Although she'd been expecting as much, shock like a deluge of cold water swept over her.

Dr. Banion frowned. "Are you all right?"

"Yes, I'm fine." She gave a shaky laugh. "But I definitely wasn't expecting this. I thought - we thought - our family was complete, and I am a little old for this."

"Everything looks fine so far, so I see no reason you and the child shouldn't both come through just fine, although you'll have to have another Cesarean section, of course." He smiled and patted her shoulder. "A year from now, you'll be wondering what you were so worried about."

For the rest of the day, Elizabeth felt as if she were just going through the motions. Everything that had seemed so orderly and well planned out before now seemed to be total chaos. How would she ever make it through? She both longed for and dreaded Paul's return from work. How would he react upon hearing the news? Would he be angry, frightened or worried?

Somehow she made it through the day, caring for Amon, welcoming Max and Laura home from school, and preparing dinner. As she placed the food on the table, she glanced furtively at the door from time to time, and when it finally opened, she nearly jumped out of her skin.

Paul stepped inside with his usual cheerful smile of greeting. She smiled back and stepped toward him as he came to her.

"Hi, hon." He embraced her and kissed her lips. "How was your day?"

"I went to the doctor this morning." Might as well tell him now and get it over with, she thought.

"And?"

She looked at the floor. "I am."

"You are? Really?" A smile slowly spread over his face. "That's great!"

Laura gasped. "You mean you're actually happy about it?"

"Why shouldn't I be?"

"But what about our plans? You know I was going to teach Amon at home next year so he wouldn't have to go away to a school for the deaf. How will I do that and take care of a newborn?"

"Oh, that's right." Paul's smile slipped a bit. "We'll work it out somehow, Lizzie. Maybe a family member can help."

"But I'd feel guilty about imposing!"

"It wouldn't be imposing, sweetheart. That's what family's for."

"I suppose so," Elizabeth concurred with doubt in her voice.

"Are you saying Mama's pregnant?" Max interjected.

"That's right," Elizabeth told him. "The baby's due in the middle of September."

"Wow!" Max grinned. "You hear that, Laura? You're not gonna be the baby anymore!"

"I haven't been the baby since Amon came to live with us," Laura reminded him.

"You know what I mean," he replied.

Unaware that anything out of the ordinary was going on, Amon continued to eat in silence.


"Guess what!" Laura said as she met up with Annie on the way to school the following morning. "I might be getting a baby sister in September!"

"Wow! Really?" her friend replied.

"Uh huh. Mama just found out she's pregnant," Laura told her.

"That's great!" said Annie.

"What if it turns out to be another brother?" asked Yvette.

"It better not be!" said Laura.

Her friends laughed.


It was a bitter cold morning, but the sun was shining as Paul drove into the Woolworth's parking lot. Elizabeth gave a squeal of delight, and her husband grinned at her.

"You've been so down lately, I thought a shopping trip might cheer you up," he explained.

Neither of them noticed the police van parked at the front of the store.

As soon as they were inside, Max and Laura headed for the phonograph records department, while Paul and Elizabeth, with Amon in tow, casually strolled the aisles, looking at various items in turn. Elizabeth came to the aisle with the patterns and material. She picked up a pattern for diaper suits.

"I suppose I could go ahead and make a few in white and yellow," she said.

Paul laughed. "I don't think the baby will care what color they are. He or she will spit up all over them anyway."

"True." Elizabeth joined in the laughter.

After a blissful morning of examining everything from kitchen ware to linens, her stomach began to rumble.

"Are you hungry?" she asked Paul.

"A bit," he told her. "Let's go find the kids and have lunch."

At the lunch counter, he saw that the sign saying 'Whites Only' was still in place, but the counter itself contained a sea of black faces. As the police carried them out to the waiting van, the Negroes went limp, so that it took two policemen to carry each one out.

Paul thought of his Jewish friend who'd suddenly stopped coming to school one day, and the memory made him feel very sad.

"On second thought, I'm more in the mood for McDonald's today." He took Elizabeth's elbow and led her in the opposite direction in hopes she wouldn't see what was going on.