Freaks Cum Out PT1 Kindle (3 page)

Sabrina finally nodded her head yes. Momma Montgomery was too shocked to answer, she took refuge and sat down in a chair beside JoAnn’s bed.

“Ok, great. Follow me” The doctor said, putting on a fake smile. “I’ll be back in a while, Ms. Montgomery. Everything seems to be healing fine.” He quickly made it to the linoleum hallway and walked briskly towards the nurse’s station. 

Still in a daze, Sabrina followed closely behind him. Momma Montgomery was left in the room with JoAnn.

“Jennifer, can you take this young lady daughter up to the NICU to see the Montgomery baby, please?” The doctor quickly asked in a tone that required only one answer.

“Sure, doctor, Let me call and tell them were coming.” she said, lifting her head from a chart of another patient.

“Jennifer will show you how to scrub in and show you where to go,” the doctor said, now walking in another direction.

Sabrina was confused. She didn’t notice before but behind the nurse’s station seemed to be a nursery.

Why isn’t the baby in there?, she asked herself but she already knew the answer.

Jennifer made the call then she directed Sabrina to follow her. They went back to the silver elevators and waited in silence.

Sabrina couldn’t help but think how much she didn’t notice on the way to JoAnn’s room. I should have known this was the maternity floor, she said to herself as she glanced at the now blaringly obvious signs.

The elevator doors opened and they both got on. Jennifer pressed the button for the floor directly above them. Silence fell between them for which Sabrina was grateful. She had too much on her mind to strike up a conversation.

Another child. What the fuck is wrong with her? the questions bounced around in Sabrina’s head but she had no real answer. No one knew why JoAnn did the things she did.

No sooner had the doors closed, that they opened back up again and Jennifer stepped off. Sabrina quickly followed into what looked like a wash room. Special sinks, scrubs, paper towels, and gloves were perfectly lined along the walls. A huge metal sink lined the opposite wall. 

“This is the scrub room. Take one of these sponge packets and scrub your hands real good,” Jennifer said as she opened a packet for demonstration. Inside was a sponge filled with soap.

Attached to the sponge was a small plastic tool that could be used to dig under fingernails. Jennifer washed her hands with the sponge and soap and showed her how to do the same.

“All of this just to see the baby?” Sabrina asked.

Jennifer looked at her with the most serious of faces. “Your brother is underweight and severely sick. His immune system is low and we can’t risk infecting him with any germs on our hands or clothing. So yes, all of this to see the baby.”

Sabrina scrubbed her hands as she stared at the cleaning and sanitizing bottles lined on the metal shelf above the stainless steel sink.

After washing her hands of every germ particle known to man, Jennifer helped her put on scrubs over her clothes, head and even blue shower-like caps for her feet.

Once they both were completely covered in hospital scrubs, they made their way into the room filled with incubators.

The tiny incubators were scattered across the room along with monitors and miniature I.V bags. The scene stunned Sabrina as she stood gazing around the room of tiny babies and machines.

“Jesus,” she whispered to herself as she scanned the room, looking for anything that said the Montgomery family name.

“Sabrina, this is Tina. She’ll show you where he is, ok?”

“Alright, thanks,” Sabrina said, eyeing Tina.

“Hi, Sabrina. He’s right over here,” Tina said with a full smile. She seemed more genuine than the other nurses. Sabrina smiled back and followed Tina as she walked a short way across the room. Masks, scrubs, and gloves were the dress code for this event. Sabrina saw quickly that everyone in the room had the protective gear on.

BABY BOY MONTGOMERY

She saw the words posted over a plastic incubator. That stopped Sabrina from walking. Seeing her family name made it real. She had a brother; a new addition. She should have been happy but her heart filled with anger and despair.

She wasn’t sure what a crack addicted baby would look like. She was almost afraid to look.  The small baby lay in the incubator with a miniature I.V and light blue cap on his head. He looked like a normal baby besides the tape and wires coming from his miniature sized body.

“What’s wrong with him?” Sabrina asked as she rubbed the incubator. She wanted to touch him but wasn’t sure if that was allowed.

“He’s a little under weight and we believe he has jaundice,” Tina said as she grabbed a chart from the side of his bed and thumbed through it.

Tina chose her next few words carefully. “As well as the narcotics that were found in his system. We had to wean him off of that but he’s doing better now,” she said finishing her words with a smile. “He’s small, but he’s a fighter,” Tina said as she looked down at the chart.

Hearing that bit of good news made Sabrina smile.

CHAPTER 2

She stared at the baby whose little chest rose up and down. Tina was right, he did seem strong. His eyes were open and looking around. Sabrina wondered did he see her, did he know someone that cared about him was there. 

“Do you want to hold him?” the voice of the nurse startled Sabrina. She wanted to say no. She didn’t want to hurt him or knock one of his many wires loose.

“Babies like to be touched. He needs to feel love and warmth.” Sabrina couldn’t say no to that.

