Fact of Life #31

911. The numbers seemed to pulse on my pager, quickening along with my heartbeat. Abra only used the pager for emergencies, because sometimes I didn't answer when she called my cell. I jammed my headset into my cell and dialed her number. "Katima, thank God." Her voice was soft but the words were quick, anxious. I rarely heard Abra sound anxious. "Where are you?" "On my way to school," I said. "Where are you?" "I'm at Linda's," Abra said. "She's in labor." "Is everything okay?" Linda was one of my favorites of Abra's mothers. I had been working two afternoons a week at Abra's Midwifery for over a year and had gotten to know a lot of the women. Linda and I had hit it off, sharing a love of rocky road ice cream and a hatred of reality TV. I had helped her plan her birththe music, atmosphere, different birth options. I didn't want her having complications. "She's doing beautifully," Abra said. "But I'm not. Marion broke her foot, Sarah is at another birth, and Carmen isn't picking up any of her phones or responding to my page." Abra sucked in a breath. "I have no one to assist me." I eased down on the brakes of my Honda hybrid as I came to a stop sign. "Um, okay. But you've delivered lots of babies without an assistant." "I know. But Linda wants one so I need you to get to her house as fast as you can." "Say what?" I hit the gas too hard, jerking the car forward. "I've excused you from school," Abra said. "This is life experience, Katima. A transcendent experience. You won't get that in any classroom." My hands shook on the steering wheel. I turned down a side street and pulled over, shutting off the ignition. I didn't know if I was pissed at her for assuming I'd do it or excited that I might actually get to see a live birth. But what did I know about assisting? "You're out of your mind." "Well, that's highly possible," Abra said, "seeing as how I've exhausted all of my usual assistants and I'm calling a sixteen-year-old high school student who's worked at the Midwifery for a year." She chuckled. "If I'm not out of my mind, I'm clearly a little desperate, Katima." Clearly. "Is it all right with Linda and Wayne?" "Of course," Abra said. "I would never do something like this without asking them." There was a pause before she spoke again. "Actually, Linda is the one who suggested it." "She did?" A grin spread across my face. "Tell me how to get there." * * * I pulled up at Linda's house about thirty minutes later. It was in a new developmentbig gables and dormer windows, small trees, new sod. I was shaking with nervous excitement. I'd never seen a baby emerge like an oversized Otter Pop except in that movie we saw back in sixth grade. The idea thrilled and petrified me at the same time. I glanced around the car. I had no idea what I might need, but I knew there would be times when we would just wait. Unzipping my backpack, I flipped through textbooks and notebooks, pulling out the Rocky Mountain Women's Triathlon brochure I'd been reading. Then I grabbed my sketchbook and some pencils before heading into the house.Vega, Denise is the author of 'Fact of Life #31', published 2008 under ISBN 9780375848193 and ISBN 0375848193.