My friends and I have all had to endure major life changes recently. Change can be looked at from all sorts of perspectives be it spiritual, analytical, logical, or philosophical. One thing I do know for sure about change is that it is ever present and can never be controlled. As you read this month's issue and tackle changes, be they small or big, think about how you handle change. Do you do it alone? Do you accept it or fight it? How often does it move in and out of your life?

I'd love to hear from readers and receive your replies on the topic of changes, but as with everything, I'm changing. Thank you for reading Wine Lover's. It has been a pleasure to be a part of your lives, even in some small way.

Cheers, Jamie Evans

CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO.

Danielle Danielle took Shannon's hand and pulled her up from the couch where her daughter sat watching the Food Network. "Come on, honey. We've got somewhere to go."

"Where?"

"It's a surprise."

"Mom, I'm tired and my back aches and I don't want to go anywhere."

"And you're cranky, but I forgive you because you're eight months' pregnant. But we have a baby on the way, and I realized this morning when I got up that we haven't had a baby shower."

"I don't want a baby shower."

"Yes, you do. I'm giving you one, but there are things he'll need," she said as she rubbed Shannon's belly, "that you probably won't get at a baby shower. Like a crib."

Shannon eyes widened and then tears formed in them. She waved her hand in front of her face. "Sorry, I'm a little emotional these days." She smiled.

"Of course you are a little emotional. That's normal."

"Really, Mom? We're going to get him a crib?"

"Yes, and I think we should have some lunch to nourish you and the little guy, and we should talk about his name because calling him him isn't working for me."

Shannon hugged her mom. "Thank you, Grandma. I didn't know what I was going to do, because I don't exactly have loads of cash, but I do plan to get a job after the baby is here and figure things out with school."

"You don't need to worry about any of that right now. But don't call me Grandma."

"Nana?"

"No."

"Nanny? Grammy?"

"Don't think so."

"Well, he can't call you Danielle."

"Let's think about it. Get your shoes."

Three hours and three thousand dollars later, the baby had a crib, a car seat, a changing table, a comforter, matching curtains, a stroller, a swing, a high chair, a bassinet, blankets, washcloths, a robe, towels, and several sets of outfits.

"I thought you said that I was getting a crib and that I could get all of the other things from a baby shower?" Shannon took a bite from her steak salad.

"I guess I did go a little crazy, but it's not every day you become a grand...I mean a..."

"Mom."

"No, not a mom. I've done that. You know what I mean."

"No, Mom, Mom, my water just broke."

Danielle set down her fork and froze for a second. Then her thoughts caught up with her voice. "Oh, my God. Oh. Oh, okay. Let's go. Let's go!"

The waitress came by as Danielle helped Shannon out of her seat. "Is everything okay?" she asked.

Danielle pulled a hundred dollar bill from her wallet and handed it to the waitress. "Gotta go."

"But don't you want the check? I'm sure I owe you change. Was the food bad? Is there a problem?"

"There will be if you don't move!" Danielle yelled. "My daughter is having a baby."

The waitress moved quickly out of the way.

Danielle drove like a bat out of hell to the hospital. Shannon called her doctor and was told he would meet her there. "I'm scared," Shannon said.

"It won't hurt. That's why they have drugs."

"No, Mom. I'm scared I don't know what the hell I'm doing and that I won't be a good mother."

"You're going to be a great mother. The best mother. I can already tell how much you love this baby. Look how hard you've fought for him. Look at what you've given up just to get him here? And let me tell you something about being a mother, there are two things you will do over and over again as his parent-you will love him no matter what, through the good and the bad, and you will sacrifice time and again to do what you think is right for him. And, Shannon, you've done that already. You will be fantastic at this. I know it."

"Oh God."

"Honey. Stop worrying."

"No. The pain. Oh God. It feels like someone just reached inside me and took my ovaries in a vise. Oh God." She shut her eyes tightly.

"Okay, okay, we're almost to the hospital. Breathe." Danielle tried to remember something useful from her Lamaze class from when Cassie was born, but all she could remember was telling Al to go to hell every time he barked at her to "Breathe!"

"We're here, babe."

Danielle pulled up in front of the hospital and helped Shannon get out. She handed the keys to a security guard, and gave him ten bucks.

"What's this for?"

"To park the car."

"I can't park your car. I'm security."

"Then leave it there."

"You can't leave it here."

She handed him another ten. "Park the damn car! My daughter is having a baby."

"Mom, you are acting crazy."

She smiled at the security guard. "Please park the car?"

He shook his head. "Sure. I'll leave the keys at the front desk."

"Thank you."

The nurse in triage took down some notes and then said to Shannon, "You're sure your water broke?"

Danielle turned Shannon around so the nurse could see her backside. "I don't know, unless the poor girl peed in her pants, what do you think?"

