From Mexico

A BABY FOR A WATERMELON

It was a hot and sunny day to go shopping at Walmart. The music on the taxi radio played a cheerful song whose melody mixed with the sound of the air coming through the windows. The rush of air blew strongly through my hair. My taste buds were playing the pregnant women's joke on me, where your senses trick your mind and make you crave a big treat. This time I was craving watermelon. I was willing to do anything to get it.

Moments before, my sister was keeping me company at home. I was enjoying the maternity leave that they give you in Mexico when you reach 34 weeks. I was already in the eighth month. It was my first pregnancy. My sister was on vacation. At only 15 years old, inexperienced in many things, she was my guardian on duty. My husband had been assigned at work to travel to another city that day. My sister and I were excited by how my belly moved when we talked to my baby. I said to my sister, "Perla, I really want to eat a watermelon, but there is no more in the house. Can we go buy it?" "But what if something happens to us?" she asked. "Nothing will happen," I responded. "It's easy: we take a taxi, it drops us off at the door at Walmart, we go get the watermelon, we pay, and we go back. It's that simple, little sister... come on!" I responded, without imagining what would happen.

The driver's voice woke me from my thoughts, "We've arrived, it's 25 pesos." We paid and got out. I still remember the clothes I was wearing, a very comfortable, light and pastel-colored dress, perfect for the heat that was in the air. When we got into Walmart, we couldn't help but walk through many aisles looking at the deals they had, or the nice things for the house they were selling. I confess that my great vice is seeing the pretty things they sell in the stores; the bright colors immediately attract my sight, and I forget about my surroundings. We got to the produce department, and there it was: so big, the green stripes so bright. All around, there were cut watermelons, and their aromas were fresh and sweet. My sister took a whole watermelon and put it in the shopping cart, and we went to pay at the checkout.

There was a long line before us so we waited patiently, but as time passed I began to feel something strange, something that hadn't happened to me before during my pregnancy. A pain in my belly began to get stronger and stronger. But that pain would disappear for a moment and then come back. My face began to turn pale. My sister asked me, "Are you okay, Zuri?" My immediate response was: "NO! I feel a lot of pain. My baby is moving too much; I don't know what's happening to him, and that's causing me pain." She paid for the watermelon at the checkout and we proceeded to walk a little, but the pain wouldn't let me continue.

A middle-aged lady approached where we were standing and asked us if everything was okay. My sister and I answered with great anguish, "NO!" My sister told her I was in a lot of pain, and I nodded with tears in my eyes: "My baby is not well. He is moving like never before. I have a strong pain in my belly, and then it goes away. It comes and goes." She smiled slightly and said to us sweetly, "Calm down, breathe. How often do you get these pains?" I answered, "I have no idea, but it seems to last about ten minutes or less." She told my sister, "She is in labor. Let's call her doctor or call an ambulance." My sister's response was one I'll never forget, "Zuri, what do I do with the watermelon? You're not going to want it anymore." Moments later, there I was in a crowd with a stranger who was helping me and saying sweet words to relax. My sister had a big watermelon in her hand. The lady called my mother, who was at work, to let her know where I was. Until my mother arrived, that angel that God sent was with me. My mother proceeded to call my husband, who was still out of town, to inform him that I had started labor.

My daughter was born 15 hours later, giving my husband time to return. My grandmother, mother-in-law, and mother were with me, and my sister told me: "I'm not going to take care of you again! You gave me a big scare." (Today she is a doctor and has brought many babies into the world in the emergency room where she works.) Angels exist. I never met that middle-aged lady again, no matter how many times I returned to that Walmart. I didn't get any information about her. I don't know her name, but for me, she will be my angel lady. My beautiful girl has grown up and her favorite fruit today is watermelon. And yes, she can eat a whole one in one day.