“Mom is dying, honey. She had a heart attack, and Marla’s asking me to be there as soon as possible. I am so nervous. I – I don’t know what to do….”

“Honey,” Debra said. “Call a taxi. I’ll go by myself…”

“What?” I was taken aback. “No, we can’t do that!”. She was drenched in sweat and moaning in pain. “Look at you. It’s just not….”

“We don’t have time, honey…Ahh…call the taxi now, Gordon. Your mom needs you. You are a son first, then a husband. I will manage. Your mom…she…” Her pain was becoming worse.

“I’m calling the taxi. Oh, God!”

Thankfully, I got a taxi soon, and I instructed the driver to take Debra to the hospital safely. My hands shook as I drove to my mother’s hospital, and my tears wouldn’t stop. My heart was racing, wondering about Debra’s condition and if our baby would be alright.

As I arrived at the hospital, I saw Marla sitting outside her ward. “Marla? Where’s mom? What happened?” I asked her.

“The physicians are with her, but they are not optimistic…” was all she said.

I sat outside the ward, praying mom would be okay.

“I know you’ll get better soon, Mom. You’ll be a grandmother soon,” I kept telling myself. But not long after, the doctors emerged from the emergency room with bad news.

“We sincerely apologize. We couldn’t save her.”

My mom passed away that morning due to cardiac arrest. I couldn’t stop crying, and Marla tried to console me, but it was pointless. I couldn’t keep my tears from falling.

Suddenly, my phone’s ring distracted me. “Yes?” I said, and I could hear a sweet crying sound in the background.

“Honey,” said Debra on the other end of the call. “We had a daughter. She’s stunning. You’re a father now…”

At that moment, I wasn’t sure whether I should be happy or sad. ” That’s great news honey,” I managed to say. Then I told her with a heavy heart, “Mom’s gone.”

“She’s not, Gordon. She’s with us,” Debra replied softly, and I had no idea what she meant until my phone pinged with a message.

Debra sent me a picture of our baby girl, and I cried even harder. Our little baby girl looked so much like her grandmother.

“Doesn’t she look like your mom?” Debra asked.

With my eyes filled with tears, I said, “She does.”