The Cherry Trees

Chapter Twenty-Two: 2013

As July turned into August, school started up again, and gradually the hot temperatures came down a little. My mom decided that I was going to need to get my haircut, as much as I protested. I loved my long hair, but it was really stringy. So, I had no choice but to cut it. Also, I just didn't feel like arguing with my mom. The bigger she got with the baby, the more insane she became. Just the littlest things set her off. Dad said it was hormones or something, but I had no idea what he was talking about, so I just nodded and said I wouldn't give Mom a hard time.

"Anne, look at this cut, don't you think that would look cute on you?" she asked, holding up another picture from a magazine. I nodded, and she smiled, satisfied. When she went back to flipping pages, I rolled my eyes and returned to my book I had taken from the clubhouse.

"Oh!" my mom shouted again. I looked up, expecting another hair- do, but instead I found her holding her round stomach.

Uh-oh.

"Anne, sweetheart," she said, trying to keep her voice calm, "can you call Daddy?"

I nodded, and quickly walked over to her purse, rummaging through it, searching for her phone. After a few more minutes, she gasped again. I quickly dialed Dad's number, and after 3 rings, he picked up. I sighed with relief.

"Hey," he said casually.

"Hi Dad. Can you come pick us up? We are at the hair salon, and I'm pretty sure Mom is about to have the baby," I said.

"Yeah, I will be there in a few minutes," he said urgently.

I flipped the phone shut, and went over to my mom. I grabbed her hand, and she smiled, obviously trying to suck up whatever pain she was in for me.

"It's okay, Mom, just think, in a little bit, you will have another baby!" I said, trying to cheer her up.

She laughed. "Why don't you call Lexi and ask her mom to come get you. I'm sure you don't want to be at the hospital with me and your dad for the whole day," Mom said.

I remembered what my dad said about hormones, I think, so I just nodded and called Lexi.

"Hey Casey," Ms. Lotter said.

"Hi Ms. Lotter, it's Anne. Can you come get me? I am at the hair salon. My mom is going to have the baby, and she doesn't want me to be at the hospital all day."

"What? She's having the baby!" she screeched at the other end of the phone.

"Yep. And she will get mad if you don't come pick me up because of her hormones," I said.

Ms. Lotter was silent for a second, but then started laughing. "Okay, sweetie, I will come get you."

My dad got there first, and he asked me to help him out with Mom's stuff. I grabbed her purse and various magazines from the chair she was sitting on, and brought it out to the car, throwing it in the backseat. A few minutes later, Ms. Lotter arrived, and I hopped in to her car.

"Bye Mom!" I shouted out the window, "see you soon!"

She waved, and took off to the hospital. Then it hit me that in a few hours, I was going to have a baby sister. And I was burdened with the responsibility of naming her. Giving her something that she would have with her for the rest of her life. Suddenly, this simple task seemed much harder. At least I didn't have to get my hair cut.

"Wow. You still haven't picked out a name?" Lexi said, laughing.

I nodded, panicked.

"Hey, don't sweat it. You have the two names picked out, right? So now you just wait until you see what she looks like. What were the names again?"

"Vanessa and Christina. Christina is out though, I remembered some girl in my class in North Carolina that was named Christina, and she was mean. Not to mention, she wasn't all that pretty. And I want my sister to be nice and pretty," I said.

"Aw, little sibling has grown on you afterall. But good, so now you are going to name it Vanessa!" she said.

"But what if she doesn't look like a Vanessa?" I asked, worried.

"She will. And if she doesn't, just name her that anyways," Lexi suggested.

I rolled my eyes. "Thanks for your genious help."

A silly grin pulled at Lexi's face. "What would you do without me?"

The entire day, there was no call from my mom saying that the baby had been born, so I ended up sleeping over at Lexi's.

"Do you think I will be a good sister?" I asked, staring at the ceiling of the clubhouse.

"Yeah."

"That's it? No speech?"

"Nope, I'm tired. Don't sweat it."

I shrugged, and rolled over on my side, running my fingers through the fuzzy carpet. I thought about what the baby would look like. I tried to picture her, but for some reason I couldn't. So, I went step by step. First- hair color. Definately blonde, like the rest of my family. My thoughts were interrupted by a sudden rustling of leaves under the clubhouse. I sat up straight, and I heard Lexi's sleeping bag material swish as she rose, too. Though I couldn't see her very well in the dark, I could tell that she was staring at me with wide eyes in an intense stare. Suddenly, the crunching stopped, and the silence was broken by a voice.

"Anne!" someone whisper-yelled.

I recognized the voice as Ms. Lotter's.

"Yeah?"

"The baby is born!" she said.

I jumped up, and threw the door open, making a quick descent down the ladder, and running to the car. We drove to the hospital, and I didn't speak the whole way I was so nervous. I walked in to the flourescent-  lit building that smelled of hand sanitizer and cafeteria food. Ms. Lotter pushed the elevator button, and we arrived at my mom's room. I was about to open the door when a large woman in a weird looking uniform stopped me.

"Friend or family?" she asked, with her hand over mine on the knob of the door.

"Family. My baby sister was just born."

She nodded, and allowd me to open the door. When I walked in, I finally saw her. The little girl that was my sister. I walked over, and placed my hand on her fuzz- covered head. Her hair was definately blonde, her eyes a clear blue, like mine. Her hands were small and soft, and dimples lined her knuckled. She smelled nice, clean, like baby powder.

"Hey, honey," my mom said wearily.

"Hi."

"Have you decided on a name?"

I looked at my sister, who was supposed to be named Vanessa. She didn't look like a Vanessa though.

I took a deep breath as I decided what my sister would be called for the rest of her life.

"Alice. Alice Nicole Gallot."