Maybe Baby by Diana Star Helmer

Author:Diana Star Helmer [Helmer, Diana Star]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Mystery, Thriller & Suspense Characters/Female Protagonists
Published: 2014-12-14T23:00:00+00:00

Chapter 16

That night, Mia dreamed baby Jesus was inside her belly.

She could look through the skin of her belly at him. His eyes met hers, diving deep into her.

He was wrapped in white sheets, the way she had seen him glow in nighttime mangers. It even looked like he was lying on hay, all mounded up in her belly. He gazed at her, smiling, then closed his blue eyes and slept.

Susan was in the room Mia dreamt of, but Susan didn’t see Baby Jesus.

Mia spoke in her dream. “Susan, look! It’s your baby inside me.”

“My baby?”

“You’ve wanted a baby so much, so I’m having one for you.”

“But—you told Bree that you’d never had sex.”

Deep in her dream, Mia still thought it strange Susan knew what she’d once said to Bree. . .

“That doesn’t matter,” said Mia. “It’s Christmas, just like back when Mary had Jesus. And she was a virgin.”

Susan started to cry. And in her dream, Mia’s heart swelled with love, so much love that she thought she would burst—

“Good morrrrrrrrninnnnnng!”

Mia saw yellow light on her eyelids. But she didn’t want light to be there. She wanted her dream—she groped for the dream—

“Today’s the day that we go shop-pinnnnnnng!”

Mia gave up and rolled over. She smiled dimly at Susan's loud singing, then hoisted herself out of bed. Mia didn’t want to go shopping. She hated to shop. She’d have breakfast with all the relatives, and then Gramaggie could go shop with Susan. They’d have more fun without Mia.

Breakfast was strange: an untidy crew—some hard to recognize without their make-up—blinking and pouring cold cereal and milk, making jokes that were tired as they were.

“I don’t think it’s fair that I have a hang-over when I didn’t drink anything,” yawned Aunt Keisha.

“That’s right, Keisha, you didn’t drink a thing. And I jogged ten miles after dinner last night,” kidded one of the uncles—Dillon, perhaps?

“It’s the turkey,” sang Susan, from inside the frig. “And the pumpkin cream pie, maybe. Sugar will boost you, then smack you right down.”

“But what a great way to go!” Jim saluted the group with his juice glass. The sleepy group followed suit, mumbling “Here, here!” and clinking their glasses together.

Mia smiled. She liked these weird people. She left them, laughing and joking together as she slipped away to her room to get dressed, not to shop, but to wave good-bye at the front door . . .

“Hurry up, sweetie! ” Soon Susan was calling from out in the hall. “All the good sales have started!”

Then Mia realized: resistance was futile. Shopping was something this family did.

And they considered her part of the family.

Mia started to ram a comb in her hip pocket when she realized: she had no pockets. She should bring tissue; she’d been sniffling. But Susan wouldn’t buy clothes with pockets. “They ruin your line,” she said. Mia guessed that meant “they’ll make you look lumpy.” But since Mia was actually lumpy already, it seemed a moot point. A purse would hold tissue . . .

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