Sabella & Malcolm

Having completed his business, Malcolm rushed towards home anxious to make sure Sabella and Mabel were alright.

He was close to home when he came upon a white man standing outside a what he assumed was a disabled car because the hood was up. Malcolm pulled over to the side of the road and went over to see if he could help the man.

As Malcolm approached the man, the man's expression changed to one of distrust, as he looked at Malcolm.

"I want to help," Malcolm said holding his hands up in surrender to try and ease the man's fears.

The man appeared to be trying to decide if he could trust Malcolm when a blood curdling scream was heard from inside the car.

The man turned away from Malcolm and ran over to the back passenger side of the car, Malcolm was right behind him.

Malcolm was surprised when he looked into the car to see a very pregnant black woman, sweating profusely and in a great deal of pain in the back seat.

"It hurts Bobby," the woman said as another labor pain hit her.

"I know Janie," Bobby said taking hold of the woman's hand. "I'm trying to find help."

"I can take her to a doctor," Malcolm said immediately thinking of Sabella. "Help me, get her to my truck."

The man looked at Malcolm suspiciously.

"I promise you, I'll get her to a doctor, who'll help her and take care of her and the baby," Malcolm said. "We can take her to my house right down the road."

"I stopped at that house," Bobby said, "there was a man sitting outside on the porch who wouldn't help us nor let me use the phone, and he wouldn't let the women who were there with him help me either.

"I own that house," Malcolm said, "you're going back with me and I promise you that you'll find help there."

"Bobby!" Janie screamed from the back seat.

"Alright!" Bobby said, "let's go."

Malcolm and Bobby helped Janie out of the backseat of the car and into the passenger side of Malcolm's truck. Malcolm closed the door and ran to the driver's side and climbed in while Bobby climbed into the back of the truck. Then they took off down the road to Malcolm's house.

As he pulled into his driveway Malcolm blew his horn. Mabel and Sabella came charging out of the house.

"How is she doing?" Sabella asked recognizing the man jumping out of the back of the truck as she ran over to the passenger side of the truck to help Janie out.

"She seems to be having a pain very three minutes," Malcolm said as he exited his truck and went over to the passenger side to help get Janie inside his house.

"What're they doing back here?" Ed asked his voice booming as if he owned the house.

"You get your ass off my property, now," Malcolm said turning to face Ed. "How can you turn these people away when it's obvious they need help?"

"It wasn't my job to help them," Ed said his voice cold and uncaring.

"Why didn't you let Mabel and RaeLynn (Sabella) help?" Malcolm asked.

"I did what your father would've done if he were here," Ed said. "He wouldn't have let that girl soil his house with her blood nor the blood of the pick-a-ninny she's about to give birth to.

"My father is dead," Malcolm said, "and he has never lived in this house."

"I'm talking about the man I remember," Ed said. Malcolm was about to hit Ed when Sabella (RaeLynn) stopped him.

"We can't deal with him now," she whispered into Malcolm's ear, "we need to get her into the house and him gone, so I can tend to this woman."

Realizing that Sabella was right Malcolm once again ordered Ed off his property.

"I'll leave," Ed said, "but I want you to know that you'll get no more favors from me. I don't care what you can do to me. I won't be under the thumb any longer. Do you understand?"

"Completely," Malcolm said. "I just want you to remember this was your decision."

Ed left the chaos and made his way to his car. He got inside, started it up and made his way home.

"What do you need?" Malcolm asked realizing Ed was gone, as Sabella passed him the keys to his garage.

"Bring everything you can reach," Sabella said not having time to write a list or give Malcolm a detailed description of the things she might need.

"I've got water boiling," Mabel said rushing back into the living room to help Sabella.

"I need clean white sheets," Sabella said, "and one of them torn into strips."

"Who are you?" Bobby asked Sabella.

"I'm the doctor," Sabella replied, "and, the one who's going to bring this child into the world."

"What's going on?" Frank asked walking into the room with a bandage on his head.

"Malcolm might need your help in the garage," Sabella said, "bringing in some of the medical supplies I might need."

"Alright," Frank said heading to the garage.

"Help, me ease her down onto the couch," Sabella told Bobby.

They eased Janie down onto the couch.

"Bobby!" she screamed as another labor pain shot through her body this one more intense than the last.

Malcolm and Frank came rushing back into the living room their arms filled with medical supplies.

"What do you need?" Malcolm asked.

