Federie

ch 2

My mom had become pregnant with me at 52. She wasn't happy at all the entire pregnancy. My dad was very strict on her with the doctor's order of bed rest. At 36 weeks she hopped a plane to Alabama to visit her parents. She had lied and told them she was 20 weeks pregnant with her fourth child and showing more with this one.

On board she met a flight attendant named Emily who was a newly graduated registered nurse. She did both for money and was highly requested when the pilot realized he had several pregnant women on this flight.

As the plane took off my mom was uncomfortable, I'm told. She was quickly greeted again by Emily's smiling face with motion sickness meds per flight protocol. Emily looked at my mom with concern, not saying anything.

As the flight landed in Birmingham and passengers were getting off, Emily noticed my mom wasn't getting off as quickly as she had gotten on. Emily quickly went over to her and asked if everything was okay. My mom looked up with a grimaced face as she fought to seem normal with pain shooting all around her abdomen. This prompted Emily to look at her belly and seeing it looked different. She asked my mom to truthfully tell her how far along she was. My mom blurted out 36 weeks. Emily alerted the rest of the staff staying with mom. Air medics were called and my mom was flown to University of Birmingham for Children and Women. Before they got mom on the helicopter, Emily asked if she should phone someone for her. My mom gave her my dad's number.

Hello my dad answered an unfamiliar number. "Hi Dr Federie, this is Emily from flight control-" "Where is she?" He cut her off. "Birmingham at UAB for women and children unit." Dad gathered himself as he thanked her for calling. He was on his way home from work early as he was concerned since she wasn't answering his calls or texts. He quickly gathered the boys and booked the next flight to Birmingham.

"How could she?" he thought as they were boarding the plane. "I may not even make it to see my daughter's birth! She knew better. She didn't care. Always taking matters into her own hands. I guess this is my fault as I have been very strict." He continued in thought. While waiting to board he informed his parents who were eagerly awaiting the arrival of their first biological grandbaby.

My Maw Maw (Judith Federie) and Paw Paw (Davidson Federie) were excited when they received the call. Maw Maw always knew my mom had a mind of her own. She knew she wouldn't adhere to the rules for too long. She and my mom tolerated each other. David was their only child and she kind of had to like her since he married her. My Paw Paw was happy dad found Christie. She came with three boys already, giving them grandchildren. An incident early in my dad's life rendered him infertile doctors guessed. When news of mom being pregnant with his child reached them they were overjoyed and worried. My dad assured them he was the father.

He met my mom working a travel assignment in Birmingham, AL for a 3 month assignment. She was over in Madison when he was out exploring and saw her being thrown to the ground by one of her customers. My mom was into adult entertainment as she had 3 kids staying with her parents. My Grammy (Christine Willows) and my Pop Pop (Ale Willows) did the best they could with my mom who troubled them a lot coming up. Her sister was a better child and she often thought all they cared about was Lisa Lisa Lisa. We heard this one phrase a lot whenever we went to visit. I knew at a young age my mom was jealous of auntie Lisa simply because she had her life together. Working as a registered nurse at the local hospital, she fell in love with a fellow nurse named John. She loved him dearly. After only dating for three months they got married. They had a big wedding! My mom would snout everytime we went to Alabama to visit.

My dad quickly ran over to defend my mom who was bleeding profusely from her mouth. He got the guy to leave mom alone. As she snapped away his hand helping her up, he told her his name. She told him I'm still charging full price regardless of my face. I have little mouths to feed. He looked at her questioningly. "I'm sorry," he mustered to say. "What do you want?" she snapped quickly realizing he wasn't from the area. She looked up at his tall, muscular stature. His face was gentle and concerned looking down at her. He still had his hand out. "My name is David Federie. I am a contractor, working construction in Huntsville. I was merely exploring the surrounding cities looking for something to do when I stopped here. I got out of my truck and saw the guy hit you, knocking you to the ground. I only want to help you get somewhere safe, miss."

She stared at him. Eventually she took his hand and got up off the ground. He went and bought a first aid kit. Cleaning her face. He noticed she had bruises on arms. Seems she was getting beat up on the regular after small talk. He asked her why she did what she did without thinking before he said it. He immediately regretted it as she began snapping at him.

"I have three f**king kids to feed. Their bastard fathers didn't want to stick around each time. I have to feed my kids! I don't care what people think or say about me. I'm doing what I have to for my children."

He apologized immediately and asked if he could buy her something to eat. She declined and took off. He was going to let her walk away, but something inside of him ran after her. Stopping her before she got too far. He said can I at least have your number to make sure you get home safely? She obliged, not expecting him to call her 30 mins later. From there it all started. They fell in love and dated for two years and a half. When my dad asked her to marry him, she was unsure if she wanted to be married. She knew he would never let her continue working as an escort, prostituting herself to other men. She took the leap of faith and accepted.

—

Dad was coming through the door as they were setting mom up to deliver. She had already been in labor 8 hours before he got there. He was nervous. His ear full he wanted to give her subsided as he saw her looking distraught and scared himself. "Baby I'm here. Why didn't you tell me you were leaving?" he softly said before he knew it. " Because you would've told me no. I'm glad you made it. I was beginning to think I was going to have her alone in this room." "Your mom and dad are here as well as my parents and the boys. She smiled as the doctor gave her instructions. The nurses worked in unison to help everything go smoothly. Dad took his place at mom's right side holding her hand and telling her how much he loved her.

My mom was a chocolate, brown skinned woman. My dad was pale compared to her. Both coming from biracial parents. His mom was a black and latino woman with asian descent as well. His dad was a white man who loved his mom deeply. Her mom was a white woman with greek descent and her father was black and latino background. Neither of them were too happy when my parents first got together, but they grew to love their relationship.

"Push" the doctor instructed. After 25 mins of pushing I was born. I was a spitting image of my dad with pale skin. My ears were the darkest thing on my prompting my mom to think I would get more melanin as I got older.

Everyone gushed over how adorable I was. All the grandparents were extremely happy to have a new edition to the family. My dad's parents were over the moon happy as I was their first natural grandchild. Looking so much like their son, they cried as their turn to hold me had arrived. Jme was videoing against my mom's wishes. Later on she would appreciate him filming as she got to see all their parents in one room lovingly supporting her.

Doctor Damien Delusa came in to inform her he needed to run some tests on me. She looked concerned. He told her I was showing signs of a rare condition of the blood. The condition didn't yet have a name. The condition consisted of dark ears and pale skin. My lips were pink and flushed. My hands were a shade or two lighter than my ears but the rest of my body was pale.

The tests came back inconclusive. After a week in the hospital mom and I were discharged.