“Hello? My mother’s having her baby now,” I said. “What should I do?”
“Who is this?”
“My mother is Dr. Miranda’s patient. Her name is Mercedes Reyes.”
“Oh, okay, sweetie. How far apart are her contractions?”
“Um, I don’t know,” I said. I remembered my parents timing contractions when Connie was born, but I didn’t know how to do that, and I just wanted to get Mami to the doctor! “But my mother is moaning and sweating and she’s in a lot of pain, so could you please help me!”
The lady on the other end was quiet for a second. “Could you put your mother on the phone, sweetie?”
Was she for real? I huffed and walked into the bedroom with the phone in my hand. “Mami, the lady at the doctor’s office wants to talk to you.”
I held the phone to Mami’s ear. I could hear the woman’s buzzing voice on the other end. Mami said “uh-huh” a lot. Then she moaned right into the phone. It served that lady right.
When I put the phone back to my ear, the lady said, “Sweetie, you’d better call 9-1-1. The doctor will meet you at the hospital.”
The 9-1-1 operator said he would send someone out right away. “I’ll stay on the phone with you,” he said. “Just in case you have to deliver the baby yourself. I’ll talk you through it.”
“Okaaaay,” I said. Did he really just say that? I couldn’t deliver a baby! I gulped at the air, but I couldn’t seem to breathe.
Mami started to cry. “Ay, Anamay, what if something goes wrong?”
I put my hand on Mami’s back. She seemed so scared, and she was obviously in pain. I was scared too, but Mami needed me. I had to be strong for her. “Nothing will go wrong,” I said. “We can do this.” I turned back to the 9-1-1 man. “Tell me what to do,” I said to him.
First the man told me I had to get Mami to lie on her side. Mami didn’t want to, but I reached my arms all the way around her and held her tight. “Everything’s going to be fine,” I said in her ear. “Just calm down and breathe.” Then I eased her off her knees and onto her side.
“You should get some clean towels,” the 9-1-1 man said when I got back on the phone. “You’ll need to clean the baby and keep him warm.”
I jumped when the knocking started on the apartment door. “I’ll be right back,” I said to Mami, then ran down the hall, the phone still in my hand. No one had buzzed the intercom, but maybe someone else let the paramedics in? I looked through the peephole and saw a woman and a man in ambulance uniforms. Thank goodness. They rushed in as soon as I opened the door. “She’s down here.” I led the way to Mami’s bedroom.
The paramedics took over right away. I thanked the 9-1-1 man and hung up, then stood back and wiped the sweat from my forehead.
“There’s no time,” one of the paramedics said to the other. “She’ll have to deliver here.”
“Anamay, don’t leave me,” Mami said.
I held Mami’s hand and counted out loud every time she pushed. I thought it would all be over after the first push, but it wasn’t. Mami kept pushing and pushing. I stayed by her head, not wanting to see what was going on down where the paramedics were looking. I watched their faces the whole time, to see if they seemed worried or scared, and to decide how worried I should be. But they just looked like they were concentrating on a tough math problem. Was that good or bad? I couldn’t tell. Would the baby be tiny and sickly since it was coming so early? And what about Mami? Was her blood pressure high again? I had read books where women died while giving birth. But that was in the olden days, right? I told myself not to think about that. Nothing bad would happen.
When I blew out the candle on my birthday, I had wished for Mami to get well and have a healthy baby. My wish had to come true.
Finally, we heard the baby cry. “You have a beautiful baby girl, ma’am,” one of the paramedics said. She put the baby on Mami’s belly and started to scrub her clean.
I let go of the breath I had been holding in and looked at the clock radio on Mami’s dresser. It was 4:37. This had been the longest hour and a half of my life.
“Do you want to try to nurse her now?” the paramedic asked after she had cut the umbilical cord and wrapped the baby in a blanket. Mami nodded, and the paramedic slid the baby up to Mami’s chest. She was kind of slimy and wrinkly, but still amazing. And it didn’t really matter that she was a girl. A boy would have been just as adorable. The baby opened her mouth and nursed with fast gulps.
