Sister Cities

Part 65: Violet (19 Years Ago)

CW: childbirth, hemorrhage (blood), body horror, all that jazz

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'Cause, baby, when your arms are around me

I'd swear that I'm holding the sun

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Mom goes into labor two weeks before they said she would. She starts dripping a bunch of clear stuff on the floor during dinner. This is good news to me because it means we get to meet Baby Sister early, but Mom and Dad turn nervous right away and quit eating and stand up.

"Shit," Dad mutters, running to pull the quilt off their bed. "Shit. Okay, well, where do you want to set up?"

"I got born there," I say, pointing. You can tell because of the rug that covers up a blood stain. Mom bled a lot when she had me and almost died. They say she'll be fine this time, though. I was just turned around in there wrong.

"Can't beat tradition," says Mom, and she's smiling, but in a wobbly way. Dad puts the quilt on the floor and asks me to get every towel we have. I pull them all out of the bin and carry them over in a huge ball. Dad layers most of them on top of the quilt and puts the last one on the floor puddle.

Mom changes out of her clothes into her bathrobe and goes to sit on the bed instead of the nest Dad made. I ask why and she says, "It's gonna be a little while before Baby is actually ready to come out. I can stay here until then. It's more comfortable."

"How long's a little while?"

"At least a few hours."

I was thinking a few minutes. "That's forever."

"It's just how it goes."

Dad puts Mom's water glass from dinner on the bedside table and fluffs her pillow, and then bends down to my height. "I have to track down Ember," he says. Ember is Mom's midwife, the same one that was there for me. "Stay here and keep an eye on Mom, okay? Try to help her out if she needs anything."

I nod and ball up my fists. I'll guard her and Baby Sister with my life.

He kisses my forehead and then Mom's. "Back soon, love."

The door closes behind him and Mom smiles at me. It's still wobbly. "You're not gonna need to fight anybody." That's a letdown. "Just sit next to me," she says.

I sit next to her. I haven't been able to sit on her lap for a while since Baby Sister is too big, but it's all right, because I'll be able to once she gets born. "Is she ready yet?" I ask.

"No, not yet." Mom gives me an important look. "Are you gonna be upset if Baby isn't a sister? We won't know until they're born, and they can always end up changing their mind."

"No," I say. "But she's a sister."

"You really think so, huh?"

"Yeah. I can tell."

Mom laughs and shakes her head. "How about you? Are you ready to be a big sister?"

"Yesssssssss!" I screech, because that's how ready I am, but she winces, so I quiet down. "Yeah. I'll teach her to walk and talk and draw and pronounce her letters. I'll take her climbing. I can show her the tire swing. We can wrestle!"

"That all sounds great," says Mom, "but you know that at first, Baby won't do much besides sleep and eat and cry. They won't be able to play right away."