The date of births of the grandchildren aren't correct. I made some mistakes there.
Robert stormed in Cora's office. "It has begun!"
Cora got startled. "You scared me, what has begun?"
"Come on, we have to go. It won't take long now." Robert was putting on his jacket.
"Robert, can you tell me what you are talking about?" Cora asked with annoyance in her voice.
"Mary's labour. She is in the hospital now." Robert was jumping from foot to foot.
"Darling, calm down, it is her first, this will take a while. I am coming with you, but please calm down."
"No, Matthew said she is starting to push. We have to go!"
"What! Why didn't Mary call me sooner. I could have been there for her." Cora jumped up and got in her jacket, Robert was holding up.
"Come on, grandmamma, we are going to meet our new grandchild."
Cora followed Robert, but she felt cold inside. Why didn't Mary let her know she was in labour, she was her mother.
At the hospital they were greeted by a radiant Matthew. "Welcome mama, papa, you have a grandson"
"A grandson, how wonderful." Robert exclaimed.
They entered the room Mary was in. She was sitting upright with a bundle in her arms. "Come meet George, papa."
Cora followed and she saw the most perfect little boy in her arms. "Oh, darling, you did so well. Congratulations."
"Papa, you want to hold him." Mary said.
Cora stepped next to Robert to admire the baby. Little George grabbed her finger. "Mary, he is just perfect." She brushed over his nose. "His perfect little nose and ears. He is adorable, darling."
Robert handed George to her. "He needs to meet his grandmamma in a proper way."
Cora rocked George in her arms and he fell asleep. "Do you want me to lay him down?" She asked Mary.
"No, this is alright, he is content and safe in your arms. Can we talk?"
Robert and Matthew left the room and Cora sat down next to Mary, with her free hand she took her hand. "I am really proud of you, my darling. My first born has a child now of her own."
"Oh mama, I am sorry."
"Why? What for?" Cora asked.
"I resented you for having Oliver, and still did until now, when I saw you with George. I acted childishly."
"That's alright sweetheart. I am your mother, whatever happens. I will always love you." She laid George in his crib and kissed Mary on her cheek. "Now try to sleep, you worked hard, you earned your sleep."
She had stayed with her until she was asleep and left the room. She found Matthew and Robert in the family room. "Mary is asleep, Robert, we should go home."
She took Robert's arm and started walking towards the exit.
"Are you alright, darling." Robert asked.
"I am. Don't worry about me." Cora tucked in her arm a bit more.
"It is just…. well……" Robert stuttered. "Mary is so distant lately towards you."
"Really, don't worry about that. Mary is this way since Edith is born and I also think she doesn't like me being an American."
"It is one of the things that makes me love you even more! And she is forgetting the fact she has your American blood."
"Darling, can we forget about it. For now, it is alright."
"I only wish I had corrected Mary before."
"Robert, both Edith and Mary aren't nice to each other. We tried correcting them, it just didn't work."
Cora was singing a lullaby to Oliver, when Robert entered the room. "Cora." He said in a whisper. "You need to come, Edith is on the phone."
"Is the baby coming? That would be one month early?" Cora said in surprise.
"Please, just come. She needs you and not me."
Now Cora was worried, she kissed Oliver on his head and took the phone out of Robert's hand. "Dear?" She asked.
She only heard crying on the other side of the line. "Edith?"
"Mama….. Michael……" no more words were coming true, she could only cry.
Cora looked up at Robert. Her eyes full of questions. "Edith, dear, try to calm down, I don't understand a word. What happened?"
"Mama, can you please come."
"Sweetheart, I will, I am going to book a flight right now. The earliest one I can get, and I am coming." Robert already opened his laptop. "Is there something wrong with you? Or with the baby?"
"It is Michael. He is dead."
Cora got white as a sheet. "He is what? Darling, what happened. Oh, my dear. I am coming, your papa is booking a ticket right now. I can be in Switzerland around 10 in the morning. Can I do something for you right now. Oh darling, how I wish I could hug you right now."
She ended the phone call and just looked at Robert. "Michael is dead!"
"What? How? You need to go there as soon as possible. I will arrange a private flight, you are not going to wait until the morning. Go pack a bag, I can have a plane in 3 hours!"
"I, I don't know what happened, Edith couldn't tell me. You are an angel for arranging a plane, I will go and pack my bag." Cora rushed upstairs to pack some clothes and essentials. She didn't know how long she would be there, but she and Edith had the same figure, so she could barrow her clothes. Back downstairs, Robert had indeed arranged a private plane and a taxi who would bring her to the airport.
"Darling, please call Sybil if something is wrong with Oliver, or when you need something."
"Oliver, is my fourth child, I am sure I know what to do." He kissed Cora. "Be careful, I love you."
"The girls were raised by me and Nanny." Cora winked but kissed him back. "I will call you when I am at Edith's place, I love you too."
Cora arrived in the middle of the night in Switzerland. She took a taxi to Edith's home. Edith opened the door and stumbled in Cora's arms. She was a mess. Cora held her and brushed her back. "Darling, come we will sit down."
Edith sniffed and tried to stop crying.
"You cry my dear. You can tell me later what happened. I am here now, you just cry." They sat on the couch for a while until Edith was able to speak again.
"Michael went hiking on his own and he must have slipped and fallen down, because he was found dead on a mountain today. They couldn't tell me exactly what happened, but this is the most likely scenario." Edith leaned in on her mother. "Oh mother, what should I do now. I want Michael to be buried in England, but I am not allowed to fly. And I don't feel alright enough to sit in a train for all those hours."
"We can send Michael home and let papa arrange his funeral. But maybe we can get him cremated and send his ashes home? We will figure this out in the morning. Now I want you to go to bed and although it will be hard, try to get some sleep."
"Will you sleep in my bed tonight mama?"
"If you want that, I definitely will. Come we will go upstairs." Cora helped Edith changing her clothes to pyjama, she put her down in bed. She gave her a kiss on her forehead and got in on the other side of the bed. She wrapped her arms around Edith and held her close until she fell asleep.