"Rubber gloves," Sabella replied.

Malcolm opened up a box of rubber gloves and passed a pair over to Sabella.

"Frank, I think that Ed might tell the Sheriff about this," Malcolm said. "I need you to go stand on the front porch and let me know if the Sheriff shows up."

"Alright," Frank said leaving the living room and going to do as Malcolm asked.

Mabel came rushing from upstairs her arms loaded down with white sheets. Sabella pulled one from the top and covered Janie with it.

As Sabella removed Janie's underwear so that she could position her legs so that she could examine her a gush of water sprayed out almost hitting Sabella in the face.

This proved to be too much for Bobby, and he made his way to the front door. Malcolm was about to follow him when Sabella screamed that Janie was crowning and the baby would be coming soon.

"I'm going to need something to put the baby in, Malcolm," Sabella said. "A drawer from one of the bureaus upstairs would be perfect."

"Alright," Malcolm said as he ran upstairs to his bedroom pulled out one of the drawers from his bureau, dumped the contents onto the floor and ran back down the stairs to the living room.

As he entered the living room Malcolm was amazed to hear the sound of a baby crying.

He walked around to the front of the couch and saw Sabella holding the small screaming child in her arms.

"Mabel, place a sheet in the bureau drawer, please," Sabella said after she placed the child on Janie's stomach to cut its umbilical cord.

"It's a girl," Sabella said checking the baby over.

"Oh, my god!" Janie screamed, "what's happening?" Sabella examined Janie to see what was wrong.

"Go, back upstairs and get another bureau drawer, Malcolm," Sabella ordered.

"You're kidding," Malcolm said.

"No, I'm not," Sabella replied. "There's another baby in here."

Malcolm ran upstairs once again to his bedroom and pulled out another bureau drawer, dumped the contents on the floor and dashed down the stairs again into the living room.

He heard the second baby crying this time when he entered the living room as Sabella eased it from its mother's womb and brought it into the world.

"It's a boy," Sabella said as she cut the umbilical cord.

Mabel wrapped the screaming little boy up in a sheet and gently laid him in the bureau drawer Malcolm brought down from upstairs.

"Are they alright?" Janie asked.

"They're fine," Sabella replied.

"Where's my husband?" Janie asked.

"He's on the front porch," Malcolm said wondering why the man hadn't rushed back into the house upon hearing his children cry. "I'll go get him."

Malcolm rushed out to the front porch expecting to find Bobby out there either smoking like a chimney, pacing back and forth liked a caged animal or a combination of the two, but Bobby wasn't there. The front porch was empty. He went around the back thinking that Bobby might've walked around there, but it too was empty.

He went back around the front and saw Frank coming back up the driveway.

"Where have you been?" Malcolm asked.

"I went after the man that came in with the woman," Frank replied. "He came out of the house and kept going. I asked him where he was going and the only thing he said was "he couldn't take it", then he took off running."

"Where's Bobby?" Sabella asked Malcolm stepping out onto the front porch. "Janie's asking for him, and he has a son and a daughter who are anxious to meet him too."

"He's gone," Malcolm said.

"To get his car?" Sabella asked her voice hopeful but her heart knowing there was none.

"I'll get my truck and go down the road to check," Malcolm said his voice solemn, but I think he's really gone."

"Oh, my goodness," Sabella said. "What do I tell Janie?"

"I suggest telling her the truth," Malcolm said. "If I'm wrong it'll be a happy mistake."

Malcolm got into his truck and headed down the road where Bobby's car had broken down.

Sabella went into the house to tell Janie she couldn't find Bobby.

"Where's Bobby?" Janie asked the moment Sabella walked into the house, she was holding their son and daughter in her arms.

"He's not outside," Sabella replied. "Malcolm went to see if he's gone to see if he could fix your car."

"He's gone isn't he?" Janie said after staring into space for a few seconds.

"I don't know," Sabella said answering truthfully.

"Take them," Janie said her teeth clenched together and looking down at her babies.

"Excuse me?" Sabella said thinking she'd misheard what Janie said.

"Take them," Janie said again still looking at her children.

Mabel and Sabella moved to take the children out of Janie's arms.

After the children were removed Janie tried to stand.

"What're you doing?" Sabella asked placing the baby, she was holding in the sheet lined bureau drawer. "You shouldn't be trying to stand. You need to rest and give your body time to recuperate. You gave birth to twins."

