The last hour of my twelve-hour shift seemed to creep by. I went over the plan in my head like an escape plan in case of fire. When it was time, I gathered my nerves and went to the nursery to get my baby.
“I thought you were gone.” Naomi greeted me when I walked in.
“I’m leaving as soon as I take baby Carmichael to his mom. She’s being discharged,” I told her.
“Really? I thought she was gonna be here at least overnight. Let me get him together.” She went to get up.
“No, keep doing your paperwork. I can get him,” I volunteered.
Naomi remained in her seat, and I hurriedly located the designated bassinet. There he was, sleeping peacefully, as if he were waiting for me. I began rolling it out of the nursery.
“Bye, baby Carmichael!” Naomi waved.
I had barely made it into the hallway when I heard her calling out.
“Margaret, wait!”
I froze.
“You forgot this.” She held out one of the hospital-issued diaper bags that we gave to all of our new moms. “I know his mom probably got one already, but hey, he’s a return customer, so he gets another one.”
My hand was shaking as I took the bag from her, and I prayed she didn’t notice. “Oh, thanks. I’m sure she’ll appreciate it.”
“You’re welcome, Maggie,” she teased.
“I’ll see you later,” I responded nervously and went back to pushing the bassinet. Luckily, Naomi didn’t even notice that I was headed in the opposite direction of the maternity side of the floor. Instead, I made my way to the supply closet, where I’d placed the oversized coat and infant carrier I purchased earlier. I slipped the carrier over my shoulders, then placed the baby inside.
He began to whine and wiggle a little, and I rubbed his back as I reached into the diaper bag Naomi had given me. I closed my eyes and prayed as my hands found a pacifier, which I gently placed into his mouth. He quieted down and closed his eyes.
“That’s it. You’re such a good baby. Now, I just need you to stay quiet a little while longer for me while we get up outta here.”
I don’t know whether it was my constant prayer or the fact that the baby listened to my pleas, but I was able to walk out of the supply closet, down the hallway, into the stairwell, and out of the hospital undetected. No one stopped me, and when I reached my car in the employee parking garage, I was so overjoyed that I almost cried. I was sweating, but I didn’t take off the coat.
There were still cameras in the garage, and I didn’t want to risk being seen as I put the baby in my car. Instead, I pushed the driver’s seat of my car all the way back so I could comfortably drive with the baby still in the carrier until I was several blocks away. When I thought it was safe, I pulled over into a parking lot and placed him into the car seat. Then, I headed home, hoping the rest of my plan would work.
“Maggie, did you bring the potatoes like I asked?” my sister Coretta asked as soon as I walked into the house.
“No, I forgot.”
She rushed out of the kitchen and into the living room with a look on her face that told me I was about to get cursed out, until she saw the car seat I had just placed on the sofa.
She stopped in the doorway. “Margaret, whose baby?”
“Mine.”
“Heffa, stop playing with me and tell me whose baby you got.” Coretta walked a little closer and looked into the car seat. “That’s a little baby. That baby shouldn’t even be out the house yet. Is he a newborn?”
“He is.” I picked him up out of the seat, cradling him in my arms so she could get a better look at him.
“He’s precious. But I don’t understand. Where’s his mother?” Coretta asked.
“I’m his mother.”
“Margaret, you play too much.” She became serious. “Your ass wasn’t pregnant when you left the house this morning, so how the hell are you his mother? Where the hell did you get this baby from?”
“I was leaving work, and I saw a young girl by the back door. She was about to leave him. She saw me staring, and she was scared and crying. She said she couldn’t take care of him, and I promised her I would make sure he was safe.” I told her the story I’d been creating in my head the entire time I was driving home.
“Okay, so she left him at the hospital, but why is he here?” Coretta waited for me to continue.
“Well, I kinda didn’t take him inside. I brought him home. For us.”
“What? You just brought him here? This isn’t a damn puppy, Margaret. It’s a baby! Have you lost your mind?”
“No, I haven’t. Listen, I know this sounds crazy, but if I had taken him inside, they would’ve put him in the system. And you and I, of all people, know what would’ve happened to this beautiful bundle of joy if that happened.”
I stepped closer to her and held the baby out to her. She hesitated, then took him into her arms.
My sister and I had both spent time in the foster care system while our mother was incarcerated, and our father was the same place he’d always been our entire life: God knows where. It was not a pleasant experience for either one of us. Luckily, a distant aunt and uncle finally rescued us from the hell that we’d lived in and raised us. I knew my sister would see this as a chance to pay it forward. At least I hoped she would.
“I don’t know, Mar.” She called me by the only nickname I answered to. “We don’t know anything about this baby or his mother. Hell, he may be a crack baby
