Chris Lewis English 307 January 30, 2014 Antonia’s Baby 1889 was a solemn year for dear Antonia Monroe. After the announcement of her pregnancy, she was forced out of her mother’s home, her boyfriend of three years left her, and her father passed away from terminal cancer. Her sister Fallon, whom she was quite close to, moved out west, California or some other faraway place, to pursue an entertainment career. Now, Miss Antonia lives in a small cottage on the outskirts of Savannah, Georgia, all on her own, fending for herself as she waits for the day that she gives birth to her beautiful child. Today, December 23, Antonia began her regular Monday routine of traveling from her small home into town to gather necessities that would last her for the next few weeks. The task was increasingly difficult these past few months, as Antonia’s due date came closer and closer and it showed. She was due any day now, and she knew that meant she needed even more food to take care of her and her newborn. With no one around to help her, she made her way to the closest grocery store, Garland’s. “Mornin’, Mr. Garland,” Antonia said as she struggled into the store. Garland greeted her and helped her inside. “Toni, why you ‘round here when you’re like this?” Garland asked with a look of concern. “You look like you can barely stand!” “I know, I know. But I ain’t got no one else to help me, so I have no choice but to do it myself,” replied Antonia. “You know I told you that I could deliver your goods to you! You are one stubborn youngin’,” Garland said. Chris Lewis English 307 January 30, 2014 Antonia smiled a smile that showed she was tired of Garland’s reprimands. Garland just shook his head and gathered whatever Antonia needed for her, while she sat in a chair to recover. Antonia’s mind stayed on her mother. The last time she spoke to Mrs. Paula Monroe was over five months ago when she told her she was pregnant. Mrs. Monroe did not take kindly to children out of wedlock, and told Antonia that she would either have to get married now or leave her home. The issue was that Antonia’s ex-boyfriend, Henry Williams, had already left her when she told him. Henry said he wasn’t ready for a child, and left Savannah to avoid the embarrassment. Not even his mother knows what happened to him. Antonia saw Paula out and about from time to time when she was doing her errands, but she refused to say one word to her. Paula made it clear that she didn’t want anything to do with her now. Antonia respected her mother and her wishes, and didn’t want any trouble. “Toni!” Garland shouted. “Oh! Sorry, Mr. Garland. I must’ve been daydreaming again,” she answered. “It’s quite all right, youngin’,” said Garland. “Hey, you sure you want to head back right now? If you need to rest some more, you can stop by my house up yonder. My wife Carol can take care of you, no problem.” “I’m fine,” Antonia said, shaking her head. She lifted herself off the chair with Garland helping her up. “I’m fine, really. Thank you, though.” Chris Lewis English 307 January 30, 2014 Garland stood back and watched as Antonia struggled her way out of the store and attempted to make her way back home. That evening, Antonia felt as tired as she had ever been. She threw her supplies right on the floor as soon as she got home, and made a beeline for the bed. She lied down for hours. A little after midnight, she felt an excruciating pain, and suspecting it was finally time, made her way to the bathtub. After ten hours in labor, alone at her home, Alexandra Rose Monroe was born. “So precious,” Antonia whispered as the little girl slept. The next morning, Christmas came and brought a light snowfall with it. Antonia was resting in her bed with Alexandra fussing next to her, when a knock came on the door. When no one answered, the knocking grew louder. Antonia shook awake and covered Alexandra up in the bed while she went to answer the door. “About time you answer!” Garland said with a smile. Carol Garland was next to her and had presents for her and her child. “George told me you were having a baby soon, child! So I thought I’d get you some things for you and the baby! Merry Christmas!” Carol said. “Y’all are too sweet! Come in, please! I have a surprise for you,” Antonia smiled the brightest smile as she escorted the two towards her bedroom. Antonia stopped and turned towards them, her smile still lighting up the room. Garland and Carol’s smiles turned to looks of bewilderment. Antonia looked at their faces and returned their confused expressions. Chris Lewis English 307 January 30, 2014 “What? Don’t you see?” Antonia turned to look at Alexandra moving underneath the covers. She drew the covers back and