"I need to find Bobby," Janie said her eyes filling with tears. "He promised that he and I would raise our child together. That way why we got married so that we could be a real family and always be together. Bobby wouldn't leave, he wouldn't break his promise to me. He promised me we would always be a family, so I've got to find him."

"Malcolm went to find him," Sabella said pressing a hand on Janie's shoulders to get her to lay back down on the couch. "I'm sure he only went to check on the car and when Malcolm returns Bobby will be with him."

"He's gone," Janie said wiping her eyes and sobbing like someone had told her a loved one had died. "He's gone."

"Ah, honey," Mabel said walking over to comfort her, "it's going to be alright."

Janie cried herself to sleep while Mabel and Sabella took the children into the kitchen and cleaned up the living room, as well as they could with Janie asleep on the couch.

"What're we going to do?" Mabel asked when they returned to the kitchen where the children were.

"They need milk and Janie won't let them nurse from her."

"I'll be right back," Sabella said leaving the kitchen and heading for the garage and her baby praying that Malcolm hadn't locked it.

Sabella was grateful when she pulled on the door of the garage that it opened. Sabella made her way to the back seat of her baby where she stored the baby formula, she was supposed to deliver to her friend's clinic.

She grabbed a case of the small prepackaged bottles of baby formulas, a new package of nipples for the bottles, and a package of new born disposable diapers.

Sabella loaded everything up in her arms and made her way back into the house. As she passed the couch, she went over to check on Janie and saw that she was still asleep. Then she made her way back into the kitchen.

"What in the world is all of this?" Mabel asked when Sabella came back into the kitchen.

"Just a few modern conveniences for mothers in the twenty first century," Sabella said placing her load on the counter.

Mabel picked up one of the small bottles of formula after Sabella broke opened one corner and examined it.

"Well, I'll be," she said her voice filled with awe. "I guess mother's don't nurse anymore."

"Oh, yes they do," Sabella said. "Nursing is still the number one way children are feed. This is used in instances like this and for mothers who choose not to nurse."

"And this?" Mabel asked holding up a disposable diaper.

"That's what some mother's use instead of regular diapers," Sabella said, "to keep their babies' bottoms dry."

"Well, I'll be," Mabel said examining the disposable diaper. "This is amazing."

At that moment Malcolm walked into the kitchen, the look on his face told Sabella and Mabel all they needed to know. Bobby was gone.

"You saw no sign of him?" Sabella asked.

"I think he must've caught a ride," Malcolm said. "I rode into town when I didn't see him on the road, and I didn't see him at the car and I didn't see him in town."

"What're we going to tell Janie?" Sabella asked.

"What did you tell her?" Malcolm asked.

"I told her you had gone looking for him," Sabella replied.

"I'll just tell her, I couldn't find him", Malcolm said.

"I'm surprised, she didn't ask you about Bobby when you walked into the house," Sabella said.

"She probably didn't hear me come in since she's upstairs," Malcolm said.

"Janie's not upstairs," Sabella said. "We left her asleep on the couch."

"She wasn't on the couch when I came in," Malcolm said.

"She has to be in the living room," Sabella said rushing through the dining room, into the living room and stopping at the empty couch where Janie was supposed to be resting. "Maybe she's upstairs," Sabella said making her way upstairs to check.

Malcolm's bedroom was the first room she came to and the door was opened so Sabella went inside searching for Janie. The bedroom was empty, so Sabella went to check the bathroom, it was empty too.

She left Malcolm's room and made her way to her room. The two missing pairs of sweat pants shorts that she wore to bed at night and left out on the bed to be washed later that day and the overnight bag, she kept next to her bed let Sabella know that Janie had been in her room.

"What's wrong?" Malcolm asked when he walked into her room and saw Sabella staring at her bed.

"She's taken some of my clothes and one of my overnight bags," Sabella said going over to the closet to make sure the case containing her laptop was still there and glad she kept her cell phone in the pockets of her jeans.

"I wonder where she went?" Malcolm said, "I didn't see her on the road when I was on my way back here."

"I think they both suspected and expected you to come after them," Sabella said, "and they went in the opposite direction to give themselves time to get away."

Malcolm didn't think about that when he left to chase after Bobby, he just assumed Bobby would return to his car going in the opposite direction would've been a smart move.

Especially since he knew what was in that direction and since Janie knew, Bobby, she might have figured that was something he would've done, and she did the same thing.

