Operation Interrupted by M L Rosado

Author:M L Rosado [Rosado, ML]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Romantic Suspense
Publisher: The Hartwood Publishing Group
Published: 2017-02-14T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter Twenty

I woke up with pain in my chest. Who was this woman? Why was she calling me? How does she know me? I was terrified of what she might have to say. If only Mom were here. She would have the answers to everything.

I remembered when I was little how she, like magic, would make every pain disappear and always knew the perfect thing to say. She was the anchor in my life. When you lose a parent before their time, you feel hollow inside. The world moves on, but at some point, every day, the parent comes to mind. Each time something good or bad happens, you think about how they would make it better.

I remembered the moment when we lost her. I woke up on a Sunday morning with a pain in my chest. I was sitting on my bed, and all of a sudden I had this urgency, this…desperation.

My sister Cristina was sleeping soundly in her room, and it was Dad’s turn to be at the hospital, his bed was neatly made. I couldn’t go back to bed. I walked around the house with a horrible feeling in my heart. It was 7:45 a.m., I didn’t dare call Dad at the hospital, worried he might be sleeping. Sleep was rare during those days. We took turns taking care of Mom, following up with the medication which would ease her pain, dealing with nasty nurses who were used to seeing people die, and listening to her endless conversations with her past. The previous night it was my turn, and she made her throat sore from talking nonsense. I went up to her to try to moisten her lips when a moment of clarity came.

She looked straight at me and asked me, “Can I leave? Can I leave with them?” She had not recognized me for weeks, and I caressed her face and told her, “Yes, mami, go with them. You’re going to be just fine. I love you.” I couldn’t cry anymore. I had no more tears left.

Then her hollow eyes came back, and she talked about lesson plans, schools, and laundry. She had been a teacher and a school principal for many years. I stood by her bedside all night, wondering, feeling relief, and feeling guilty for it.

But that morning I was simply scared. I went to the kitchen to make myself a cup of tea, when my dad came in the door, dragging his feet and wearing the face of defeat.

“What are you doing here? Who is at the hospital with Mami?” I whispered, fearing the worst.

“She’s not there anymore.” That was all he could blurt out. He kept looking at his hands. Finally, he said, “She died in my arms.” And he cried.

I hugged him and Cristina heard his sobs and came out, knowing what had happened. We all hugged each other in our kitchen, where Mami loved to be. In the kitchen making our favorite dishes, talking about her students, or telling us to do the dishes.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.