It was a sunny, summer day.
I was playing outside
behind my grandparents’ house
under a large maple tree
when I was called in
for lunch.
I ate watermelon –
red, cold, juicy watermelon.
From across the kitchen table,
my mother smiled at me as
she shifted in her seat.
She warned,
“Don’t swallow a
watermelon seed or
you’ll get pregnant and
have a baby.”
I went back outside
behind the house and
began pacing
back and forth,
back and forth.
I worried,
“What am I going to do?
What am I going to do?”
I was afraid I was going to
get in trouble – big trouble.
After a few minutes
it dawned on me,
“She could be lying,”
I thought with relief.
I decided I would not
tell anybody about
the watermelon seed.
Instead, I would
wait and see what happened.
Looking back,
I realize
this was
my first
pregnancy scare.