We sat on he floor watching mom and dads wedding video, mom starts giggling when our Aunt Catherine comes into view, Aunt Catherine looked and probably felt awful, at the time the video was taken she was eight months pregnant with her second daughter Mia Grace Brown, who is currently five and bundles of energy.
After thirty minutes I start to look at the clock on the wall, my watch and at the front door, our dad hadn't got home yet, which was unusual, what I mean is if you drove back from our Grandpa Jim's house it took ten minutes and if you stopped for Gas or shopping maybe fifteen, twenty minutes tops, never thirty. I was getting a horrible feeling in my gut, my mom could sense my fear and took my hand and squeezed it gently.
"Mom where's dad?" I ask scared of her reply.
"Buttercup I'm not sure" Mom replies "Go ring his cell, but if he's driving he wont answer"
"Mom, dads been an awful long time" Yasmin states quietly "What could be wrong?"
"I'm sure nothing is wrong, he's probably stopped for Gas, or better yet Ice cream!" Sara replied playing with Yasmin's hair "Stop worrying it will be fine"
The house phone started to ring and me being closest answered, I wasn't ready for what I heard.
"Excuse me is this Sara Grissom?" An unfamiliar voice enquired.
"No this is her daughter though, can I ask who's calling?" I ask twisting my hair in my finger.
"I must speak with Mrs Grissom" The voice replied.
"Fine, mom phone for you" I shout handing the phone to my mom.
"Hello?" My mom enquired "Can I ask who's calling?"
"I'm Nurse Davenport at Desert Palms I have your husband here" Nurse Davenport explained "I'm afraid your husband has been in a car crash and as you're his next of kin we need you here for permission to operate"
"I'm on my way, what about my daughters?" My mom asked looking at me and Yasmin.
"For now they need to go to a family member" Nurse Davenport replies "Mrs Grissom I do stress the urgency of you getting here"
"Ok I'll be there in ten minutes" Mom replied placing the phone back in its holder, turning to us she says "Girls grab your coats and school bags and come to the car in two minutes, go!"
Sensing that this was a serious matter both Yasmin and myself run up the stairs, we grab our coats, school bags pyjamas and even our toiletry bags and lap tops, making it back down to the car in ninety seconds. Our mom had the engine running and as soon as we came out the house she locked it up, jumped in her car and out the driveway, three minutes later we were stood on our Aunt Catherine's doorstep waving goodbye to our mom.
"Come inside girls" Aunt Catherine says squeezing our shoulders "Go sit on the sofa, would you like a drink?"
"No thanks we want to know what's going on" Yasmin says turning to me smiling as I nod "Aunt Catherine tell us the truth what's happening?"
"There is no easy way of saying this girls" Catherine stated sighing and rubbing her face "Girls your dad has been involved in a car crash, your mom has gone to Desert Palms urgently, she is his next of kin, do you know what that means?"
"Yea it means that our mom has to make choices for my dad because he can't" I reply quietly "Is our dad dead?"
I couldn't help but ask, my question made Yasmin burst into tears, I sat staring at the wall. The only answer I received was the shake of the head from my Aunt and the wails from my sister, I felt awful I wanted my dad so much and now I felt that I had lost him.
TBC