"I’m having a baby," Claudette Shackley said matter- of- factly to her cousin Linda.

Linda slowly looked her over. From her straining to-tight jeans to the hard glitter of speed-fire in her eyes, she looked like the perfect picture of Suzy Homemaker. My God thought Linda, what shape will her baby be in? Claudette had seemed to live on nothing but Alcohol, methamphetmine, and cocaine for longer than Linda cared to remember.

"When are you due?" Linda asked.

" I’m having it noowww!" Claudette shrieked as she doubled over in pain, clutching at her constrained tummy.

Linda watched in shock as a dark, wet, stain spread down the legs of Claudette’s Jeans.

"Daryll! Daryll! Get your ass over here, Daryll!" She screamed, scanning the crowd for her husband.

Daryll was lounging against a rusty old pickup truck, in a group of people gathered around Jimmy Ray Johnson, who was playing a guitar and singing "AFTER MIDNIGHT". He slowly detached himself and lazily approached Linda and Claudette, who was now stretched out on the ground.

"What did she take… This Time?" he asked, seeing Claudette’s distress for the first time.

"Nothing!…I don’t know…She’s having a baby." Said Linda.

"Holy Shit, what are we going to do?"

" get her to the hospital, Stupid!"