November Blues

November lays flat on her back, and although she cannot sense any movement, she knows that they are speeding through the air and towards the hospital. November asks the attendant, a woman named Joy, to call Dr. Holland, so that Holland can come to the hospital. November is afraid that her baby won’t be healthy because she is premature, but Joy assures her that she has seen miracles on this job. As they land, Joy promises November that she will be in good hands at the hospital and that Mrs. Nelson is waiting for November downstairs. 

November is suffering from painful contractions, and she is rushed into the examination room. She is in so much pain that she hardly notices what is happening around her and feels like she is about to die. The nurse, Ling Yee, rolls November down the hall and into the delivery room. November, terrified and in pain, wonders where her mom is. She feels like her body is separate from her, “as if all this activity [is] happening to someone else” (273). November hears the nurse say that the mother’s heart rate is rapid and thready, and the nurse explains to November that it means that the baby is ready to be born. The nurse also tells the doctor that both the baby’s and the mother’s blood pressure is dangerously high. Nurse Yee cries that she can’t find the baby’s heartbeat; November prays that her baby doesn’t die. 

Finally, one of the doctors tells November to push when she feels the next contraction. November nods but all she can think about is how much she is not ready to have the baby now. November keeps pushing, but she knows “she had lost control of everything—her life, her body, even her thoughts” (274). Suddenly, the baby is out, but she hears someone say that the baby is not breathing. November wonders why her baby isn’t crying; she knows that babies are supposed to cry when they are born. She looks from one doctor to another, her eyes pleading with them to tell her what’s wrong. Her mom is not there, and although November tries to speak, she realizes that she has nothing left, “not even the strength for a word or a prayer” (274).

When Jericho, Kofi, and Dana arrive at the hospital at 3 a.m., they are surprised to see Jericho’s entire family sitting in the waiting room. At the sight of them, his dad stands up and gives Jericho a big hug, saying how proud he is of him, and of all three of them. Jericho rushes to get to November, but his father tells him that she’s already had the baby, and they wouldn’t let anyone in the delivery room anyway. Geneva tells Jericho that her friend, Ling Yee, who is a nurse there, told her that November’s baby seems “to be having some difficulties” (277). Jericho’s father adds that the baby is in critical condition, but November is stable. 

Jericho insists that he has to find November; Kofi tries to convince him that nobody will let him see her yet. Dana distracts Jericho by telling him to look at how many students have come to support November. Jericho glances around the lobby and for the first time notices all the students who came here, Olivia and Luis among them. 

Olivia explains to Jericho that one bus dropped students off at school, while the band bus came directly to the hospital. Mr. Tambori contacted the parents and told them what happened. Jericho promises Olivia to get back to her and leaves to look for November. He notices a few teachers: Coach Barnes, Mr. Tambori and Ms. Hathaway. Both the coach and the music teacher ask Jericho to let November’s family know that their prayers are with them. Ms. Hathaway tells Jericho that since November is such an excellent student, she felt like she should be there to offer her support. She then asks Jericho to tell November that she stopped by. When Mr. Tambori and Coach Barnes are about to leave, the coach asks Jericho if he is going to come to the next football practice. Jericho, seeing that both men look at him expectedly, promises the coach that he will be there, and announces to Mr. Tambori that he is “dusting off [his] trumpet” (281). He then promises his music teacher that he will come back to music class once football season is over. 

As Dana and Olivia get coffee together from the machine in the lobby, they discuss how surprising it is to see Ms. Hathaway at the hospital. Olivia concludes that “[l]ots of people are deeper than you think” (282), but Kofi does not want to talk to the teacher because he owes her an assignment. Jericho’s father returns from the information desk with November’s room number and all of them go up to visit her. When they get to November’s room, they find her lying under a pile of blankets, while her mother, sitting in the chair next to her bed, rubs her back.

November complains to her friends that she is “not much of a mama” (283) because she “couldn’t even figure how to have a baby correctly” (283). Olivia assures her that the baby is going to be fine and tries to distract November with the news about her being in the morning paper. Mrs. Nelson says that she has seen the baby and she is tiny—she weighs only three pounds—and beautiful. Hearing this, Jericho begins to feel overwhelmed, but he remembers his promise to November and Josh’s memory and stays to support November. He wants to ask her about the delivery, but can’t find the words, thinking that “[t]his is way out of [his] zone” (284). 

November sees that Jericho is uncomfortable and tells him that it’s okay if he leaves to get some fresh air. Once Jericho is in the hall, he sees Brock and Marlene Prescott with their lawyer. Jericho realizes that November shouldn’t have to deal with the Prescotts today, so instead of going to see her, he suggests that they see the baby. The nurse directs them to the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit. They go to the glass door, and the nurse points to the Nelson baby. Marlene gasps that the baby is so tiny, to which her husband responds that the baby is very sick.

Mr. Prescott asks the doctors to tell them about the baby’s condition, and Dr. Mitchell explains that since the baby is premature, she might have complications. He adds that a premature baby is an underdeveloped baby, and so far November’s baby can't breathe and digest food on her own, because her intestines and lungs have not finished growing. The doctor explains that right after the baby was born, her brain had been deprived of oxygen for a short time, and as a result “the child may have suffered some significant brain damage” (290). Hearing these words, Jericho runs down the hall and disappears.

