Grandma Comes to Visit

-RING RING-

I look at the phone to see my grandmother's precious photo plastered across the screen. I'll have to call her back after I finish with the kids. I look over to my oldest daughter, Kai, running in circles at the playground with some other kid chasing after her. Her sister, Minny, was in front of me crying actual tears for once. Some kid had accidentally knocked her off of the stairs of the giant boat that was meant for the kids to climb all over and slide out of.

Some kids have no home training.

It's fine, though. My kid's a trooper. I looked at her face and she seemed to sniffle for a moment before giving me a hug.

"Mommy, I want to take a nap" she said, her eyes hung low. I gave her a knowing look before smiling and shaking my head.

"How about this, go and play for a little while longer and then after this we'll go get slurpee's from the 7 eleven. Sound good to you?" immediately she perked up with a smile.

"Okay" she said, hopping up and down before running off to play.

I looked down at the phone to see that my grandmother had left a voicemail. I picked up the phone and opened the app that would play back the message.

"-static- Hello? Ali? Hey -static- just calling -static- going home today. -static- get Minny to -static- home with me" I heard. I couldn't be sure but it sounded like she was asking to come and pick Minny up to go back to the house with her. I would but they have school tomorrow. Why in the world would she call on a school night? She knows better than that.

I put the phone down but it rings again. This time it's my dad.

"Hello? Dad?" Alicia said into the phone.

Over on the other side of the playground the girls were playing loudly. I shook my head at their shrill and excited screams and smiled. I notice a woman standing under a tree on the opposite side of the playground. I squinted at her. She looked like my grandmom. My face lit up when I realized that she had come. I stood to wave her over.

"Ali?" her father screamed through the phone. I diverted my attention back to the girls and my dad on the phone. He sounded upset.

"Hey dad. Is everything okay?" I ask, scanning the field. I then see that they'd found grandma under the tree and had gone over to say hello. I turn away to focus more on the conversation.

"It's grandma. She's gone! She went into the hospital this morning for a heart attack and they couldn't bring her back!"