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A LITTLE MERMAID COMES TO STAY

My brother and I run a small business in the town we grew up in. We are always having a tough time getting help, and when someone who seems even close to normal comes in to apply for a job, we nab them. This young man was a tall and good looking young man. He was about twenty years old and was very polite when he came in and asked for work. He told me that his girlfriend needed to work as well, but she couldn't because she was obviously pregnant...and it wasn't very long until time for the baby to arrive. I gave him the job he requested, and picked the little girl up that was following her mother around. This child was beautiful. She was a bit over a year old, I guessed, had blonde curls and the biggest blue eyes you ever saw. She obviously took her appearance from her fair haired mother.

When I talked to the mother, I found out that they had just moved to the area a short time ago, and that she hadn't seen a doctor yet. She wasn't far off from delivery, and she hadn't seen a doctor??! I walked into my office and called the Department of Human Services and talked to them, explaining the situation. I arranged for an appointment for her in only a few days...free. They were more concerned with the fact that there had been no prenatal care than they were with money. When I went back out front to tell her, she had the oddest look on her face. I explained to her that there would be no charge for the exam, and that she really didn't have any rights to refuse her unborn baby medical treatment. There were some things that could be corrected inside the womb, I explained to her. This girl was young and beautiful and in way over her head. Her boyfriend wasn't very nice to her most of the time. She had no friends. I felt sorry for her, and I was just enchanted by the little munchkin that followed her around. The mother was lacking in parenting skills, and I tried to guide her somewhat. She had no clue how to care for the child she already had, much less two of them. The day of her appointment came, and she came in to tell me that they had seen something odd on the ultrasound. There might be a problem with the child she carried. I felt horrible for them all, but especially for the baby.

The mother was sent to UT for medical testing. It ended up that the baby was fine. There had been another child...twins...and for some reason the second child quit growing and was just sort of "there". The other baby was a healthy girl. Everyone was relieved. Only a couple of days later, the father asked me if I would consider taking the baby when it was born. I was stunned. He went on to explain that they had been told about me by a mutual friend who knew I wanted a child. They had come with the explicit intentions of seeing what kind of a person I was so that they would bear no guilt feelings for giving away their baby. They couldn't afford her. They didn't want her. They didn't need her. He was serious. I immediately picked up a phone and called an attorney. My mind was racing. I was going to get a baby. I had never even dreamed of getting a child under 6 years of age. The waiting lists for state agencies are so long that most couples will be too old before their turn comes up to get a newborn. It just doesn't happen, yet here I have one not even out of the oven, so to speak...a baby girl that could be mine and mine alone. THIS was the thing that angel messages were made of. I was going to have a baby of my own in only a couple of months.

I didn't have very long to plan it, but I immediately called a lady I knew and told her what was going on. I told her that I needed someone to help me with a newborn. She was thrilled to help me. Her two children were both grown, and neither of them had a child. She was ready to be SOMEONE'S Nana. My family was somewhat taken aback. They all knew that I was wanting to adopt, but they never dreamed that things would happen this quickly. I wasn't surprised. I had discussed this desire of adopting a child with my mother before she had died 5 years earlier. She saw the sacrifices I had made in my life so that others didn't have to make sacrifices, and one day we saw a set of twins on tv on MONDAY'S CHILD that were adoptable. She begged me to go and apply for them, but I knew I couldn't take care of them and my mother and keep my wicked stepfather happy, so I didn't even attempt to get them. I never forgot them, however. I felt like my mother was in Heaven making sure that I got this baby. I was excited and calm at the same time. It was happening. My sister in law was estatic! She could hardly wait. I was with her when I got the call that the mother was in labor. It was a month earlier than she anticipated.

We drove to the hospital and my sister in law went on home with my promise to call her when the time was getting close. I didn't have to call. Becky, my sister in law, is more like a REAL sister....she was there outside the room when I started to go and call for her. She couldn't stand it. I was there when my little one made her debut. The birthmother had been given a shot of Demerol only 7 minutes before my little one made her first public appearance, and frankly, the baby didn't like the thoughts of breathing on her own. She had too many drugs in her delicate little system. Luckily for all of us, Becky was there outside the door, because when the doctor yelled for the emergency cart, the nurse that should have brought it to him was on the telephone with her boyfriend and wasn't listening to him. Becky went and "fetched" her when she heard the doctor calling.

Before my child came out, the ob/gyn made a startling discovery. "SHE HAS RED HAIR!!" he turned and looked around the room in astonishment. Her hair was the same shade as mine. He couldn't believe it. I smugly looked at him and announced, "I TOLD you this was MY baby!"

He was amazed. When she was delivered, she was very slow to respond. One of the nurses had just started working maternity that night, and she told me that she had been having nightmares about the first baby she helped to deliver. This nurse was dating my cousin, so she and I knew each other. It was her first night on the job. Guess which baby was her first delivery? MINE! And there was a slight problem, to be sure. They gave her a shot in her heart, one in her leg, and rubbed the hide off her little back trying to stimulate her. Becky was fit to be tied. I was as calm as can be. I knew that GOD would not bring a child to me having given me the early warning he had given me, only to take her away from me. I just knew she would be all right. She was. I commented on the fact that she had very long toes and fingers, and make a joke about calling Pat Summit to warn her that a LADY VOL had just been born. The doctor, visibly shaken from the ordeal, told me that he thought I had a little mermaid on my hands, because this child sure did like to hold her breath for a long time, and perhaps swimming was more her forte. I gave her the first name of Ariel. Ariel Chelsea Alyssa Barnes was born on January 13, 1994. She weighed 6 pounds and 5 ounces and she followed my voice from the beginning. Even the birthmother was surprised. This was my little redheaded mermaid. I had a child of my own. I know my mother had everything to do with getting that baby to me. I just know it.

So now where do we stand?My just rewards!