Mom

My 80 year old, diabetic, heart diseased mother - I mean my beloved 80 year old, diabetic, heart diseased mother called me yesterday using her most pathetic sick person voice. You may be familiar with the voice if you ever were a kid trying to get out of school. When your beloved mother has had two heart attacks and has diabetes and leaves a pathetic sounding message on your phone you have to take it seriously. The message was something about being at home, being sick and imploring me to call as soon as convenient. Convenient in this case meant right away. It is illegal to talk on the phone while driving in California so I stopped every few miles to call her. Each time that she did not answer I pictured worse and worse scenarios. One scenario included a little dog (Diego) lying faithfully next to her prostrate body. Every traffic light and stop sign added to my anxiety. When I finally pulled up to her house my phone rang. She had left her phone in her bedroom and could not hear it ring. She wanted me to pick up fish tacos on my way home.