Fact of Life #31 - Vega, Denise at booksXYZ

Fact of Life #31
Vega, Denise
Hardcover
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BOOK SYNOPSIS
FACT OF LIFE #48: Kat’s mom is No-Last-Name Abra, the best home-birth midwife in Colorado. But with her own daughter, Abra can’t stop teaching and lecturing long enough to be a mom.

Fact of Life #21: Kat’s had a crush on Manny Cruz since seventh grade. Now Manny is showing interest , but could he seriously be into Weird Yoga Girl Kat Flynn?

Fact of Life #14: Gorgeous Libby Giles has always intimidated Kat. But lately there’s something different about Libby, and it’s about to bring her crashing into Kat’s Life. . . .

Hilarious and poignant, this is the story of one girl’s sometimes funny, sometimes painful path to self-acceptance and to finding her place in the world.

AUTHOR BIO
Denise Vega is the author of Click Here: To Find Out How I Survived Seventh Grade. She lives in Denver, Colorado.

BOOK EXCERPTS
911.

The numbers seemed to pulse on my pager, quickening along with my heartbeat. Abra only used the pager for emergencies, because sometimes I didnt answer when she called my cell. I jammed my headset into my cell and dialed her number.

Katima, thank God. Her voice was soft but the words were quick, anxious. I rarely heard Abra sound anxious. Where are you?

On my way to school, I said. Where are you?

Im at Lindas, Abra said. Shes in labor.

Is everything okay? Linda was one of my favorites of Abras mothers. I had been working two afternoons a week at Abras Midwifery for over a year and had gotten to know a lot of the women. Linda and I had hit it off, sharing a love of rocky road ice cream and a hatred of reality TV. I had helped her plan her birththe music, atmosphere, different birth options. I didnt want her having complications.

Shes doing beautifully, Abra said. But Im not. Marion broke her foot, Sarah is at another birth, and Carmen isnt picking up any of her phones or responding to my page. Abra sucked in a breath. I have no one to assist me.

I eased down on the brakes of my Honda hybrid as I came to a stop sign. Um, okay. But youve delivered lots of babies without an assistant.

I know. But Linda wants one so I need you to get to her house as fast as you can.

Say what? I hit the gas too hard, jerking the car forward.

Ive excused you from school, Abra said. This is life experience, Katima. A transcendent experience. You wont get that in any classroom.

My hands shook on the steering wheel. I turned down a side street and pulled over, shutting off the ignition. I didnt know if I was pissed at her for assuming Id do it or excited that I might actually get to see a live birth.

But what did I know about assisting?

Youre out of your mind.

Well, thats highly possible, Abra said, seeing as how Ive exhausted all of my usual assistants and Im calling a sixteen-year-old high school student whos worked at the Midwifery for a year. She chuckled. If Im not out of my mind, Im clearly a little desperate, Katima.

Clearly. Is it all right with Linda and Wayne?

Of course, Abra said. I would never do something like this without asking them. There was a pause before she spoke again. Actually, Linda is the one who suggested it.

She did? A grin spread across my face. Tell me how to get there.

* * *

I pulled up at Lindas house about thirty minutes later. It was in a new developmentbig gables and dormer windows, small trees, new sod. I was shaking with nervous excitement. Id never seen a baby emerge like an oversized Otter Pop except in that movie we saw back in sixth grade. The idea thrilled and petrified me at the same time.

I glanced around the car. I had no idea what I might need, but I knew there would be times when we would just wait. Unzipping my backpack, I flipped through textbooks and notebooks, pulling out the Rocky Mountain Womens Triathlon brochure Id been reading. Then I grabbed my sketchbook and some pencils before heading into the house.

Kat, Linda said when I arrived. Im so glad youre here. She was wearing one of her husband Waynes oversized T-shirts, her nipples poking through the fabric. Her maternity underwear hugged her butt.

You sure you want me here?

She made an are you kidding? face. Then she quickly sucked in her breath.

Another one? Wayne asked, rubbing her back.

Linda nodded, letting out her breath slow and even. Abra once told me that for some women, labor pains are menstrual cramps times a few hundredfor some, times a thousand or so. Yikes. But Lindas face wasnt all pinched up in pain. It was calm; her eyes focused.

I turned and watched Abra as she moved between tasks, so fluidly she hardly seemed to be moving at all. I thought of that phrase She was in her element. But here in this room, with the shades drawn and a few candles flickering, Abra was more than thatshe was the element. Id seen her at the office, but never at a birth, never like thisa person who moved with grace and perfect timing, anticipating, checking, doing. Always doing the right thing.

Slowly, Katima, Abra said as I hurried over. You want to create a calm environment. She motioned me next to her. Help me with this. I stepped around the large layer of plastic spread out on the floor beside the bed. Your job is P-I-E, Abra whispered. Physical, informational, and emotional support.

Im not a doula, Abra, I said. Im your receptionist and occasional office visit assistant.

Abra smiled, but I knew what she was thinking: You dont have to remind me that you are a lame excuse for a birth assistant.

Just do what I tell you, she said. Youll be fine.

Like I would know how to do anything except what she told me. But at least she had some confidence that I could help out.

Hold the sheets up, she said. I did, and she put plastic beneath them. We smoothed the sheets back down and fluffed the pillows.

All right, Abra said, surveying the room. I could tell she was taking a mental inventory, making sure everything was in its place. She had a table with all of her supplies at the ready; the birthing ball and birthing stool were resting in a corner in case Linda wanted to use them.

I wasnt sure what she needed me for. It looked like she had everything under control. I glanced at her as she stood out of the way, her eyes resting softly on Linda and Wayne.

Abra. The best home birth midwife in the Rocky Mountain region.

Abra. Practically perfect in every way.

Abra. My mother.

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MORE BOOK INFO
ISBN: 0375848193
ISBN(13-digit): 9780375848193
Dewey Decimal: [Fic]
Library of Congress: 2007049654
Book Publisher: Random House Childrens Books
Language: ENG
No. of Pages: 375
Paper Weight (lb): 1.07 lb

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