“That’s a hungry baby,” I said. Mami and I laughed. And cried.
Chapter 42
I texted Papi on Mami’s phone: Baby born at home. Meet us at the hospital. — Ana María
Mami already had a packed bag in the closet. I grabbed it and followed the paramedic who wheeled her out of the apartment on a stretcher. The other paramedic had already raced ahead with the baby in her arms. I locked the door behind me. Both locks.
The inside of the ambulance looked like a tiny doctor’s office, with bright lights overhead and sterile medical tools in cabinets with clear doors. The paramedics strapped the stretcher to the side, then put the baby in a little car seat right behind Mami. One paramedic chatted about the weather and traffic as we rolled along. I held Mami’s hand and nodded and smiled at the paramedic. I figured everything was probably fine now, but I was still a little concerned. After all, there was a reason we were going to the hospital, right? I didn’t ask any questions, though. Mami looked super tired, and I didn’t want her to worry.
Everything happened crazy fast when we arrived at the hospital. I followed Mami into a room where her doctor was already waiting. The baby had somehow gotten to the room before us, and a doctor was looking her over. “Why is she crying so much?” I asked. “Does that hurt her?” The doctor was poking and tugging at her kind of roughly, and I needed to protect my baby sister.
“No, she’s just getting used to her new lungs,” the doctor said without even looking at me. A nurse came over and took my arm.
“Why don’t you wait outside, sweetie,” she said. “We have to examine your mom now.” I looked at Mami and she nodded at me.
“Go see if your father is here yet,” she said.
When Papi, Abuelita, and my sisters got to the hospital, I was still outside Mami’s room. “They’re examining her and the baby,” I said.
Papi knocked on the door, then walked in without waiting for an answer. He closed the door behind him.
“Anamay, what happened?” Gracie asked.
“The baby couldn’t wait.”
“Is it a boy or a girl?” Abuelita asked.
“A girl.”
“Yay!” Rosie said. She couldn’t do her arm dance while she leaned on her crutches, so she did a little hand dance instead.
“Yay!” Connie copied Rosie.
The door opened. The doctors and the nurse walked out. “Come on in, ladies,” Papi said.
We tiptoed in. Mami smiled at us and pointed to the bassinet next to her bed. She still looked tired, but also calm and relieved. The baby was wrapped in a striped blanket. Her eyes were closed, and her little mouth was puckered up and moving like she was still tasting her last meal.
Connie walked up to the bassinet and leaned in close to the baby’s face. “Oh, how cute,” she said.
“Not so close,” Papi said. He pulled her back a little.
Connie turned to Papi and frowned. “But I’m the big sister!”
“I know, but we don’t want to wake her, okay?”
“Come sit with me,” Mami said to Connie.
That got Connie’s mind off the baby. She climbed up on the bed with Mami.
“I’m so sorry I wasn’t there with you, Mecho,” Abuelita said.
“That’s okay, everything worked out fine,” Mami said. “Anamay was so calm and took such good care of me.” She reached over, took my hand, and pulled me
close to her.
“I’m glad I wasn’t there,” Gracie said. “I would have freaked out.”
“I wouldn’t have been much better,” Abuelita said.
“Oh, I know it,” Mami said. “You would have run around the house screaming.”
Abuelita laughed. “I think you’re right.” She put her arm around my shoulder. “God knows how to take care of us,” she said. “And He took care of you by giving you Anamay.”
“Yes, she’s my level-headed, responsible girl. I don’t know what would have happened if she hadn’t been there.”
I felt my face get warm. It was a little embarrassing to have Mami and Abuelita go on and on like that about me, but it also felt kind of nice. And, not to brag, but they were right. No one else in my family would have done what I did. I helped keep Mami and my new little sister safe, and I was proud of myself.
“Can we stop talking about Anamay?” Rosie had made herself comfortable in an armchair in the corner of the room. “What’s the baby’s name?”
My parents looked at each other. “We never did choose a girl’s name,” Papi said. “But whatever you want is fine with me, Mecho.” He leaned over the baby. She was making gurgling noises. “She’s awake now.” He picked her up.
