Life on Banana Street
RE: Covering
“What?”
“Yeah, that’s the whole reason you passed out. You were going into labor. You didn’t wake up in time it had to come out, so we had to do a c-section.”
“Oh my God.” I lifted up the hospital dress & looked at my stomach. There were scars. So unattractive…
“Don’t worry. I’ll pay good money to get your perfect stomach back.” I smiled at him.
“Thanks Billie. I love you.” He kissed me for a good 15 seconds. “Where’s our baby?”
“Incubator. It was born premature. 2 months early.”
“How could this happen?”
“I don’t know. But I do know that we can take care of this child.” Billie kissed me. “Well that’s step one. All we need now is our rings.” He reached in his pocket and got 2 rings in his hand. “Now if we do this, there’s no turning back. Are you sure you want to do this?”
“I’ve never been so sure of anything before.” He placed the ring on my finger and I put his on his finger.
“We’re married, Addie. I love you.”
“Well I would hope so. You’ve been saying it for the past 20 years.” I laughed, as he did as well. “Billie, what would happen if we took our baby out of the incubator?”
“It would most likely die.”
“Tell me, is it a boy or a girl.”
“Well, it’s now the dominant side of the family. It’s a male.”
“What do you mean by dominant?”
“That there’s more men…”
“Oh.”
“Mrs. Armstrong, can you wake up? I need to talk to you.” I opened my eyes and this ugly guy was standing in front of me.
“Who are you?”
“Why I am your doctor of course.”
“Oh. Well how’s my baby?”
“You have a choice. You can leave it on machines for the next few months or take it off of the machines and let nature take it’s path.”
“Well I don’t know. I have to talk to Billie. Where is he?”
“He went home to get something. Let me know today.” Stupid fat mother- I stopped my thoughts. I can’t cuss anymore. Now that I have a kid, I can’t screw up or we all screw up. Billie came in the room looking at a magazine. “Billie.” I saw him jump.
“Oh, you’re up?”
“Yeah the doctor woke me up.”
“What did he say?” He said still buried in his magazine.
“Put down the magazine. We need to talk.”
“Every guys favorite words.”
“I’m serious. It’s about the baby.” Seriousness took over him. I saw everything change about him.
“What?”
“He said that we have a choice.”
“Choice of what? For what?”
“We can either leave it on the machines until it’s not really premature anymore, for about 2 months.” He nodded, considering it.
“Ok.”
“Or we could put it off the tubes and everything and let what happens, just happen.”
“Well that would be killing it wouldn’t it?”
“Not necessarily. It could live. There is a 50/50 chance, you know.”
“More like 30/70! It’s premature! If it were born in the 9 months time, that would be a 50/50 chance.”
“You’re right Billie, but I think we should take it off the tubes.” He put his hand over his mouth like he was thinking.
“Sure. Do what you want.” The doctor passed the room. “Hey doc!” He backed up and looked in the room.
“Oh Adeline, have you made a decision yet?”
“Yes.” He came in the room and started writing on a clipboard.
“Ok, what will you do?”
“I think we’re going to take it off the machines. But can we see him first?”
“Of course you can. Right this way.” I got out of the bed with Billie following me and there was a large room of machines but only one baby. Ours. Tears started coming out of my eyes. “Billie, it’s so small. So fragile in this big world.” He held me tight.
“I know. Are you sure you want to do this?”
“I’m sure. A child shouldn’t have to live on tubes.” He nodded to the doctor and he opened the incubator. He carefully unattached the cords, wires, the entire thing from him and handed him to one of the nurses. The nurse smiled to the baby and took him out of the room. “Where’s she taking him?”
“She’s going to clean him up and get him ready to go home.” Billie was rubbing my shoulder and we went back to the room to get our things. “Mrs. Armstrong, your clothes are in the table next to your bed, you can just leave the scrubs on the bed, one of our nurses will take care of it.”
