32. Love
LOVE
I walked slowly inside mama’s room, sitting down on the edge of her bed. Her head was relaxed against the pillows as she slept, and I low-key wanted to let her rest. I hated that I had to break the news to her.
“Mama?’ I gently tapped her leg.
When she didn’t move, I tried again. “Aye, mama. Wake up.”
Still nothing. I started hitting her harder than before, but her body laid stiff. She was unresponsive.
“Auntie!” I yelled loudly, checking her neck for a pulse. It was one there, but it was weak. She ran in the room with Baby right behind her.
“What’s wrong, Love?” She glanced at me, her eyes moving towards where my hand laid on Mama’s neck. “Trish?”
“Call 9-1-1!” I shouted frantically at Baby. This day just was getting worse and worse for a nigga.
“The operator wants to know if she’s breathing.” Baby’s voice put me on high alert. Why they need to know all that?
“Yes, barely! Tell them to hurry up!” Auntie shouted, slapping mama’s cheek multiple times. The longer we sat with her like that, the angrier I got.
I leaped up from the bed.
“Why they gotta ask all of them fucking questions right now. My mama dying!” Baby’s eyes grew wide, and this was the first time she heard me raising my voice.
“Love, please,” auntie interrupted me, eyes glistening with unshed tears.
Baby hesitated to speak. “She asked does your mom have health issues?”
“Nah, tell her no,” I muttered, my jaw clenched tightly.
Baby averted her eyes elsewhere. “Uh, he said no, she doesn’t.” She stayed on the phone for a few more minutes before she hung up. “Paramedics are in route. They should be here in less than five minutes.”
“Should we move her to the living room?” she suggested, coming to stand near me. Biting down hard into my lip, I stared at Auntie praying over mama.
“Nah, we don’t know what’s wrong with her. Ain’t tryna cause no more damage.”
“Love, sit down,” Auntie demanded. “You making me dizzy with all that damn pacing.”
“Fuck!” I shouted, my hands folded together at the back of my head. It wasn’t long before we heard beeping from outside. I asked Baby to go open the door to let them in.
“In here, we’re in here!” Auntie cried out after hearing voices coming down the hall. Two paramedics rushed in with a medical bag. One of them walked around the bed, then leaned over to listen to her heartbeat.
“How old is the patient?”
I continued to pace the floor. “She’s sixty. What’s wrong with her?”
Standing over him, I watched him look at his watch with the stethoscope to her chest, checking her vitals. The other one was questioning my auntie.
“How long has she been like this?” There he goes with all the fucking questions again. I thought we got past all this.
“I came in about twenty minutes ago and saw her.” I looked back and forth between them. Neither one of them would give me a straight answer. “My mama gone be alright?”
“We’ll do what we can, sir. Let’s get her to a hospital.” Another paramedic came into the room to move us out as they worked to get her on the stretcher. Auntie Delia rushed off to grab her shoes.
“I’ll ride with you, Love,” she announced.
Baby rubbed her hand on my back in a soothing motion.
“Come on, let’s go,” she told me, leading me towards the door. “She’ll be okay.”
Shit, she better be. Me and mama ain’t on good terms right now, but I don’t know what I'd do without her. We already lost my pops. I can’t lose her too.