purple dragons

Around the time D was preparing to leave us, we moved another family in who was about to give birth. They'd been living in the mountains camping for the past year with their two year old daughter. They were worn and weathered and from a clinical perspective, a bit nuts.

The mom was pure granola. The dad didn't say much of anything, head facing the floor. Their daughter was incredibly beautiful. When we asked about the baby, the previous prenatal care (of which there had been none) and the birth plan, she told us I don't need no one but Jesus to have this baby. Jesus will deliver my baby just fine. And respectfully I replied That may be true, but Jesus isn't delivering a baby in my house, friend. Jesus needs to deliver that baby at the hospital. (note: I am fine with home births, of course. But not in a situation like this. I think Jesus would push for a midwife too. I'm just saying).

And then she pulled off her knit cap and Cheetos cascaded to the floor. Her hair was full of them, some fell out of her hat and others were still resting in her hair. She reached up and grabbed one and popped it in her mouth and handed another to her child. And I could tell in that instant we were in for trouble.

I need to make sure we are clear. A home birth is not an option if you want to stay here.
Ok, she said. Right.

This family was trouble from the beginning. Things disappeared around the facility, she got into arguments with other residents. She continued to near her due date, still refused to see a doctor. We tried to get social services involved, but the county wouldn't come out based on the lack of prenatal care. The legality of abortion means a longer rope for pregnant moms. Even women using drugs during pregnancy could get away with it as long as the child isn't born with it in their system. So we tried, but again, we were on our own with this. We all were holding our breath.

I came to work one morning to find five or six police cars on site. One of them said they were searching for the husband, he was last seen running naked down the middle of the street. They said they had a warrant out for his arrest. They didn't know where the mom or daughter was and they wanted into the apartment. They had their guns in their hands. Cops don't tell you everything so the guns told me enough.

I opened up the door and saw that the apartment was trashed. There was a decent amount of blood on the floor and when the cops saw that they pushed me aside and searched the unit only to find it empty. The cops then told me I needed to talk to the fire chief, they were here last night and he could tell us what happened.

I called the fire chief and he said we've seen a lot of shit, young lady, not the least of which comes out of your place, but last night took the cake. What the hell is going on over there? We got a series of 911 calls from that unit, but when we'd call back no one would answer. We knocked and knocked for almost half an hour until finally the door opened up. We were this close to breaking it down.

But then we saw the little girl. That little girl answered the door in a barney costume. Why the hell was she wearing a barney costume at 3am? We yelled inside the unit for her parents, and her mom came to the door, naked and covered in blood, a newborn baby in one hand and the placenta still inside her, umbilical cord still attached. She had that damn baby in the bathtub. We delivered the placenta right there on the floor. And seriously, what the hell was the little girl doing in a barney costume in the middle of the night?

There is a bit of unspoken camaraderie when we all deal with something so off kilter, so he didn't expect me to have an answer as much as needing to get it off his chest. Obviously the costume was the least of it, but what it represented was the worst. But at least part of the mystery was solved. Mom and daughter and baby were at the hospital.

The cops came back and wanted back inside the apartment. They'd apprehended the father at a park down the street and he was sitting in the back of their car. He was being arrested and they wanted to take some things for evidence. We only learned later what he was charged with, and I am deliberately not repeating it here because it is too disgusting to recount.

Mom lost custody of both kids in the hospital. The baby was going to be ok. We refused to take the mom back, she'd already caused so many problems in the short while she was here. We extend ourselves a lot, too much, for many. This time we drew the line.

But I'd be lying if I said the little girl didn't haunt me. I wonder what sort of madness she's witnessed and how she came to find a small measure of protection in an old barney costume.