I Flew Across the Country to See My Son – He Looked at His Watch and Said, ‘You Are 15 Minutes Early, Just Wait Outside!’

No one stopped me.

I was not unexpected.

I was simply less important than whatever was happening inside.

I picked up my phone. I pulled up his contact.

Then I locked the screen.

I got up, took my suitcase, and walked down the driveway.

No one stopped me.

I didn’t turn my phone on that night.

At the corner, I called a cab.

The driver asked, “Where to?”

I said, “Anywhere cheap.”

He took me to a motel 10 minutes away.

I sat there in my blue dress with the gift bag on the chair and felt more tired than I had in years.

I didn’t turn my phone on that night.

Mom where are you?

Not when I washed my face.

Not when I lay down without changing.

Not when I woke up at three in the morning with my heart pounding.

I turned it on the next morning.

Twenty-seven missed calls.

A pile of texts.

I stared at that for a long time.

Mom where are you?