She sat down in the wooden rocking chair beside his plastic enclosure and watched as the nurse unraveled his cords and wrapped him up.

His blanket was white with cars, balloons, and bikes, just like other infant receiving blankets that were scattered around the room.

Tina slowly walked him over and placed the baby in Sabrina’s arms.

“We didn’t have to put him on a respirator, thank God. We did have to give him a low dose of methadone. Some of the babies can wean off on their own, but he seemed a little distressed”

Looking down at the little body, hands, and tiny head, she didn’t understand why JoAnn would do this.

What the fuck is wrong with her? She could have killed you, Sabrina wanted to say to the baby. However, she thought it was best to keep those words to herself.

“Will he be… is he going to… be ok?” Sabrina stuttered and found her words.

“It’s hard to say. He certainly is showing signs of promise, but some babies don’t show signs of developmental issues until later.” Those words felt more like a knife. Sabrina lowered her head to kiss the boy.  “I’m sorry,” she whispered.

Sensing how hurt Sabrina must have felt, the nurse had to interject a ray of hope.

 “I have met many developmentally sound children and adults that were born addicted to drugs. I believe it depends on the care giver. If the parent is patient and gets the child the best help, anything is possible.”

“Ha,” Sabrina chuckled at the thought of her mother. She was anything but what Tina described as what he would need.

 “His Mother is anything but that,” Sabrina said to Tina.

“What will happen if she doesn’t take him?”

“Well, we try to see if family members would be willing and fit to take care of a new infant” if not, we have no choice but to release the children to the state.”

 Hearing about the state and foster homes gave Sabrina chills. “No child should be there,” Sabrina said.

“Tina, we need your help,” the voice of another nurse interrupted their conversation. 

“Excuse me, I’ll be back,” Tina said as she walked away.

Sabrina’s mind swirled with all of the news. A few hours ago she was getting ready for work, planning her day. Now she was the sister to a crack addicted baby. “What are we going to do with you?” Sabrina whispered to the boy. She fidgeted with his blanket and rubbed his little head.

Sabrina looked towards the door and saw Momma Montgomery talking to a doctor and clutching her signature bible.

Momma Montgomery swayed like the leaning tower when the doctor told us there was a baby, Sabrina thought to herself.

I thought she would faint. She can’t go through this again¸ Sabrina said as her mind drifted back to her childhood. Momma Montgomery took care of Sabrina when JoAnn ran off. I remember when that bitch left me in that house for dead.

 Sabrina began pulling out long lost memories of her childhood. She quickly thought back to the three days she sat in her house without any food or adult supervision, while her Mother went and got high. Momma Montgomery came to the rescue. That started the back and forth tugs of war between JoAnn and Momma Montgomery.

For years Sabrina was back and forth between both houses. Tears welled in Sabrina’s eyes as she thought of all the bad times. Back then, Sabrina had to watch JoAnn doing drugs while she ate peanut butter sandwiches for dinner.

 The nights were filled with loud music and yelling from one of JoAnn’s drug parties. Her days were met with ridicule from classmates that teased her for having a “Crackhead Momma.”

JoAnn’s reputation for drugs had gotten around the neighborhood quickly. Holding the baby, Sabrina thought of all the lunch hours that she sat alone and cried on the inside. Secretly, on those days, she began to hate JoAnn.

I wished she was dead, Sabrina thought to herself.  I can’t believe she let me go into foster care, Sabrina thought back further to when things really started to fall apart. When JoAnn completely lost it and Sabrina ended up in foster care for a few days. That was when Momma Montgomery finally got full custody of her.

“That can’t happen to you,” Sabrina told the baby. He was stirring a bit.

The doctors said he seemed to be full term, but she wasn’t so sure by the size of him. 

The nurse returned with a bottle and burping cloth for Sabrina. “It’s about time for his feeding. Do you want to do it?” The nurse smiled and handed Sabrina the bottle before she had a chance to reply.

His little mouth opened immediately when she put the bottle to his tiny pink lips.

 “I bet you are hungry,” Sabrina said, laughing at how he sucked the bottle. It was better for her to laugh than cry. “So, when will he be ready to come home?” Sabrina asked the nurse.

“Well, we have to do a few more tests and monitor his behavior. We have to make sure he’s eating and off the methadone. If all goes well, he may be ready to leave in about two weeks or so.”

Sabrina began calculating in her mind. Finals will be over by then. I can take out a student loan and pay my rent for the whole summer and then some. I’m sure they will give me some kind of money for taking care of him.

Taking a deep breath, Sabrina asked the question that she had been thinking. “What if I want to take custody of him”

Tina smiled. “I don’t think that will be a problem. If you meet the requirements, we could work with the hospital social worker and get everything set up by the time he’s ready to come home.”

Sabrina nodded as she thought of the things necessary to be a full time Mother.

“I’m guessing you’re his sister, right?” Tina asked. Sabrina nodded.

“So, have you and the family thought of a name”  Tina asked as she grabbed the silver medical chart from the side of the crib and began taking notes.