I Lost Our Child Chapter 09
In the middle of the night, a phone call woke me.
It was my mother.
Her voice was hoarse.
“Grandma might not make it, Alessa. Buy a ticket and come home.”
“Don’t drive. Be careful.”
But to see my grandmother one last time, I drove through the night.
I drove slowly the whole way.
By the time I got home, dawn was breaking.
I stayed by my grandmother’s bedside.
She held my hand and kept murmuring, “Don’t cry.”
Then she looked past me.
“Where’s Thatcher?”
I stiffened for a moment, then made an excuse.
“He’s on a business trip in Europe. He couldn’t get back in time.”
I didn’t want my grandmother to worry about me in her final moments.
By noon, the whole family had arrived. My grandmother passed away.
She was old, and she went peacefully.
But losing family always hurts.
After the funeral, my mother pulled me aside.
“Did you and Thatcher have a fight?”
I hesitated, then shook my head.
She looked at me.
“You’re my daughter, Alessa. Don’t lie to me.”
Only then did I nod, my eyes welling up.
“Yeah.”
“Mom, I want a divorce.”
She didn’t argue.
She just nodded and patted my back.
“I support you.”
“You get married to live a better life. Divorce is for the same reason.”
I couldn’t help but cry then.
She patted my back, just like she did when I was little.
Before I left, she reminded me again, “Drive slowly.”
“I packed some food for you. It’s in the trunk. Put it in the fridge when you get back and eat it soon.”
I nodded hard.
Between the funeral arrangements these past few days, I had barely looked at my phone.
It wasn’t until I stopped at a rest area that I saw a long string of missed calls and messages from Thatcher.
He had sent another one just a minute ago.
[Are you on a work trip?]
[I asked your coworker. You took leave. What happened?]
[Where are you? I’ll come find you.]
[Have you eaten?]
[Alessa, reply to me. Please?]
After reading them all, I sent back a single sentence.
[I’m on my way back to New York.]