Chapter 25 - The Call From Chicago
We were halfway through breakfast when Rebecca called.
Sophie answered first.
“Mom!”
Her smile disappeared within seconds.
“What?”
Ethan stood.
I watched Sophie listen.
Then she handed him the phone.
“It’s Grandma.”
Rebecca’s mother had suffered a stroke.
Not massive.
Not minor.
Serious enough for an ambulance.
Serious enough that Rebecca was alone in a Chicago emergency department trying to make decisions.
Ethan’s face changed.
“How is she?”
Rebecca spoke rapidly.
He listened.
Then said, “We’re coming home.”
Sophie’s eyes widened.
“No.”
Everyone looked at her.
She immediately looked guilty.
“I mean—Grandma needs us. But…”
Her Tokyo trip.
The trip she had spent a year fearing.
The trip she had finally begun reclaiming.
Ethan understood.
He crouched.
“You’re allowed to be disappointed.”
“I’m not.”
“You are.”
Tears filled her eyes.
“I’m horrible.”
“No.”
He took her hands.
“You can love Grandma and still wish this didn’t happen.”
I watched him say the exact kind of thing he had once been unable to understand.
Two truths.
Same room.
No need to destroy one for the other.
Flights were checked.
Our family was scheduled to return in two days.
Ethan and Sophie could leave that afternoon.
Walter and June planned to continue.
Then Rebecca called again.
Her mother was stable.
Doctors expected the next twenty-four hours to clarify the damage.
Rebecca said, “Don’t come yet.”
Ethan frowned.
“You sure?”
“I’m sure.”
“I can bring Sophie.”
“I know.”
Silence.
Then Rebecca said something I never expected.
“Let her finish the trip.”
Sophie covered her mouth.
Rebecca continued.
“I’ll call if anything changes.”
Ethan looked at Sophie.
“What do you want?”
She cried.
Quietly.
“I want to stay one more day.”
“Then we stay.”
That afternoon, Sophie spent less time sightseeing.
She checked her phone often.
Rebecca sent updates.
Grandma squeezed my hand.
Grandma said my name.
Grandma is sleeping.
At dinner, Sophie barely ate.
Walter pushed his dessert toward her.
“Emergency cake.”
She smiled faintly.
“Is that medical?”
“Extremely.”
I said, “No.”
Walter ignored me.
The next morning, Rebecca’s mother improved enough to speak several sentences.
The first thing she asked was whether Sophie had seen Mount Fuji.
Rebecca called from the hospital room.
Her mother’s voice sounded weak.
“You better bring me a picture.”
Sophie cried again.
Then laughed.
“Yes, Grandma.”
We rearranged the day.
Weather was clear enough for a view from a distance.
When Sophie finally saw the mountain, she stood still.
Ethan stood beside her.
No phone.
No work.
No argument.
She took one photograph.
Then another.
“Grandma won’t believe the first one is real.”
On our return flight, Sophie sat with Ethan several rows behind us.
Walter and June remained in Japan for another week.
The cabin lights dimmed.
I was almost asleep when something tapped my shoulder.
I turned.
Sophie stood in the aisle.
“Can I ask something?”
“Sure.”
“Dad’s asleep.”
“That sounds healthy.”
“What if Grandma dies before we land?”
The question hit me harder than any kick ever had.
I unbuckled and followed her to the galley.
We kept our voices low.
“She might,” I said.
Sophie stared at me.
“You’re supposed to say she won’t.”
“No.”
“Why?”
“Because I don’t know.”
Tears appeared.
I hated causing them.
But false promises belonged to adults who needed children calm more than they needed them safe.
I continued.
“What we do know is that she’s receiving care. She’s awake. She spoke to you. Those are good signs.”
“But people can still die.”
“Yes.”
Sophie wiped her face.
“How do doctors not get scared?”
“We do.”
“All the time?”
“Often.”
“Then how do you work?”
“We decide what needs doing next.”
She looked toward her sleeping father.
“What do I do next?”
“Sit beside him.”
“Wake him?”
“If you need him.”
She nodded.
Then paused.
“Dr. Adrian?”
“Yes?”
“I think I do.”
She returned to her seat.
A moment later, Ethan woke.
Sophie curled against his shoulder.
He wrapped an arm around her.
No irritation.
No phone.
No explanation.
Just presence.
Twelve hours later, we landed in Chicago.
Rebecca waited outside customs.
Sophie ran into her arms.
Ethan walked up behind her.
For a moment, he and Rebecca faced each other.
Then Rebecca said, “Thank you for bringing her home.”
Ethan answered, “Thank you for letting her finish.”
They were not getting back together.
Nobody wanted that.
May you like
They were becoming something more difficult.
Parents who could stand on the same side when life required it.
