By 3 o'clock I'm about to head out for a late lunch when my brother, Matt calls.
I roll my eyes when I see his name flash across my screen. I love my brother, but ever since he graduated from college a few months ago, he hasn't been able to get a job. I get it, the job market is tough right now, but every time he calls it's to ask for a couple hundred dollars. He always promises to pay it back, but he never does.
"Hello Matthew," I answer the phone.
"Hey big sis. What's with calling me Matthew?"
"That is your name, isn't it?"
"Yes, but you only ever call me Matthew when I'm in trouble."
"Okay, Matt, what do you want?"
"What do I want? I'm just calling to say hi."
I immediately feel guilty. "I'm sorry. I'm having a long day at work."
"So the new boss is a slave driver, is he?"
"No, it's nothing like that. We are just butting heads creatively."
"Well, I'm sure everything will work itself out."
I smile. "I'm sure it will... Anyway, thanks for checking in."
"No problem...but there is one more thing."
"Of course there is."
"Just don't panic."
My heart kicks up instantly. "When has telling someone to not panic ever made them not panic?"
"I'm just saying what I'm about to tell you isn't a big deal. We've dealt with it. So don't freak out."
"Matt, I swear, if you don't spit it out, I'm going to come find you and punch you right in the face."
He sighs. "Mom fell this morning."
"What?!" I shoot to my feet and start stuffing my belongings into my purse.
"Yeah, she went out for a walk by herself this morning, slipped, and then hit her head on the sidewalk."
I gasp. "Why was she out on a walk? She's supposed to be resting. She just had a round of chemo a few days ago. Why would you guys let her go on a walk? And by herself?"
"Paige, we aren't stupid. We didn't let her do anything. She's a grown woman. She left the house without us knowing."
"How is that even possible? How does a cancer patient sneak past you and Dad? Aren't you supposed to be keeping an eye on her?"
"Yeah, but we can't watch her every second of every day,and you know Mom; she's determined. She's going to do what she wants to do."
Well, that's true.
"When did this happen?"
"This morning, but we took her to the hospital, and they gave her the all clear. She's back home now."
"I can't believe you and Dad didn't tell me about this as soon as it happened, and then you wasted all that time asking me about my new boss."
"I'm sorry. We knew you would worry. So we wanted to tell you when there was nothing to worry about."
"That's not your decision to make. What if-you know what? We'll talk about this when I get home. I'm leaving the office now."
Matt starts to protest, but I hang up the phone and head out.
I run into Travis on the sidewalk on his way back into the building.
"Where are you off to in such a hurry?" he asks.
"I'm sorry, but I'm going to have to take the rest of the day off. I have a family emergency that I need to attend to." I don't wait for his response. I start to make my way toward my car.
"Is this a regular occurrence?" he calls after me.
I stop dead in my tracks and turn around. "Excuse me?"
"I just want to know if you regularly leave work in the middle of the day for personal reasons."
I ball my fists at the implication he's making. "No, this is not a common occurrence. If you want specifics, my mother has cancer. This morning she slipped and sustained a head injury. I would like to go and see that she is okay. Is that fine with you?"
He has the decency to look embarrassed. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said that. Please, if there's anyway I can help don't hesitate to reach out."
"I don't need anything from you." I look him up and down. I turn on my heels and head off.
As Jeremy drives me to my parent's house I don't even have the energy to be angry at Travis. I'm too worried about the state my mother is in.
I know Matt said she's fine, but considering they hid all of this from me it's possible he downplayed how bad things are. My heart is in my throat the whole drive. I am praying that Mom is fine. I don't know what I will do if she isn't.