“Can I hold her, Papi?” Gracie asked.
“Okay, but be careful with her head.” Papi transferred the baby into Gracie’s arms slowly, but stayed right next to them.
“Why don’t you pick a name, Anamay?” Mami said.
“Me?” Did my parents really trust me with a big decision like that?
“I think that’s a great idea,” Papi said. “After all, you’ve known her the longest.” He chuckled.
“Well . . . what about a name that reminds us of the DR?” I said. “Like . . . Marisol, for the warm sea and bright sun.”
Mami smiled and looked around the room at the rest of the family. “Marisol. I like it. Yes, I really like it.”
Papi nodded. Gracie held the baby closer and spoke softly to her. “Hello there, baby Marisol,” she said.
“I want to hold Marisol now!” Rosie called from her seat.
“Me too, me too!” Connie jumped off the bed.
Abuelita sat on the edge of Mami’s bed, and the three of us watched my sisters argue over who would hold Marisol next. Mami smiled and held my hand.
Then I looked up and saw Tío Lalo standing by the door. He clutched a white teddy bear and a bundle of red and yellow roses. A brown shopping bag hung from his wrist. “Hey,” he said.
“Tío Lalo!” Connie ran to him and grabbed his free hand. “I’m a big sister!”
Tío Lalo got down on one knee and faced Connie. “Well, congratulations, you big girl! I’m so proud of you!”
“Come see my baby sister!” Connie dragged Tío Lalo toward Gracie. Tío Lalo laughed and let Connie lead him. Then he saw Rosie’s cast and his smile disappeared.
“Rosita, I’m so sorry.” Tío Lalo blinked and blinked, and then gulped.
“That’s okay, Tío. I know you didn’t mean it.”
“Oh, I really, really didn’t,” Tío Lalo said. “How do you feel?”
“I’m better. And I forgive you. But” — Rosie wagged a finger at Tío Lalo — “don’t ever do that again!”
Tío Lalo laughed and cried at the same time. He went to Rosie and hugged her. “I promise — I cross my heart and hope to die.” Then he looked at Mami. He did not step toward her. “I’m in rehab now, Mecho. This was a real wake-up call for me.” Tears streamed down his face and he twisted the teddy bear’s leg. “I love your girls so much. I never want to hurt them — again. I am so sorry. Can you forgive me?”
Mami closed her eyes. We watched her and waited. And waited some more. Then she opened her eyes and nodded once. Tío Lalo let out a super loud breath, and Abuelita covered her face and cried.
“I have presents for everyone,” Tío Lalo said. He looked at Papi. “Don’t worry, I didn’t steal anything. I sold my car.”
Papi raised his eyebrows and tilted his head. I wondered who would buy that piece of junk and how much they paid for it. Maybe Papi wondered that too. But he didn’t say anything.
“The teddy bear is for the baby.” Tío Lalo handed the bear to Papi. “The flowers are for Mecho.”
Abuelita jumped up and took the flowers from him. “I’ll find something to put these in.” She walked out the door.
Tío Lalo reached into the brown shopping bag and pulled out a box. “This is for you.” He handed the box to Connie.
“A new Barbie!” Connie ran around the room and waved the box around. “Barbie! Barbie! Barbie!” She struggled to open the box. “Help me, Papi!”
Papi squatted down next to Connie. “All right, calm down,” he said.
Tío Lalo had smaller boxes for the rest of us — jewelry. Mine was a necklace with red stones. “It’s for you to wear to your concert with your new red dress,” Tío Lalo said.
I looked at the necklace. It sure would match well with the dress Mami and Gracie had been making. But not with my new green dress. The necklace reminded me of something else, though: the headband Mami gave me for my birthday! I had forgotten all about it. What had Mami thought when I showed her my new green dress? Had she assumed I didn’t care about her present because I didn’t look for a dress to go with it? And the truth was that I had completely forgotten about the headband. I had been so excited about getting a new dress so I could play at the recital, I hadn’t thought about anything else.
