Raising Amelia
Tonya Davis looked out of her wide bedroom window at the ocean-side view that her luxurious penthouse gave her. She had woken up late this sunny Saturday morning, and her long golden hair spilled over her lightly tanned shoulders in messy waves down to her waist. She was wrapped in her favorite pink, satin robe and had put on her faux fur slippers to match. "I can't believe I've gotten myself pregnant. What a rookie mistake," Tonya thought as she scanned the pacific horizon with her light blue eyes. Despite the fact that Tonya had taken part in many promiscuous activities as a single 25 year old woman, she had never gotten herself pregnant.
Ten minutes later she was on the phone, a small notepad in her hand and a pen in the other. "What kind of insurance would I need to have to get the full abortion cost covered," Tonya asked hesitantly. The consultant from Planned Parenthood gave Tonya a few more details and told her to book an appointment with one of the abortion doctors as soon as possible, “sooner is always better than later,” the assistant said.
By 2:00 that afternoon Tonya was in the office, conversing passionately with Dr. Welch. "The whole thing was such a mistake! He said he loved me," exclaimed Tonya. "I can't afford to raise a baby, I only live in a one bedroom trailer park," she said with a tear gathering in her eye. All the while Dr. Welch listened intently with sympathetic nods to Tonya's false story. "I am begging you, Dr. Welch, help me," Tonya pleaded. Little did Dr. Welch know, Tonya was a rich young model, who needed an abortion to save her thin physique. Back at her flat, Tonya called her best friend, Jenni. "Sounds like you really laid it on thick! All those years in school plays must have paid off, Mrs. Actress," said Jenni over the phone. The women laughed uproariously at the thought of tricking a doctor so easily. "The Doctor even told me, 'Please let me know if there is anything at all I can do to help you,'" laughed Tonya with a snort.
The following Wednesday Tonya was due for her abortion. After waiting the room impatiently, and meeting again with the doctors, Tonya was set to have her abortion.
Before she aborted the baby, the doctors did an ultrasound to see the position of the baby within the womb. They told Tonya that she did not have to look at the Ultrasound if she did not want to. She replied that she, "Didn't care what they showed her, it was happening either way."
Ten minutes later Tonya was staring at a screen with a black and white, grainy image of her womb. There, in the corner of the picture, she saw the tiniest foot, distorted by the machine but still easy to see. As the doctors prepared their tools and put on their surgical gloves, Tonya stared dumbfounded at the screen. "Stop! Stop everything," Tonya shouted. She was suddenly rethinking the abortion. Instead, she was imaging her with a baby in her arms, swaying back and forth to rock the baby to sleep. She imagined a baby girl that she could dress up in the frilliest of dresses, or a little boy she could take to the park and to the zoo. She had seen that tiny foot, and she could longer ignore that in her womb, a real, live baby was growing. "I don't want to go through with this," Tonya stated. She cancelled the abortion, and sped back to her penthouse in her corvette. Tonya didn't know whether to cry because of the sudden responsibility put on her life, or to laugh because she was so excited to watch this baby grow.
Later that evening Tonya hear a knock at the door and swung it open to see Jenni, a champagne bottle in her hand and a huge grin on her face. "So...How'd it go," Jenni asked excitedly. Tonya cleared her throat and quietly said "I didn't do it." At first, Jenni didn't believe she was serious and laughed "Oh, right, Mrs. Actress! Sure you didn't." Tonya only stared at her friend, wishing that she could explain why she suddenly wanted a baby in her life. It was all because of a foot, thought Tonya. Jenni saw Tonya was serious and the smile disappeared from her face.
Late into the night Tonya and Jenni discussed what had happened at her doctor's appointment, and how ready she had been to have an abortion before she saw that little foot on the ultrasound screen. Jenni couldn’t believe her ears. Suddenly her best friend, Tonya, who had never had much a conscience growing up all through high school into their twenties, had virtually thrown away her wonderful new modeling career – on a baby. After Tonya explained why she couldn’t fathom aborting it, or even putting it up for adoption, she was surer than ever that she had made the right decision. “I need you to support me in this, Jen,” said Tonya, “you’ve been my best friend through everything.”
The next morning, Tonya called her mother to tell her the big news. After her long talk with Jenni about her and her child’s future, and seeing Jenni be overwhelmingly supportive, Tonya felt ready to take on anything. Her mother picked up the phone quickly, with a chipper “Hey, T,” just as she always did. “Mom, I’m just going to get straight to the point, I’ve got some big news,” Tonya started. As she explained the unplanned pregnancy, Tonya’s mother, Carrie Davis, listened quietly on the other end of the line. “Dear, you know I’ll support you in either decision you make, but are you sure that you’re prepared to raise a child as a single mother,” Carrie Davis asked quietly. Tonya knew that as a single mother herself, her mother’s main concern would be her ability to raise the child well. “I am, mom, I really am ready for this. Some responsibility will be good for me, and I know that if there is one example of how to do a standup job as a single parent, it’s you mom,” Tonya said with determination in her voice.