The nurse looked from Shannon's rear to Danielle like she was fairly insane, then picked up the phone. "I need a bed."

Ten hours later, mother and daughter had walked the miracle mile around the hospital a thousand times because Shannon's contractions had come to a halt and the doctor hoped the activity would get things moving. It was now past ten at night. Danielle's friends had all called, Shannon's father had called, and Mark stopped in several times already.

Danielle was now back in bed, tired and more than a little cranky. Cassie popped her head in. "Hey, sis, how's it going?"

Shannon rolled her eyes and groaned.

Cassie shrugged. "What's on TV?" She started to grab the remote off of the stand next to Shannon's bed.

"Don't you even think about it," Shannon growled. "That's my fucking remote control."

"Sure," Cassie replied sheepishly and handed it to her sister. She whispered in her mom's ear. "She turn into the Antichrist, or what?"

"Cassie," Danielle warned.

Mark came in and motioned for Danielle to come out into the hall with him. "What is it?" she asked.

"I've been conferring with Shannon's doctor and since she's not dilating, we have to start talking about a c-section. Because her water broke already, we only have a limited amount of time to get the baby out. Do you want one of us to explain this to her or do you want to do it?"

"Maybe the both of us should talk to her. I know she feels comfortable with you. She likes her doctor fine, but I think she really trusts you."

"Let's go talk with her." He put an arm around her.

Danielle nodded.

Shannon wasn't thrilled with the option but understood why they needed to start considering and preparing for a c-section delivery. Mark told her they could give it a couple of more hours. They could try giving her Pitocin to bring on stronger contractions. Shannon agreed to give that a try. Two hours later, when Shannon was in more pain than Danielle could bear, the doctors stopped the Pitocin. There had been no change.

They made the decision right after midnight to go ahead with the c-section. Danielle called Al to let him know. She was pleased that Cassie had stayed. "It's been a long night already, kid, you want to go home and get some sleep?" Danielle asked her.

"No way. I'm here for the long haul, Mom."

"We've got a few minutes. Let's go grab a soda or coffee or something, then."

Cassie nodded, and Danielle took Shannon's hand. "Hey, baby, we're going down to get a bite and a soda out of the vending machine. You okay?"

Shannon nodded, but didn't look okay. Her eyes reflected the same fear she'd shown when she'd gotten lost in the grocery store when she was five. "Hurry up though," she said.

"We will, sweetie."

They walked down to the vending machine where they bought Cokes and a couple of bags of chips. "It ain't exactly nutritious, but it'll do."

"I lied," Cassie blurted out.

"What do you mean, you lied?" Danielle asked.

"About sex." She opened the soda and took a sip. "I told you that I had sex with a lot of guys just because I knew it would drive you crazy."

"Oh, Cass."

"I'm sorry. I thought you were snooping in my room and so I got mad and I told you that. I haven't had sex with a bunch of guys. Only one guy. Jordan."

"Oh." Jordan had been Cassie's first real boyfriend two years earlier. They'd dated half of her sophomore year, but he broke her heart when he decided to go to the prom with one of the cheerleaders. Then he'd gone off to college in the fall and Danielle was pretty sure that Cassie hadn't heard from him again.

"I don't even take the pill anymore. If you looked at the dates on them, you'd have seen that." She teared up. "I thought he broke up with me because I was bad at it. It's not like we did it very many times."

Danielle pulled her into her arms and hugged her tight. "Guys are jerks."

Cassie grunted a little laugh. "Mark seems nice."

"He is nice. He's really nice."

Cassie pulled away and wiped her face. "You're blushing, Mom. You really like him."

"I do."

"Cool."

They started walking back. The fluorescent lighting in the corridor bounced off the stark floors. "Cass, you didn't do anything wrong with Jordan. He's just a dumb guy. The best advice I can give you about guys and sex is that it's really complicated, and no matter how much you think you like or even love a guy, when you throw sex into the mix, it gets even more complicated. On top of that, it's usually the girl who winds up the most hurt by it. Women don't just have sex to feel good physically, and I'm not saying that all guys do, but at your age, that's more the norm than not. But for girls, we tie in a lot of emotion, and we think that having sex with a guy means love. To a lot of women, especially young women, it means a man will love you back, if you sleep with him. That's why it's good to wait. It's good to wait until you're old enough and mature enough to understand the consequences on every level."

Cassie nodded. "I know."

"Good. I hope so. You're too damn young, Cass. It's too much for someone your age. It really is."

She nodded. "Mom, I'm miserable at Dad's. Can I please come home?"

Danielle stopped and looked at her. "Do you think you can respect me and my rules? Because, honey, I can't have you home if you plan to continue talking to me the way you do and walking all over me. I love you, but I can't have it."

"I understand. Can you give me another chance? I promise not to blow it."