“Do you like it?” Tío Lalo asked.
“Oh, yes, it’s beautiful.” I gave my uncle a hug and looked over his shoulder at Mami. She was busy showing Gracie how to change Marisol’s diaper. I hoped she wasn’t upset that I wouldn’t wear the headband to Lincoln Center. Even if she was, I knew she would forgive me. She always did.
Chapter 43
Mami and Marisol were back home by Monday. Papi took the week off from work. He kept reminding Mami to take it easy, and he even cooked some Mami-style meals instead of just ordering pizza. But we did eat pizza once. Connie was all over the baby all the time. Gracie and I had to entertain her a lot so she could let poor little Mari sleep. But the baby wasn’t really interested in sleeping when she had all of us to stare at. Mami put her in a little bouncy seat in the living room and she just watched us walking back and forth all the time. We never heard her cry at night. My sisters and I agreed that she was pretty much perfect. Of course, we weren’t the ones changing her poopy diapers or getting up to nurse her in the middle of the night. Mami seemed a little tired during the day, but she smiled and hummed to herself, so I knew she was okay.
One day when I got home from school, Papi was sitting at the computer. “Come look at this email, Ana María,” he said. It was from the Eleanor School, and it was good news!
Congratulations! After reviewing the scholarship applications and test scores, we have selected five finalists for the prestigious Roosevelt Award, which will cover full tuition for one student. We are pleased to inform you that you are one of the finalists.
I read that last sentence over and over again, unable to breathe. Could this really be happening? I read on and saw that I now needed to complete the third step in the process. We look forward to meeting you and your parents during your interview in January.
“Congratulations,” Papi said. I gave him a big hug, but I was speechless. “What’s the matter?” he said. “Aren’t you happy?”
“Yes!” I said. “But I’m kind of nervous. I mean, what if I mess this part up, after getting so close?”
Papi laughed. “You just love to worry, don’t you? I’m sure the interview will be fine.”
“I hope so,” I said. “I should call Claudia. Maybe she’ll have some pointers on how to prepare for the interview.”
“I don’t think you need to do anything to prepare,” Papi said.
“Just go in there and be yourself. Your intelligence and passion for learning will show, and they’ll see that they’d be lucky to have you in their school.” Then he turned back to his emails.
I thought about what Papi had said as I pulled out my piano books. Could he be right? Would the Eleanor School be impressed by plain old me? So far, it seemed that they had been. Maybe there was a good reason for that. Maybe they thought they needed to impress me at the interview. Did I feel confident enough to think that too?
***
The following Saturday, the mail carrier buzzed us and said we had a package. Papi went downstairs to get it and came back with a big pink box from Tía Nona. Mami put it on the coffee table and we gathered around to watch her open it.
“Aww!” we said when she lifted the first item out of the box. It was a tiny red velvet dress.
“Just like mine!” Connie said.
“Now you and your baby sister will match in your Christmas dresses,” Mami said.
The teeny pink dress was adorable too. So were the shoes and socks, and the little T-shirt with the Dominican flag on it. “And here’s something for you girls,” Mami said. She took out four little jewelry boxes and handed them out. We all got earrings. Mine were red. They matched perfectly with the headband from Mami and the necklace from Tío Lalo. Why did everybody still think I was going to wear the red dress?
“Let’s try on our earrings!” Gracie jumped up and ran to the bedroom with Rosie and Connie trailing after her.
I wasn’t in a hurry to try mine on, so I stayed put.
“Oh, look, there’s one more thing in here,” Mami said. She took out a plastic container with a note taped on top. She peeled off the note and opened it. Her eyes moved across the page, then she handed me the container and the note.
Dear Anamay,
I remember how much you loved turrón when you ate it at my house, so I had the cook make you a batch. Enjoy!
Love,
Tía Nona
I opened the container and looked at the squares of crunchy coconut candy. They would taste delicious with a glass of cold milk. I counted eight pieces. If I ate them slowly, just one a day, I could stretch this out for over a week. My mouth watered thinking about it.
Ana Maria Reyes Does Not Live in a Castle Page 18
