“Here, Mom, let me help you into the car.”

“Oh, you’re such a sweet boy. You know that? So courteous and strong.”

“Be careful, sweetheart. That’s your son you’re talking about,” my father said, grinning.

“Are you sure they gave me the right pills? I feel like I’m on alcohol pills,” my mother said.

“What are alcohol pills, Mom?” I asked.

“You know, the ones filled with alcohol that make the world spin,” she said.

“I promise you have the right medication. Now, let me help you into the car,” I said.

Ana had been discharged from the hospital a couple days ago, and now it was my mom’s turn. The pain medication she was on really threw her for a loop. The plan was for Mom to spend six weeks at home recuperating, then enroll in rehab. Even though she had already gone through the withdrawal symptoms, she would still need help managing her cravings and finding a sponsor to help her on her journey once she was discharged from the facility. I was really proud of her for taking this next step on her journey to sobriety and being the best person she could be.

It made me more comfortable bringing Brody around her.

I buckled my mother into her seat, then ran around and got behind the wheel of the car. My father wanted to stay in the back with her, and I couldn’t blame him. It had taken all I had not to squeeze the life out of Ana’s hand when I’d been driving her back to her place. I pulled us away from the hospital and away from the nightmare that had unfolded there, easing us out onto the main road so we could all go home.

I felt an urge rise up in me before I had the chance to censor it.

“I met Mom’s liver donor,” I said.

“You what?” my father asked.

“Liver liver, chicken divver,” my mother said, giggling.

“I thought the doctor said it was anonymous?” my father asked.

“It was. I sort of stumbled onto their room by mistake,” I said.

“Was he hunky?” my mother asked.

I chuckled at her as my father pressed a kiss to the top of her head.

“Why didn’t you come get me? I would’ve wanted to thank them in person,” he said.

“You still can,” I said.

“How?”

“Because we know them.”

“We do?” he asked.

“Who gave me my shiny new chrome-decorated liver?” my mother asked.

“You hear that, Dad? You're going to have to get Mom a new car with chrome accents now,” I said.

“Don’t wrap me up into your devious plans, Son. That’s all you,” he said, grinning.

“Who saved my life?” my mother sang out in the car.

“Ana did,” I said.

Even in my mother’s drugged-up state, that name pierced through the fog of her high. My father’s eyes widened as his jaw dropped, and my mother cock her head.

“Come again?” she asked.

“The mother of your grandchild was your donor, Mom. Ana was the near-perfect match.”

“What?” my father asked.

“Yeah.”

“She was in the hospital with us?” my mother asked.

“Five doors down, to be exact,” I said.

“Ana gave your mother—?”

My father’s eyes filled with tears as reality dawned on my mother. She whipped her head around, then scrambled for the window and began poking at it with her finger.

“Turn down that way,” she said.

“Why?” I asked.

“Turn around. Just—just turn around.”

“Why, Mom? What's wrong?” I asked.

“Does Ana still live with her parents?” she asked.

A tear dropped from my father’s eye as I shook my head.

“She doesn’t, no. She and Brody live in their own place,” I said.

“Then turn us around and take us there. Now,” she said.

“Mom, it’s okay. What’s wrong?” I asked.

“I want to see her now, Tyler. Take me to her.”

“I can’t. She’s still recuperating as well.”

“I want to see her.”

“Mom—”

“I want to see the mother of my grandson,” she said.

“Sweetheart—”

“I want to see the woman who saved my life!”

I came to a halt in front of a stoplight as my mother began to tremble. My father wrapped her up in his arms as she cried on his shoulder, her fists beating lightly against his back. Tears rose in my eyes again, and I did the only thing I knew to do. I picked up my cell phone, pulled off onto the side of the road, and called Ana.

“Hey, you. Did you get your mother home and settled already?” she asked.

“Not quite. We’ve pulled off onto the side of the road,” I said.

“What? Why? Is she okay?”

“She’s fine. Everything’s fine. I just have something to ask of you.”

“What do you need?”