“Ok, we can go home?”
“Yes. When you’re ready, go up to the front desk and she’ll send your baby out and you’ll be good to go.” Billie and I were sitting in the waiting room when they said our name. “Armstrong. Your baby is ready.” Can we have that to go? Ha Ha. We walked to the nurse by the front desk and she handed me our baby.
“Billie, look at it, it’s already surviving.” He looked over my shoulder and he reached out his finger. I laughed because he tried to grab it but his hands were too small. “Let’s go home,” I said.
“Never been happier when you say that.” I smiled and we went home.
“Billie, I found the prefect house for us to raise a family.”
“What’s wrong with this house? It’s nice and big.”
“Exactly. I want a homey touch to it.”
“What more homey is this? We’ve lived here for 7 months.”
“Just get in the car.” He got in the passenger seat and I took him to the old neighborhood where we used to live.
“Here? No, Addie. There’s too much tragedy in this place.” Don’t worry the baby was in the backseat.
“It’s the only place I feel home. I don’t feel comfortable in big mansions.”
“Well which house do you want?”
“You don’t know?”
“Then I wouldn’t have asked you.” I pulled up to my old house.
“This one.”
“It hasn’t had anyone live in it for so long. Are you sure you want to put a lot of hard work into this place?”
“Of course. It’s still in my brother’s possession even though he doesn’t live here. He checks on it once every month.”
“So what do we do?”
“We go ask my brother for the rent and the keys.”
“Alright, let’s go.” I put the car in drive and drove to Oregon, where he lived. I knocked on his apartment door and he answered.
“Addie!” He hugged me. “I haven’t heard from you since the wedding, how have you been?”
“Pretty good, I guess.”
“Who is that Matt?” I heard another voice.
“Oh, come in here babe, I want you to meet someone special.” I saw this beautiful lady that looked like she could be a model walk into the entry way. “Gisele, this is my sister Addie.”
“Nice to meet you.” She smiled and shook my hand.
“Addie, this is my wife…Gisele.”
“You’re married? Finally!”
“Thanks. So how’s the newly wed?”
“Couldn't be happier. Oh and my baby was born premature.”
He stared at me and laughed. “That’s funny.”
“What? I’m serious. I’ll call my husband up here. He’s in the car taking care of the kid.”
“No, I’ll go down there.” Matt followed me down stairs to the car I parked in the parking lot.
“Matt you've met-”
“Billie. Yes. Don't go breakin' my baby sister's heart again.”
“You can bet on it," Billie said.
Matt winked and shook his hand. "I'll be watchin' you."
I rolled my eyes. “And this is my baby boy Joseph.”
Billie stared at me. “Joseph?”
“Yes.” Matt shook his head out of shock.
“Well besides showing each other our families, why did you come all the way out here?”
“I have to have a reason to visit my brother that I love so much?” He crossed his arms and stared at me.
“Ok, we want the house.”
“The old house?”
“Yeah, I figured since you owned it, we could live in it and take over the bills.”
“As much as I’d like for someone else to pay the bills, I can’t sell it.”
“I’m not saying sell it, Matt, I’m just saying we want to live there. What’s so hard about handing over the keys?” He thought it over for a few seconds.
“Alright, I’ll go get the keys and I’ll be right back down.”
“Yay! I love you Matt!” I jumped in his arms and hugged him.
“Too much love. Too much love!” I noogied his head and waited for him to come back down with the keys. “Here.” He dropped the keys in my hand.
“Thank you Mattie. You won’t regret this.” I waved to him from the car as I drove away. “Well Billie, all we have to do now is sell your house and put everything we own into our new house!”
“I’m excited, Ads. It’s like De Ja Vu sort of. Living in your old house again.”
“I know it’s great! It’s incredible!” I looked behind me at Joseph. “Aren’t you glad we’re moving into my old house?” Silence. “See Billie everyone wants to move there.”
