speeches.
âIâve been thinking, November,â her mother said, âthat you donât have a clue about what youâve gotten yourself into.â
âItâs not like I planned it,â November retorted as she poured low-fat dressing on her salad.
âDo you have any idea how much baby stuff costs?â her mother asked.
âYou mean like little T-shirts and stuff? Donât people give you those at a shower?â November had never really thought that far into the future.
âOh, come on, honey. Donât be so naive. Assuming you have a shower, what happens when those three or four pieces you receive as gifts get dirty, or the baby outgrows them?â
âI donât know. I guess Iâd have to buy some more.â November wished her mother would get off her back. This was getting annoying.
âAnd what will you use for money? Your American Express Gold Card?â Mrs. Nelson wore a faint smile.
November scowled. âI guess Iâll have to use my allowance money.â
âAllowance money is for teenagers who go to school and need notebook paper or lunch money or a candy bar. Itâs not for baby clothes and diapers. Youâve kinda moved from the world of a kid who really has nothing to worry about except doing homework and washing the dinner dishes, to the other side of the streetâto the domain of a young mother who has to take care of her own kid.â She waited for this to sink in.
âSo what am I supposed to do?â November finally replied, a little fear in her voice. âYouâre not gonna help me?â
Instead of answering, her mother asked, âHow much does a box of diapers cost, November? And how many diapers does a baby use in a day? Or a week?â
âI donât know. Canât we just figure out all that stuff aswe get to it?â November felt like she was choking on her salad.
âWhat about baby food? Formula? Bottles? Spoons? Blankets? Clothes? Do you have any idea how much any of this costs? What about day care? Who is going to watch the baby when you go back to school? I certainly canâtâI have to go to work.â
âWhy are you sweatinâ me like this?â November said, becoming frightened as well as annoyed.
âI donât sleep at night, November, wondering about the answers to all those questions,â her mother said honestly. âI think itâs time you figured some of this out yourself.â
âI guess Iâll get a job,â November said weakly. âBabies are little. It couldnât cost that much to feed one. Right?â
âBabies grow up, and become children, and then young adults like you,â her mother reminded her. âHave you given any thought at all to how youâll take care of this baby, how youâll pay for what it needs?â
âYouâre scaring me, Mom,â November said, putting down her fork.
âGood.â
When Novemberâs cell phone rang, she grabbed it thankfully.
âHey, Jericho,â she said when she checked the caller ID. âNothing. Just finishing dinner. Hey, you want to take me to the store? It will save my mom a trip. Cool. See you in half an hour.â She snapped the phone shut, relieved to escape the lecturing. âThatâs okay, isnât it?â she asked her mother.
âSure, thatâs fine. I have some papers to grade anyway.âMrs. Nelson stood up and took her plate to the sink. âUh, does Jericho know?â
âYeah, I told him.â
âI figured you had. Well, I have a job for you while youâre at the store.â
November sagged. âMore health food?â
âNo. Take a notebook and pen with you, and I want you to write down the prices of all those things we talked about. Diapers. A baby gets changed at least six times in twenty-four hoursâmaybe more. Find out the cost of a weekâs worth. Milk. How much is a can of baby formula? A