turned back to the older couple. “My darling little girl was born yesterday! Isn’t she the most precious thing?” Carol looked at Garland, who was still just as perplexed. “Girl, are you pullin’ our leg? There ain’t nothing there,” Garland said after a couple moments. “What are you talking about, Mr. Garland? My Alexandra Rose is right there, clear as day,” Antonia looked back at Alexandra and picked her up. “See?” “Oh my,” Carol muttered. “Toni, stop this mess. We came here to celebrate Christmas with you, youngin’,” said Garland. “Mr. Garland, I’m not playing any tricks. I’m holding my baby! How can you deny her like this?” Antonia asked. “We only see sheets, darlin’,” Carol said. “Now, we know you can’t wait to have your baby, but you don’t need to make up things. Aren’t you a little too old for this?” Antonia walked up to Carol and gestured for her to hold Alexandra. Garland pushed Antonia back. “That’s enough! Stop trying to make fools out of us, girl! We came here to say Merry Christmas, not get played around like this! You should be ashamed of yourself!” Garland yelled before he walked back towards the door. “Mr. Garland, please! My baby is right here, in my arms! You can’t leave without seeing her!” Antonia shouted. Carol’s expression towards Antonia mixed with fear and sympathy. She said a slight prayer under her breath before she turned to follow her husband. Chris Lewis English 307 January 30, 2014 Antonia heard the door slam shut, and then looked back down at her baby girl. Alexandra was fussing and squirming in her arms, just as any baby would. “Why did they deny you? You look just as any other baby girl. Healthy and normal. I just don’t understand,” Antonia said as she sat down on the bed. She watched as her baby girl fought sleep. “The Garlands are old, so maybe their eyesight just isn’t what it used to be. Maybe that’s it.” She got up from the bed and looked out the window. The snow was still falling, but didn’t stick. Without thinking too much, she grabbed her heaviest coat and boots after wrapping Alexandra in layers of cloth. Closing the door behind her, she made her way across town to Mrs. Monroe’s home. She knocked on the door and no one answered. Maybe she went out to the church house, she thought. After a second and third round of knocks, she finally heard footsteps coming from inside. “I’m coming, I’m coming!” Her mother shouted from inside. Antonia felt Alexandra shifting around in her arms and wrapped her up tighter to shield her from the bitter wind. “Oh,” Paula said after opening the door. She wore her festive holiday church outfit, along with her favorite Christmas-themed hat that she always wore during the holidays. “Come, come in, child. It’s cold. Don’t let the cold come in.” Chris Lewis English 307 January 30, 2014 Antonia walked inside and sat down in a chair in the kitchen. Paula gave her daughter a stern looking once-over and finally noticed the many layers of cloth in her arms. “Do you want some water,” Paula asked, laying her hat down on the counter. “No, ma’am,” said Antonia. “I just came to wish you a Merry Christmas is all. I wish I had a present to give you.” “Save that talk, girl,” Paula responded, pouring a glass of water for herself. “Actually,” Antonia said. “I have something to show you, more precious than any gift.” Paula turned to her with a raised eyebrow and sipped her water. Antonia unwrapped the cloth and showed the sleeping child to her mother. “Cloth? What’s precious about that?” Paula responded with a perplexed expression. “It’s not the cloth, ma’am. My baby girl, Alexandra Rose. I finally had her yesterday,” said Antonia. Paula walked up to Antonia and snatched the cloth from her arms. Antonia shrieked as Alexandra fell onto the floor and cried hysterically. “Mama!” Antonia shouted, picking up Alexandra and calming her down. “What the hell is wrong with you, girl? You come to my house talking about a baby like this? This is just some cheap cloth you probably got at that run-down Garland’s store!” Paula said. Chris Lewis English 307 January 30, 2014 “Mama, this is my baby! How are you going to deny your own granddaughter? You ought to be shamed of yourself!” Antonia exclaimed. “Shamed? Girl, get the hell out of my damn house! Coming ‘round here thinking you have a baby! You probably aborted it with your sinful self! Get out of here!” Paula yelled, grabbing Antonia from the chair. Antonia pulled her arm away and hurried out of the door. “Don’t worry, child. I got you and that’s all I’ll ever need,” Antonia whispered to Alexandra, as she trudged her way back to the cottage. With tears in her eyes, she watched as her little girl slept. How come everyone acts like they