“I may have sort of told them who the donor was.”

“Tyler, that was supposed to be anonymous. It could send your mother into shock for all we know.”

“She really wants to thank you in person. And I think my father does as well.”

“Yes. Yes, I do,” he said.

“Tyler, I can’t drive. Brody’s with me and I’m still on pain medication myself. I have orders not to drive.”

“I’ll come get you. I’ll pick you up, take you home, the works. Come see us. Let me pick you guys up.”

“I don’t know if this is such a good idea.”

“Please, Ana.” I knew I sounded desperate, but I didn’t care.

“You’ll come get us?” she asked.

“Yes.”

“And this will be an okay thing for Brody to be a part of?”

“Of course, yes.”

“Then I’ll get us ready. But don’t rush anything. Get your mother settled at home. We’ll be here when you’re ready.”

“Thank you, Ana, for everything.”

“We’ll see you soon.”

“See you soon. And give Brody a hug for me.”

I hung up the phone and got my mother and father to their house. I helped my mother get inside and settled down on the couch, and then I bent forward and kissed her forehead. She cupped my face and gazed into my eyes, her thumb grazing the skin of my cheek. And for the first time, I looked into the eyes of my loving, sober mother.

“I’m so proud of you,” I whispered.

“And I’m proud of you, my son.”

She brought my forehead down to her lips to kiss, and I reveled in the sensation. In the lack of booze on her breath and the steadiness of her hand against my skin. I wrapped my arms around her and pulled her close, relishing the feeling of an attentive mother in my arms.

“I’ll be right back,” I said.

I raced out to my car and sped to Ana and Brody’s. When I pulled up, I found them waiting on the porch for me. Brody launched himself out of his chair and came running for me, his arms outstretched for me to pick him up. I swung him around and held him close, smiling and pressing kisses into the crook of his neck.

But the second I saw Ana stumble when getting off the porch, I put him down and raced to her.

“Whoa, whoa, whoa. Let me help,” I said.

“I’ve got it. I’m okay,” she said.

“No, you’re not. And it’s fine.”

“I don’t want Brody to see me like this,” she whispered.

I lifted her eyes to meet mine as I wrapped my arm around her body.

“Let me help you,” I said.

“Brody needs to see his mother strong, Tyler.”

“Do you want Brody to grow up and always refuse the help that’s offered to him?”

She pondered that before she shook her head.

“Then let me help you. Let me show Brody how a man treats the mother of his child.”

I scooped her thick, beautiful body into my arms and gently carried her to the car. I settled her in the front seat, watching as Brody buckled himself in. He kicked his legs with excitement and smiled at me, his eyes bouncing between me and Ana.

“Is Mommy still sick?” he asked.

“She’s still a little sick, yes,” I said.

“Like Grandma?”

“Yes, kind of like Grandma. So, we’re all going to go be a little sick together. Then you and me and Grandpa can take care of them.”

“Can Grandpa and I watch a movie?” he asked.

“I bet if you ask him, he would love that,” I said.

I wanted to press a kiss to Ana’s forehead, but I wasn’t sure if she wanted me to show her that kind of affection in front of Brody. I settled for squeezing her hand as her eyes found mine, then smiled at her before I closed the door. I turned around and checked Brody’s seat belt just to make sure he was securely in place. Then I slid behind the wheel of the car and cranked the engine.

“Ready to go see Grandma and Grandpa?” I asked.

I was shocked with Ana answered along with our son.

My father was on the porch waiting for us when I pulled up. Brody scrambled out of his seat and went running up to my father, and I could hear him rattling on about the movie all the way from the car. I unbuckled Ana and helped her out, then threaded my arms around her to help her to the porch. She must have just taken some pain medication, because her movements were choppy, uneven. She held onto me tighter than she usually did.

The second I walked her over the threshold of the house, my mother forced herself off the couch.

“Ana. My dear, sweet Ana. Oh my gosh.”

My mother stumbled over to us as I reached my arm out, catching my mother’s drugged movements as I steadied Ana’s.