He laughed at me. “You’re pathetic.”
“Yeah, that’s the whole reason you passed out. You were going into labor. You didn’t wake up in time it had to come out, so we had to do a c-section.”
“Oh my God.” I lifted up the hospital dress & looked at my stomach. There were scars. So unattractive…
“Don’t worry. I’ll pay good money to get your perfect stomach back.” I smiled at him.
“Thanks Billie. I love you.” He kissed me for a good 15 seconds. “Where’s our baby?”
“Incubator. It was born premature. 2 months early.”
“How could this happen?”
“I don’t know. But I do know that we can take care of this child.” Billie kissed me. “Well that’s step one. All we need now is our rings.” He reached in his pocket and got 2 rings in his hand. “Now if we do this, there’s no turning back. Are you sure you want to do this?”
“I’ve never been so sure of anything before.” He placed the ring on my finger and I put his on his finger.
“We’re married, Addie. I love you.”
“Well I would hope so. You’ve been saying it for the past 20 years.” I laughed, as he did as well. “Billie, what would happen if we took our baby out of the incubator?”
“It would most likely die.”
“Tell me, is it a boy or a girl.”
“Well, it’s now the dominant side of the family. It’s a male.”
“What do you mean by dominant?”
“That there’s more men…”
“Oh.”
“Mrs. Armstrong, can you wake up? I need to talk to you.” I opened my eyes and this ugly guy was standing in front of me.
“Who are you?”
“Why I am your doctor of course.”
“Oh. Well how’s my baby?”
“You have a choice. You can leave it on machines for the next few months or take it off of the machines and let nature take it’s path.”
“Well I don’t know. I have to talk to Billie. Where is he?”
“He went home to get something. Let me know today.” Stupid fat mother- I stopped my thoughts. I can’t cuss anymore. Now that I have a kid, I can’t screw up or we all screw up. Billie came in the room looking at a magazine. “Billie.” I saw him jump.
“Oh, you’re up?”
“Yeah the doctor woke me up.”
“What did he say?” He said still buried in his magazine.
“Put down the magazine. We need to talk.”
“Every guys favorite words.”
“I’m serious. It’s about the baby.” Seriousness took over him. I saw everything change about him.
“What?”
“He said that we have a choice.”
“Choice of what? For what?”
“We can either leave it on the machines until it’s not really premature anymore, for about 2 months.” He nodded, considering it.
“Ok.”
“Or we could put it off the tubes and everything and let what happens, just happen.”
“Well that would be killing it wouldn’t it?”
“Not necessarily. It could live. There is a 50/50 chance, you know.”
“More like 30/70! It’s premature! If it were born in the 9 months time, that would be a 50/50 chance.”
“You’re right Billie, but I think we should take it off the tubes.” He put his hand over his mouth like he was thinking.
“Sure. Do what you want.” The doctor passed the room. “Hey doc!” He backed up and looked in the room.
“Oh Adeline, have you made a decision yet?”
“Yes.” He came in the room and started writing on a clipboard.
“Ok, what will you do?”
“I think we’re going to take it off the machines. But can we see him first?”
“Of course you can. Right this way.” I got out of the bed with Billie following me and there was a large room of machines but only one baby. Ours. Tears started coming out of my eyes. “Billie, it’s so small. So fragile in this big world.” He held me tight.
“I know. Are you sure you want to do this?”
“I’m sure. A child shouldn’t have to live on tubes.” He nodded to the doctor and he opened the incubator. He carefully unattached the cords, wires, the entire thing from him and handed him to one of the nurses. The nurse smiled to the baby and took him out of the room. “Where’s she taking him?”
“She’s going to clean him up and get him ready to go home.” Billie was rubbing my shoulder and we went back to the room to get our things. “Mrs. Armstrong, your clothes are in the table next to your bed, you can just leave the scrubs on the bed, one of our nurses will take care of it.”
“Ok, we can go home?”