"I'm going to go look for her," Malcolm said.

"I'm going with you", Sabella said.

The look in her eyes told Malcolm it would do him no good arguing with her.

"Okay", Malcolm said heading downstairs, out the front door, to his truck.

'Sabella was right,' Malcolm thought to himself drove down the road and came upon Janie stumbling down the road looking for Bobby.

"Janie," Malcolm said slowing down his truck beside her, "you need to come back to the house with us.

"I can't," Janie said not looking at Malcolm or Sabella as she spoke. "I have to find Bobby. He promised we would always be together."

"Bobby is gone Janie," Sabella said. "You have to think about your children, your son and your daughter."

"No," Janie said finally stopping and facing Malcolm and Sabella. "It's their fault, he's gone. H would still be with me if they weren't here."

"You don't mean that," Sabella said not believing what she was hearing.

"Yes, I do," Janie said her voice cold and emotionless. "They and the people who refused to help us because of me robbed my Bobby of his manhood. Do you know that we went to four different hospitals before we came here? Four different hospitals, and at all of them Bobby went inside and said that his wife was in labor out in the car, they all rushed out with a stretcher ready to take me inside, but the moment, they saw me, they sent us away saying they didn't treat Negroes or niggers."

"I'm sorry that you and Bobby had to go through that," Malcolm said, "but you can't hold your children responsible for the way you were treated."

"Bobby pleaded with them to help me," Janie said continuing as if Malcolm hadn't spoken, "but they all refused. One nurse threatened to call the police on him if he and his nigger wife didn't get off hospital property. Do you know how that made him feel?"

Malcolm and Sabella didn't respond.

"He felt useless and helpless," Janie said tears running down her face and looking at Malcolm, "he felt useless and helpless. Do you know what that does to a man?" Especially a man whose use to being able to take care of everything."

"I can't say that I do," Malcolm replied.

"Of course you don't," Janie said chuckling. "This is the land of milk and honey for you . You wouldn't make the mistake of falling for someone like me. Did Bobby tell you that we're not from here?"

"No," Malcolm replied.

"Well, we're not," Janie said. "We were on our way home when I went into labor. We didn't even intend to stop in Texas because of all the horrible things, we heard about the way Negroes were treated. But, we were almost out of gas, and we decided to stop, to fill our tank. Do you know that three different gas stations wouldn't even sell us gas? Three different gas stations wouldn't sell us gas because of me."

"None of this is your fault, Janie," Sabella said. "You're not responsible for the ignorant acts of others."

"Somebody is responsible!" Janie screamed. Somebody is responsible for my husband leaving me, for me not being able to look at or hold my children. Somebody is responsible for the breakup of my family and for robbing me of my happily ever after."

Malcolm's heart filled with sympathy for Janie as tears continued to run down her face from her breaking heart and overwhelming pain.

Malcolm jumped out his truck and picked her up in his arms when she collapsed on the ground.

Sabella got out of the passenger side, ran around the front to assist Malcolm with getting Janie into the truck. She wrapped her up in a sheet she brought with her.

"You drive," Malcolm said holding his keys out to her as he cradled Janie in his arms.

Sabella took the keys and went around the passenger side of the truck to help Malcolm get Janie in the car. After making sure Malcolm and Janie were securely in the passenger seat, Sabella went around the truck to the driver's side, climbed inside, buckled up, started the car up and headed back to Malcolm's house.

When they reached the house Sabella got out, went over to the passenger side to help Malcolm bring Janie into the house.

They were met at the door by Mabel.

"How is she doing?" Mabel asked holding the door open for them.

"She's weak," Sabella replied going over and placing a clean sheet on the couch before Malcolm's placed Janie on it once again.

"We have company," Mabel said as Malcolm placed Janie on the couch.

"Who?" Malcolm asked.

"Me."

They all turned to see Sheriff Jenkins standing in the doorway of the dining room.

"What're you doing here?" Malcolm asked not all happy to see the Sheriff in his house.

"I got a report of a white man and a colored woman running from hospital to hospital trying to find a place to drop a baby," Sheriff Jenkins said eyeing Janie. "So, I went looking for them to take them to the hospital where all the coloreds go to have their children. I was coming to ask you if they stopped by here when I ran into Ed, and he told me they were here with you. I saw their car on the side of the road after I talked to Ed so, I came by to see if you needed any help getting these people on their way."