Jericho runs into the lobby and pushes into the closest bathroom, where he allows himself to weep, and where “months of anger, sorrow, and tension finally exploded in deep, body-wracking sobs” (291). Afterward, he leaves the bathroom feeling like he can handle whatever comes next.

Todd, who saw Jericho run into the bathroom, stands at the door and waits for him. When Jericho emerges, Todd asks him if Jericho can teach him how to play the trumpet, and confesses that he misses hearing his stepbrother play. Jericho promises that they will have trumpet classes as soon as the football season is over, and the two brothers put an invisible trumpet to their lips. 

Jericho’s smile fades as he sees Arielle heading to the lobby and running right over to him. She doesn’t ask anything about November but admits that if Arielle herself had “one of those messed-up kids” (292) she would “just put it in a home and get on with [her] life” (292). Jericho says that it’s good she is not November, and Arielle tells him that she doesn’t understand why he is so cold. He chastises her for getting to the hospital so late, and she explains that she had to go home to do her hair and change clothes. She twirls around so he can see her outfit and hugs him. Before he can push her away, Olivia comes into the lobby, pain and disappointment on her face.

Arielle immediately starts to be rude to Olivia, but Jericho interrupts her, saying that she has no right to act this way and that he knows about her flirting with Brandon Marriweather. Then he announces to Arielle that he is with somebody, grabs Olivia’s hand and pulls her next to him, and says that “Olivia is more woman than [Arielle] will ever be” (294). Angry and embarrassed, Arielle runs out to the parking lot.

November is still in the hospital and feels a little better, although she is still in pain. The nurse arrives and asks November if she wants to see the baby, and November happily agrees. As the nurse rolls November to the baby’s incubator, November realizes that even though wires and tubes surround her child, “she had never seen anything more beautiful” (298). November puts on a pair of gloves and touches the baby, and the child jerks in response. The nurse assures her that this is the sign that the baby recognizes her mother. Dr. Mitchell comes up to November to talk to her. He says that the baby has toxemia, “a dangerous condition that occurs in about five percent of all pregnancies [...] that can deprive the baby of essential oxygen and nutrients” (299). Dr. Mitchell assures November that this is not the result of her diet or lifestyle, and that “sometimes, even though we try our best, problems arise in pregnancy” (299). He explains that because the baby suffered a lack of oxygen, she might have developmental delays in the future, or she might have some learning disabilities, although he admits that he can be wrong, and the baby might be perfectly healthy. When the doctor leaves, November looks at Sunshine and thinks of Josh, who “seemed so very far away” (301).

When November goes out into the lobby, she is shocked to see the Prescotts and their lawyer. They explain that they originally came to bring November the papers she needs to sign, but having learned about the baby’s condition, they think the decision should be put on hold “until developments become more clear” (302). The lawyer adds that “the Prescotts need time to consider how a disabled child would affect their lives” (303). November asks the lawyer to give her the papers and, without looking at them, rips the pile into pieces. She then tells them that she will never sign anything that gives custody of her daughter to people “who only want her if [the baby is] perfect” (304). As Mr. Prescott and the lawyer walk away, Josh’s mother turns to November and asks her to take good care of the baby.

November is browsing through a book on infant care, sitting in her favorite chair in her mother’s living room. Sunshine is asleep, and Mrs. Nelson is at work, so the house is peaceful. November thinks that today was her original due date. But Sunshine is already two months old, “still delicate and fragile, but alive” (305). 

November switches on the radio and finds the blues station, surrounding herself with “melodies of sorrow and joy” (305). She realizes that her mother was right about the high cost of baby products, and November knows she needs to get a job once the baby gets a little stronger.

November took Sunshine home from the hospital just two weeks ago, and these two weeks have been hard on November: Sunshine cries every night and sleeps only for about an hour at a time and then wakes up again, crying. November also has to bring Sunshine to the doctor once a week. During yesterday’s visit, Sunshine not only cried, but she also screamed the whole time they were there. The doctor assured November that this was typical for newborns and that Sunshine is doing well: she has gained some weight, and her heartbeat and respiration are normal. 

The phone rings and November picks it up right away so that it doesn’t wake the sleeping baby. It’s Dana, with the latest news from school: Arielle embarrassed herself by walking out of the bathroom and not noticing that a long piece of toilet paper was dragging behind her like a white tail. Hearing this makes November miss school, especially as she realizes that she hasn’t been back to school since Sunshine was born.

November has to end the call because Jericho and Olivia show up at her door. Olivia has brought Sunshine a new outfit and Jericho has brought Geneva’s famous homemade chili. Jericho admits that a few college scouts have been coming to the football games to see him play and that a recruiter from Juilliard has also talked to him. Olivia brushes off the compliment when November thanks her again for collecting baby gifts from students at the school. When Olivia sits on the couch next to Jericho, not touching, but close, she looks “ridiculously happy” (314).

November notices that Jericho has brought his trumpet and he asks whether it’s okay if he plays. November encourages him to play since music is one of the few things that stops Sunshine from crying. Just then, the baby wakes up, and November brings her daughter into the living room. When Olivia asks about updates from doctors, November explains that they won’t know if Sunshine will have any problems for a while, so right now they have to hope. 

Jericho gets up off the sofa, puts the trumpet to his lips, and announces that this song is for Sunshine. He begins to play “his own kind of blues” (315), a soulful version of the song “You Are My Sunshine.”