“Yes. When you’re ready, go up to the front desk and she’ll send your baby out and you’ll be good to go.” Billie and I were sitting in the waiting room when they said our name. “Armstrong. Your baby is ready.” Can we have that to go? Ha Ha. We walked to the nurse by the front desk and she handed me our baby.
“Billie, look at it, it’s already surviving.” He looked over my shoulder and he reached out his finger. I laughed because he tried to grab it but his hands were too small. “Let’s go home,” I said.
“Never been happier when you say that.” I smiled and we went home.
“Billie, I found the prefect house for us to raise a family.”
“What’s wrong with this house? It’s nice and big.”
“Exactly. I want a homey touch to it.”
“What more homey is this? We’ve lived here for 7 months.”
“Just get in the car.” He got in the passenger seat and I took him to the old neighborhood where we used to live.
“Here? No, Addie. There’s too much tragedy in this place.” Don’t worry the baby was in the backseat.
“It’s the only place I feel home. I don’t feel comfortable in big mansions.”
“Well which house do you want?”
“You don’t know?”
“Then I wouldn’t have asked you.” I pulled up to my old house.
“This one.”
“It hasn’t had anyone live in it for so long. Are you sure you want to put a lot of hard work into this place?”
“Of course. It’s still in my brother’s possession even though he doesn’t live here. He checks on it once every month.”
“So what do we do?”
“We go ask my brother for the rent and the keys.”
“Alright, let’s go.” I put the car in drive and drove to Oregon, where he lived. I knocked on his apartment door and he answered.
“Addie!” He hugged me. “I haven’t heard from you since the wedding, how have you been?”
“Pretty good, I guess.”
“Who is that Matt?” I heard another voice.
“Oh, come in here babe, I want you to meet someone special.” I saw this beautiful lady that looked like she could be a model walk into the entry way. “Gisele, this is my sister Addie.”
“Nice to meet you.” She smiled and shook my hand.
“Addie, this is my wife…Gisele.”
“You’re married? Finally!”
“Thanks. So how’s the newly wed?”
“Couldn't be happier. Oh and my baby was born premature.”
He stared at me and laughed. “That’s funny.”
“What? I’m serious. I’ll call my husband up here. He’s in the car taking care of the kid.”
“No, I’ll go down there.” Matt followed me down stairs to the car I parked in the parking lot.
“Matt you've met-”
“Billie. Yes. Don't go breakin' my baby sister's heart again.”
“You can bet on it," Billie said.
Matt winked and shook his hand. "I'll be watchin' you."
I rolled my eyes. “And this is my baby boy Joseph.”
Billie stared at me. “Joseph?”
“Yes.” Matt shook his head out of shock.
“Well besides showing each other our families, why did you come all the way out here?”
“I have to have a reason to visit my brother that I love so much?” He crossed his arms and stared at me.
“Ok, we want the house.”
“The old house?”
“Yeah, I figured since you owned it, we could live in it and take over the bills.”
“As much as I’d like for someone else to pay the bills, I can’t sell it.”
“I’m not saying sell it, Matt, I’m just saying we want to live there. What’s so hard about handing over the keys?” He thought it over for a few seconds.
“Alright, I’ll go get the keys and I’ll be right back down.”
“Yay! I love you Matt!” I jumped in his arms and hugged him.
“Too much love. Too much love!” I noogied his head and waited for him to come back down with the keys. “Here.” He dropped the keys in my hand.
“Thank you Mattie. You won’t regret this.” I waved to him from the car as I drove away. “Well Billie, all we have to do now is sell your house and put everything we own into our new house!”
“I’m excited, Ads. It’s like De Ja Vu sort of. Living in your old house again.”
“I know it’s great! It’s incredible!” I looked behind me at Joseph. “Aren’t you glad we’re moving into my old house?” Silence. “See Billie everyone wants to move there.”
He laughed at me. “You’re pathetic.”