Within a few weeks Tonya’s stomach was already protruding in a small, round, “baby bump.” She would have to notify her modeling agency that she’d need to be switched to a maternity job soon. Jenni was so excited that she was already planning two different baby showers, one if it a girl and another if it was a boy. From the frustration Tonya had felt when she first found out she was pregnant, changing to the stressful confusion immediately following her decision to keep the baby, had transformed into nothing but joy and love of the baby in her womb. She found herself admiring mothers that she saw handling every situation with grace and perfect control. Tonya also found herself researching everything about pregnancy and motherhood. “I’m sorry ma’am, but your request to transfer to the maternity branch has been denied,” said the receptionist of Look Like Me Modeling Agency, Tonya’s employer. “There must be a mistake. I’m one of the star models at this agency. Please let me speak to the manager, Brad,” Tonya replied, confused. Once the phone call was transferred to Bradley Gerring, the manager over all the modeling branches at the agency, Tonya explained what the receptionist had told her. “I’m sorry Tonya, you’ve been such a great model, and that makes this harder, but you’ve been terminated. We have no room in the maternity branch and we can’t have you in swimwear anymore. I hate to leave you unemployed with a kid on the way, but that’s just the business. You should have thought of that before you decided to get pregnant and keep it,” Brad stated flatly, not at all like his usual perky personality. Tonya thanked him quietly for the clarification and hung up. Pregnant and unemployed, that happened fast, Tonya thought with despair.
Determined to land on her feet, Tonya replied to all the Maternity modeling agencies in the area. All fifteen agencies in Southern California turned her down. It had been two weeks since she was fired, and Tonya needed income to keep her expensive rent up. From her days before modeling she had been a makeup artist in a few high end stores, and had always been able to manage even the frizziest head of hair into a beautiful style. Tonya sought out cosmetology jobs nearby in hair salons and makeup stores. Again, she was turned away from one interview after another. In the very last salon with a twenty mile radius from her penthouse, the manager asked her, “Why do you want this job?” Tonya paused for a moment, and took a deep breath. She told her the whole story, from finding out she was pregnant and planning to get an abortion, keeping the baby, getting fired from her modeling agency, to searching for jobs the past three weeks with no luck. Tears welled up in Tonya’s eyes, but she choked them down. “You’re obviously a woman of character and strength,” said the manager, “it’s really brave thing to keep an unplanned pregnancy no matter what, and I commend you for that.” She paused for a moment and looked at Tonya seriously, and said two words Tonya so desperately wanted to hear, “You’re hired.” Tonya grinned as the tears came back to her eyes and told her, “You won’t regret this, I promise.” As soon as she was in her car, Tonya called her mother and told what happened. They were both ecstatic.
The following Monday Tonya started her new job. By this time, she was almost four months pregnant, and her stomach was protruding more by the day. She already loved her future son or daughter so much. Next week she would go in for an ultrasound and find out the sex of the baby, and she could hardly contain her excitement. Jenni was also excited to plan the “most spectacular,” baby shower, as she herself put it.
Next Saturday Tonya sprung out of bed at 7:00 in the morning to eat a healthy breakfast before her doctor’s appointment. She put on her favorite pair of fashionably faded maternity jeans and a loose fitting blouse, and was ready to go. Jenni was meeting her at the Doctor’s office so that they could both see the ultrasound at the same time. The two young women walked into the room together and Tonya thought about how differently she felt toward the baby in her womb the first time she had an ultrasound four months ago. The cold clear gel was smeared on Tonya’s stomach by the polite nurse and the ultrasound was underway. The doctor looked at the screen while the nurse worked to locate the baby. The doctor pointed out the baby’s tiny foot, the same foot that had changed Tonya’s mind four months ago. He showed her how they could tell that the baby was a girl. Jenni and Tonya both let out an excited squeal when they heard the baby’s gender. “I’m going to be an aunt,” exclaimed Jenni with a giggle. The doctor furrowed his brow as he continued to look at the screen. Tonya knew something wasn’t right, and concern flashed across her face when she saw the doctor’s demeanor. “It appears that your baby has an enlarged head and some disproportionate growth, common signs of early autism in the womb, though it is not certain that she has ASD.” Jenni’s smile fell, Tonya looked shocked. ”I’m sorry to tell you so abruptly, ma’am, I only thought you should know in case you decide to change your mind about the baby,” said the doctor quietly. Tonya was so stunned she didn’t understand what the doctor was saying. It must have shown on her face because the doctor explained again, “If you are not capable of supporting a child with special needs, the baby can still be aborted, Mrs. Davis. It might be better this way.” Tonya’s face turned red as she realized what the doctor was encouraging her to do. “No, no I’m keeping this baby for certain. I love my little girl, and I’ve given up my career and my party girl lifestyle for her and nothing is going to take her away from me,” Tonya said with steely fierceness in her eyes. “Are you sure that you can support a baby with special needs? We don’t know how sever her case will be and you’re young, Mrs. Davis,” replied the doctor. “I will raise her well, and I will make sure she has every opportunity in life to succeed and to be healthy, and I will be the best single mom ever, because I love my daughter,” she said, this time with tears in her eyes.
Jenni and Tonya got back to the penthouse a half hour later. Neither of them had said a word since Tonya’s passionate declaration in the doctor’s office. Now Tonya broke the silence, “The modeling agency said I should have thought about my job before keeping an unplanned child. The doctor says I should abort her because she may have special needs,” she stated, “But just wait, I’ll prove them wrong.” Jenni looked at her for a long moment before shouting “That’s right you will! You’re going to be super mom if ever I saw one.” The girls ate dinner and talked about what names might fit Tonya’s little girl. The girls threw out name after name: Tiffany, Rebecca, Leah, and more.
