"Hey, there's a woman here to see you." They paused. "She says she's your mother?" Their confused look immediately told me that it wasn't Crystal. I didn't have time for annoyance, and I wasn't planning on offering an explanation. I ran past them, my brain sifted through all of the possible reasons why she would show up at my job in the middle of the day.
I found her standing at the reception desk, chatting with one of the firm's managing partners, Bryce Cameron.
“—your husband that if he’s ever ready to come back, we could use him.” He chuckled heartily.
Mom smiled genially. "I wouldn't hold your breath on that one." Her smile widened, and Bryce laughed even harder.
“We have to get together for dinner. Rebecca asks about you all the time.”
"Well, that would be nice. I'll talk to Reggie." She noticed me approaching them. "Bryce, do you have a place where we can…" She tilted her head towards me.
"Oh, yes, yes, of course." He looked around before finally spotting one of the receptionists. "Hey, Natalie, could you show Cole and Dr. Simmons to a private conference room." He turned to my mom. "Can we offer you anything—coffee, tea, water…?"
“Water would be great. Thank you.” Mom’s face became more grave by the second. I jumped when Mr. Cameron put his hand on my shoulder and squeezed.
"You got a good kid here. I'm hoping he’ll be a good influence on Beck. Cole's doing a fantastic job for the firm. "
"Is that supposed to surprise me, Bryce?" Mom smiled again, and Mr. Cameron guffawed.
He backed away from us, wagging his index finger at my mother. "Always good to see you, Bev."
“You, too. Give my best to Rebecca.”
Once we enteredthe conference room and sat, Mom leaned forward and wrapped her arms around me, squeezing me so tight I started to lose my breath.
“Mom, what’s going on?”
She let out a deep sigh. "There's been an accident, baby."
“Is it Dad? Is he okay?”
“It’s Crystal.” She paused for a moment and scanned my face, and I could see tears welling in her dark brown eyes.
“Is she okay?” Somewhere deep inside, I already knew the answer.
Mom gave a slight shake of her head. "She's gone, sweetheart." A tear fell. "I'm so sorry."
“No.” I shook my head. “She called me. Today. She just called me.”
“You spoke to her?”
"No," I whispered, and guilt crept in. "I…I…"
Mom put her hand on my cheek, mercifully saving me from having to admit that I ignored her call.
“Apparently the accident happened a few days ago. It was probably the police trying to reach you. They called me when they couldn’t get through to you.”
I swallowed thickly and nodded. “How?” I whispered.
“A car accident. She was driving and seemed to have lost control. The detective I spoke to said she most likely went quickly. Didn’t suffer.”
“Was she…?”Drunk or high, I thought to myself.
"I don't know, sweetie." She sighed. "But, there's more."
I picked my head up and looked at her.
“You have a brother.”
