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wouldn’t let me ride with her if I wasn’t kin. I hopped into the back and held Carol’s hand as we sped toward the hospital.
    Daughter for a day.
    Fine with me. More than fine. I was proud.
    On the way, the technicians hooked Carol up to a couple of IVs. One of them took her pulse.
    “Am I going to lose my baby?” Carol asked.
    “This kind of thing isn’t abnormal,” the technician said. “Pregnancy is complicated.”
    “That wasn’t the question,” I reminded him.
    The technician nodded and smiled. “The baby’s probably going to be just fine.”
    Probably.
    I never thought that word could be so scary.
    What does it mean? 95 percent? 51 percent?
    I want to ask the doctor, but I can’t. I’m in the Palo City Hospital emergency room waiting area right now, which his about the most depressing place in the world, besides home. Carol’s in room 209, being examined.
    I have no idea what’s happening in there.
    The TV is blaring a soccer game in Spanish. To my right, a little kid is sneezing and coughing a crying. Across the room, a young guy is all bandaged up. To my left, an old man is slumped in a chair, asleep.
    At least, I hope he’s asleep.
    I am totally, totally freaked out.
    11:12 P.M.
    Home now.
    Well, at Dawn’s.
    I can’t believe how late it is.
    This day feels like it lasted a month.
    Luckily I wasn’t alone too long in the waiting room. Mr. Schafer came barging in as I was writing.
    He was pale and anxious. He looked like he’d aged about 10 years.
    I told him where Carol was, and he ran right in to see her.
    The receptionist wasn’t too happy about that, but he ignored her. So did I. I followed him.
    The door to room 209 was open, and a doctor was chatting with Carol. His name tag said Dr. C.
    Rymond.
    Carol was still hooked to IVs, but she looked a lot better.
    Mr. Schafer threw his arms around her. They both started crying.
    “We’re f-f-f-fine!” Carol blurted out.
    “Mama and baby both pulled through with flying colors,” Dr. Rymond agreed. “That’s the good news.”
    Mr. Schafer turned warily. “Is there bad news?”
    Dr. Rymond smiled. “If you consider total rest and relaxation bad news. I’m prescribing confinement to bed until the baby is born. No getting up at all.”
    “But that’s two months!” Mr. Schafer replied.
    Dr. Rymond explained that she’d better do what he said if she wanted to keep the baby. Well, he didn’t use those exact words, but that was the meaning.
    Mr. Schafer clasped Carol’s hand and asked how she felt about this.
    She smiled. She said she would finally have time to read all her magazines. “Besides,” she went on, “I love meals in bed and long foot rubs.”
    She winked at me. I winked back.
    God, I hope I’m like her when I grow up.
    A few moments later Dr. Rymond said he had to do a few more tests and he needed to be alone with Carol.
    I told them I’d wait outside. Mr. Schafer told Carol he’d be right back, and he walked out with me.
    “Thanks,” he said. “I don’t know what would have happened if you weren’t there. You saved her, Sunny. You saved both of their lives.”
    “Both?” I said.
    “Carol’s,” he replied. “And the baby’s.”
    Saved their lives.
    I hadn’t thought of it that way.
    I had been so busy doing, I hadn’t really been thinking.
    But imagine if I hadn’t been there at all. Would someone have seen Carol and called 911 in time? Maybe not. Then what? She would have fallen unconscious. Become dehydrated. Or worse.
    But she didn’t.
    Because of me.
    Me, Sunny the useless, ungrateful daughter.
    I felt about ten feet tall.
    “I’ll wait here,” Mr. Schafer said. “And I’ll drive you home. If you want to go visit your mom, feel free. I won’t leave without you. In fact, I’d like to say hi too. I’ll meet you in her room, okay?”
    Actually, I hadn’t thought of visiting Mom
    Not that I didn’t want to. But at that moment, I was sort of connected to Carol. I didn’t feel like leaving her