can’t see you, she thought. Antonia wiped her face with her handkerchief. Ever since she got back from her mother’s house, she had a headache that got worse every hour. She lied down with her daughter and hoped that she would stay asleep through the night, so that she could sleep off the pain. Throughout the next few days, Antonia’s health deteriorated. She moved slower and her face was less bright. The headaches became frequent, and she even became forgetful. Regardless, the young woman took care of her daughter, and took the trip to Garland’s the following Monday despite what happened just days ago. “Mornin’, Mr. Garland,” Antonia uttered, as she picked up her usual items. Mr. Garland just nodded with a stern expression. Chris Lewis English 307 January 30, 2014 “I hope I have enough for all this,” said Antonia, putting the large bag of items on the counter. Garland waved her off. “Just take it. I won’t make you pay.” “Mr. Garland, you don’t have to do that. Treat me fair like all the other customers,” Antonia remarked. Garland hesitated. “Toni, I’m sorry for yellin’ at you the other day. It was Christmas and I shouldn’t have done you like that. But why did you try to tell us that you had your baby and you didn’t?” he asked. “Mr. Garland, I wasn’t lying. You know I never do no mess like that. I want to know why you, Carol, and my own mother are denying my daughter. Like you three are in cahoots against me,” Antonia said, almost struggling to get the words out because of her fatigue. “We would never be in cahoots with your crazy mama, firstly,” Garland started. “And second, we ain’t see no baby. How are you going to tell us what we saw? We ain’t see nothing in that cloth.” Antonia shook her head, grabbed her bag and walked out of the store. The next day, New Year’s Eve, Antonia sat in a rocking chair as she rocked Alexandra in her arms. A knock on the door awoke her from her daydreaming, and she hustled to the door to answer. “Hello, is this the home of Miss Antonia Monroe?” asked a man that looked like a doctor with a nurse standing off to the side. Chris Lewis English 307 January 30, 2014 “Y-yes,” Antonia replied, letting the two in. “We know this might be strange, us coming to your house like this, Miss Monroe,” the nurse said. “Your mother asked us to see you.” “What? Why?” asked Antonia, sitting back in the rocking chair. “She just wanted us to check on you to see if you were okay. She said she was worried about you,” the doctor responded. “Like hell she’s worried,” Antonia muttered. The doctor and nurse looked at each other for a split second before noticing the cloth that Mrs. Monroe told them about. “Excuse me, but what’s in all those layers of cloth, ma’am?” the nurse asked. “My baby girl,” replied Antonia before showing Alexandra to them. The nurse looked back at the doctor again with a confused look. “Right, what a precious girl she is. Her name?” “Alexandra Rose Monroe. At least you don’t deny her like my own friends and family,” Antonia mumbled, continuing to rock in attempt to get Alexandra to fall asleep. The doctor wrote down things on a pad as the nurse continued to talk to her. “Miss Monroe, when did you have Alexandra? She’s a gorgeous baby.” “Christmas Eve,” Antonia answered. “Listen, I don’t know why y’all are here, but you’re making me nervous and you’re disturbing my girl from her sleep. She needs to nap around this time.” “I promise you we won’t be long,” the doctor said. “We just want to be sure that you and your child are healthy.” Chris Lewis English 307 January 30, 2014 “We’re fine. Now leave this house, and tell my no good mother to stay out of my business,” Antonia said, straining her voice to a yell. The doctor nodded and the two of them got up to leave. “Have a good day, Miss Monroe.” Antonia got up to shut the door behind them and walked back to the bed. Her body was feeling more tired than it ever had, even more than before giving birth. She lied down on the bed, Alexandra nodding off right next to her. “Well? Isn’t she insane? Tell me what she said!” Paula exclaimed to the doctors when they came outside. “You were right,” the nurse said. “She really believes she had a child. She was able to give a name, date and time of birth, everything. It’s strange.” “She sounded sincere as well, it’s hard to say she was lying, even though we both didn’t see a thing,” the doctor explained. “Let me go inside and tell this girl she needs help. She is full of sin and needs to turn her life around. I’ll be right back with her right away,” said Paula, barging into the cottage. She walked through to the bedroom and saw Antonia lying dead on the bed, and little Alexandra Rose crying from her disturbed slumber.