Just One More Call

Dear

The world shattered around me while I was driving. It was a typical day, the sun shining, the radio playing, and then a phone call ripped my heart out. My grandmother was gone. I pulled over, the car suddenly feeling like the only safe space in a world that had just tilted off its axis. And I cried like I never had before, huge, gasping sobs that shook my whole body.

Driving home is a blur now. But somehow, I made it.

There's a gaping hole in my life, a silence that screams louder than any noise. She was my constant, my safe harbor, the one person who always had my back.

From the time I was a little kid, she was there. She picked me up from school and opened her door when things got rough at home. She was my refuge. She taught me the simple life lessons that stick with you. I can still see her in the kitchen, showing me how to cook, her hands guiding mine. Even after I moved far away, she was just a phone call away. Need to know how long it takes to bake a chicken? What kind of stain remover works? Call Dear. She knew it all.

We called her Dear because that's what she always called us back. "Yes, Dear."

She loved everyone. Her heart was huge and always open. If you needed it, she'd give you the shirt off her back, her last dime.

It's funny, the things you remember. Sneaking over to "help her with the TV," which was just an excuse to bum a cigarette. The time she broke her arm and I had to shift gears for her in the car, because I was too young to drive. We laugh about it now. Back then, it felt like a real adventure.

These days, I'm struggling. My mental health is shaky, like I'm teetering on the edge of something I can't see. And all I want is to hear her voice one more time. To get that advice, that reassurance only she could give.

I have one voicemail from her, saved on my phone. It's from my birthday, and I listen to it over and over. A small thing. But it keeps her close.

I'm trying my best to make her proud. I keep reminding myself of what she taught me and how she lived her life. I like to think she's looking down on me, maybe with a little smile on her face.

Appreciate the people you have. Tell them you love them. You never know when that last phone call will be. And when they're gone, all you have left are the memories, and the echo of their voice in your heart.