak

  CHAPTER 4

  “Corey, hurry up! We gotta get you to school,” Sabrina said as she hurried around the living room, picking up papers, putting them in her backpack, and grabbing her purse.

  “I’m doing number 2,” Corey screamed from the bathroom.

  “Awww, come on, Core. You always gotta use it when we are about to leave,” Sabrina said, laughing.

  “You’re gonna be late for your first day,” Sabrina said loudly in his direction as she gathered their things.

  Corey’s only response was the flush of the toilet and a running faucet. A few minutes later, he emerged from the bathroom with his uniform shirt neatly tucked into his blue khakis and his black, wire rimmed glasses placed securely on his face.

  He was much taller than the other kids his age, making him look more like a little man than an eight-year-old third grader.

  I taught him well, Sabrina told herself as she gave him a quick glance over as he put on his jacket.

  She was glad she didn’t have to fuss over him about his personal hygiene or straighten his clothes. Corey always wanted to look nice.

  My conceitedness must have rubbed off, Sabrina thought as she grabbed her keys and handed Corey his backpack.

  “Ok, you got your lunch money and your keys, right?” Sabrina asked as she opened the door and went through her mental checklist.

  “Yep, and I’ve got my cell phone. Do you have your phone?” he asked as he walked out the door.

  “Nope, glad you said something. Take the keys and go start the car. I’ll be out in a minute,” she told him as she went looking for her cell phone.

  Buried between two couch cushions, she found her phone.

  “Ok, that’s everything,” she said as she set their house alarm and locked the door.

  Sabrina walked down her porch steps and smiled at Corey’s bouncing head in the car. The radio was loud enough that she heard it from the porch steps. Her high heels clicked on the pavement as she made her way to the car with her purse and shoulder bag in hand.

  Getting in the car, she immediately turned down the blasting radio. Some song was talking about putting “swag on,” She had been too busy to keep up with the latest songs. If it wasn’t for Corey, she wouldn’t know any of them.

  “So, you ready for your first day?” she asked Corey as she drove away from their house.

  “Yeah, I was tired of that raggedy old school,” he said, looking out the window at their new neighborhood. A lot of things had changed for them in the past few months.

  “Yeah, I know. That’s why I had to get you into a better school and the both of us into a better neighborhood,” she said turning on her blinker to make a turn.

  How much this school is costing me, it better be nice, Sabrina thought to herself as she pulled into the school parking lot.

  “Alright, I’ll see ya later,” Corey said, grabbing his backpack off the floor and reaching for the door handle.

  “Hold up, hold up. Now, tell me again what you’re gonna do when you get off school,” Sabrina quizzed him.

  Corey took a deep breath and recited her instructions that she had drilled into his head the previous week.

  “I’m gonna go straight home, put the code on the alarm thing. I’m gonna lock the door, set the alarm again, and let you know I’m home. If someone tries to grab me, I’m going to kick, scream, and run,” he said the instructions perfectly.

  “My man, give me some dap,” she said, extending her hand for their traditional fist pat.

  Corey laughed at his sister and how hip she tried to be.

  “Ok, I’ll see you later. I should be home at 4:30. Then, I’ll take you to Momma M’s while I go to class, ok?”

  “Yep, love you,” he said as he opened the door and shut it behind him. He ran towards the school and she couldn’t have been more proud.

  As she watched him blend in with the rest of the blue khaki clad students, she marveled at the stark wardrobe change from baggy jeans and metal detectors. Good thing for that partial scholarship, Sabrina thought to herself.

  She took one final glance at the school and saw Corey walk inside with the other students and she felt at ease. I can’t believe he is growing up. Feels like yesterday that I brought him home, Sabrina reminisced on those hard nights back when Corey was a baby.

  The sleepless nights staying up, holding him as he cried for no reason. One of the many side effects of the drug abuse he suffered.

  Not to mention the multiple doctor’s visits and the many hours she spent praying that he would turn out normal.

  Thank you, Lord, for answering those prayers, she thought as she pulled away from the curb. She felt good about things and how she had raised Corey.

  That feeling was fleeting as she drove away and her thoughts flipped to bills and tuition payments.

  Damn, I’m late for work, she said. The red numbers on the car radio read well after seven-thirty. A buzzing on her thigh stole her attention. Feeling inside her slack’s pocket, she found her vibrating cell phone.

  “Yeah, CeCe, I’m on my way,” Sabrina said.

  “Girl, I was getting worried. I thought you were coming in early,” Sabrina’s co-worker asked.

  “Yeah, I was. I woke up late. I’m still trying to unpack,” she said as she drove with one hand on her phone and the other on the steering wheel.

  “Aw, ok. You drop Corey off yet?”

  “Yep, I just did. I can’t believe how mature he is. I’m just so thankful.”

  “I know you are. I don’t know many that could do what you do.”

  “I got to, C. Who else would do it?” Sabrina said, placing her index finger on her blinker to switch lanes. No one came to mind when she wondered who else would take care of Corey.

  “I already know, girl. You want me to clock you in?” Cece asked, already making the move to Sabrina’s desk to log her in.

  “Yeah, girl, please do. I’m gonna be there in, like, umm, fifteen minutes.”

  “Ok, cool. Hurry up and get yo ass here so I can t
ell you about some shit I found out last night,” Cece said, lowering her voice.

  “Tom is coming. Hurry up. Bye,” Cece whispered before hanging up the phone.

  Sabrina laughed as she imagined her friend hurrying off the phone to avoid their boss. Sabrina allowed her thoughts to depart from her bills and drift to whatever juicy gossip Cece would drop on her once they were firmly planted in their cubicles.

  Making a few turns, she made it to her job quicker than she estimated. So many things had changed in her life over the past few months.

  A new commute with a new house and a new school to drop Corey off ,meant that she needed to leave the house a bit earlier than usual.

  Turning into the parking lot, she maneuvered her car all the way to the end. Getting to work early had its perks of close parking spots. Getting there late meant a few extra steps in your work pumps.

  For the last four years, this was where she went all day. “Gotta go pay the bills,” Sabrina whispered to herself as she grabbed her shoulder bag and made her way through the parking lot.

  Cece’s gossip would get her through the day, but her real reason for rushing to this place was for one person.

  Sabrina thought of him as she made it into the building past all of the already parked cars. This is all for you, her mind chanted as she walked into the building

  * * *

  “Thank you for calling LandTrust, this is Sabrina speaking,” she stated the words as she began typing the loan number that the inconsiderate customer was yelling into her ear. “I do apologize for the mishap. One moment while I look that up,” she said.

  I can’t wait till I get away from this place and no longer have to kiss these peoples’ asses, Sabrina thought to herself as she moved her mouse across her computer screen. She finished her call and threw her headset down

  “Girl, what’s wrong with you?” Cece asked after hearing Sabrina’s crashing headset.

  “Just another call.”

  “Well, come on, lets go to the break room so I can show you the video,” Cece said, leading the way to their break area.