Chapter 39 The Dawn Of A New Day
Finally the nurse came in the room to announce the birth of the newest Taylor. The baby was a healthy boy some 6.5 pounds and was born exactly at 1:30am. This baby unlike the Taylors before him had been born in the same hospital with both White and Black babies with the same care regardless of the color of their skin. Grandmother Taylor had seen the change from Colored babies being delivered at home by midwives or in Colored hospitals to Black babies being born in integrated hospital where the doctors and nurses were both Black and White. Oh had things changed.
Grandmother Taylor closed her eyes and just said a little prayer of thank you while the others in the room were high fiving each other and hugging each other in celebration. Another Taylor had entered the world. While Riverside still had its problems, it was quite different then the Riverside that Grandmother Taylor remembered or even the one that Tom remembered as a young man growing up in the shadow of his grandfather and father. Grandmother Taylor smiled as she could only think of the future plans for her family and especially for the newest Taylor.
On the floor just above Grandmother Taylor was the hospital room for Emma. Missy sat close to Emma wondering, hoping and praying. As she was praying, she felt her hand being squeezed by Emma. In the next few minutes, Emma remembered everything from her childhood to the hospital room. Emma remembered the little school house and the first kiss by young Mims after Church one Sunday. She remembered the hurt she felt on the ride to Washington DC after her father told her she had to leave home. She remembered the birth of her daughter and she remembered fondly Phillip and while sad how truly happy she was with him. She remembered the first time that she laid eyes on Missy at the hospital and how helpless she felt with Missy the first time that she took her home. She then remembered leaving DC to go back to Riverside to live after the death of her mother and she remembered Missy being chosen to go to the all White school. All of these memories flashed through her mind as she held the hand of Missy. Emma remembered Missy’s graduation and valedictorian speech and her first and only ride in an airplane when she went to New York. She remembered the thanksgiving dinners with Missy and how proud she was of Missy. She looked at Missy and mouthed “I love you”
Then as quickly as the memories came they went away. Missy felt the hand go limp and the smile go close. Emma was gone. Missy just sat there and held her hand and whispered “I love you more”.