“You saved my life,” my mother whispered.

“It’s okay. It’s all right. Everything’s fine now,” Ana said.

“Thank you. Thank you so much, Ana.”

“I could help, so I did. That’s all I did.”

“You did so much more than that, you silly girl.”

I chuckled and shook my head as the two women released me and clung to one another. My mother cried into the crook of Ana’s neck, and Ana held her tightly, stroking her hand and swaying side to side. I slowly stepped away from the two women and made my way to my father, standing with him and my son as we watched the spectacle unfold.

“You’re so beautiful. Such a good mother to my grandson.”

“And you look so beautiful. Look at you! A new liver looks good on you,” Ana said.

“My eyes are white again. It’s so nice not to look like I’m dying.”

“Oh, you never looked like that. I always thought you were so pretty, even in high school.”

“Ugh, I don’t even remember Tyler’s high school years. What a terrible mother I was.”

“No! You weren’t terrible! Stop it. You were struggling, battling, warring inside your head,” Ana said.

“How long do you think they’re going to ramble at one another?” my father asked.

“I don’t know. How long does it take for that pain medication to wear off?” I asked.

“Can I have a popsicle?” Brody asked.

“You look so beautiful!” my mother exclaimed.

“Oh, this is going to be fun,” I sighed.

“Should I break it up, or should you?” my father asked.

“Go spend some time with your grandson. I’ve got this.”

I walked over to the two women and cradled them next to me. They were crying and doting on one another as their words became muddled. I held back my laughter as I set them both on the couch, watching as Ana ran her fingers through my mother's hair and my mother petted her face.

“I hope my hair looks this good white one day,” Ana said.

“You have so many curves! I never had curves! My boobs barely exist!” my mother said.

“And that’s my cue to leave. Are you guys thirsty, or—?”

“Water,” they said in unison.

“Coming right up,” I said.

I laughed with my father in the kitchen as Brody ate his popsicle at the kitchen table. The entire day was spent with two drugged-up women dozing off and waking up on the couch together. I’d never heard my mother compliment someone so much in my life, and every time she squealed at something Ana did, it caused me to chuckle.

Maybe this was the start of them mending their relationship.

“Hey, Brody,” my father said.

“Yeah, Grandpa?”

“Want to go help me scout some dinner? I figured we could bring something back to the house and eat it while we watch another movie.”

“All right! What are we going to eat?”

“Anything you want,” I said.

“Oh, oh, oh. Can we have cheeseburgers?” Brody asked.

“If that’s what you want, that’s what you’ll get,” my father said.

“I’ll stay here with Thelma and Louise while you pick up food,” I said.

“Record it for me?” my father asked.

I nodded my head and laughed as he took Brody’s hand and headed for the door. Watching my father walk away with my son brought a warmth to my heart that I couldn't explain. But when they left, my ears filled with the sounds of my mother and Ana talking.

And I couldn’t believe what they were talking about.

“I didn’t do it to hurt him, or you guys. I did it because I just knew Tyler would give up Harvard if he knew I was pregnant. I couldn't let him do that,” Ana said.

“I know you couldn’t. I know you thought you were doing the right thing. No one can fault you for that, sweetheart,” my mother said.

“I didn’t mean to hurt you guys. I didn’t mean to hurt your son. I love your son, Mrs. Browning. I love him so much.”

My mother took Ana in her arms as she cried into my mother’s neck. And as my mother comforted Ana, I knew then and there what I had to do. Ana was made for this family. And I knew I was made for hers. Despite every obstacle and every deceit and every lie and every uncertainty, I knew she was the woman I was destined to be with, spend my life with, create a family with.

I wanted her in my life for the rest of my days.

“Do you think he loves me?” Ana asked.

My mother pressed a silent kiss to the top of Ana’s head.

“I don’t think he’s ever loved anyone else,” my mother said.

And she was right. I hadn’t. I had loved no other woman but Ana, and that would never change.

Not even if the world was on fire.