My head had just hit the pillow when the phone rang. “Joe,” Izzy said, out of breath and gasping for air. “Ma’s is in the hospital. Hurry.” She hung up without telling me anything else.

“Suzy.” I shook her, but she didn’t respond. “Suzy,” I said again, shaking her harder.

“What?” she groaned. “I knew I shouldn’t have had that shot of tequila.”

I hopped out of bed and grabbed my pants off the floor, trying to put them on. “Ma’s in the hospital. I’ve got to go.” My legs were shaking so badly, I could barely keep my balance.

She shot straight up in bed and covered her mouth. “What? Oh my God!” The look of horror on her face probably matched my own when I heard the news. “Is she okay?”

“I have no idea.” I yanked a shirt over my head, not even bothering to see if it was on right. “I’ll call as soon as I know anything.” I kissed her, leaving her in the bed, and ran out of the house.

---

By the time I got to the ER waiting room, I looked like roadkill. My hair was standing on end and the shirt I had on was one of Suzy’s oversized sleep shirts that said: “I’m Sexy and I Know It.”

“What the fuck are you wearing?” Izzy asked as her eyes traveled up and down the length of my body.

I waved my hands. “It doesn’t matter. How’s Ma?”

“They haven’t said anything yet. Daddy’s back there with her. Everyone is on their way, but you’re the first to make it here.”

My hands were shaking and I struggled to breathe. “What happened?” I tried to tame down my locks after a nurse walked back and smirked.

“I don’t know. Dad called in tears and said the ambulance was there. He said Ma couldn’t breathe.”

“Fuck,” I whispered and glanced down at the ground. “This can’t be happening.”

“Joe,” Mike said as he ran toward me with Anthony and Thomas, dressed in a hoodie and baseball hat, right on his heels. “What’s the word?”

“No news yet.”

“I’ll get to the bottom of this,” he said, pushing me to the side and strutting up to the nurses’ station.

I sat down next to Izzy, resting my face in my hands and starting to pray. God and I hadn’t been close in years, but with my ma in the hospital, I was willing to grovel.

“They said a doctor will be out to talk with us soon.” Mike sat next to me and started to shake his leg and fidget.

Thomas paced the small waiting room area with Anthony. No one spoke, just waited for any tiny shred of hope from the doctors.

My eyes kept going to the clock, checking to see how many minutes had passed since the last time I looked. Minutes turned into an hour, one tick at a time.

Me: No news, sugar.

Suzy: I can’t sleep. I’m too worried. Text me when you hear anything.

Me: I will. Love you.

Thomas stopped in the middle of the floor and pulled at his hair. “What’s taking so damn long?”

“Maybe you can sweet-talk that old biddy of a nurse.” Mike sneered and pointed toward an old woman sitting behind the reception desk who looked like my grandmother.

“I’ll see what I can do.” He marched off with his shoulders pushed back. He leaned over the desk and the woman smiled at him, resting her hand under her chin.

Moments later, she stood and walked off to the back. Thomas smiled and blew on his knuckles before rubbing them on his shirt. “Hook, line, and sinker.”

“What did you say to her?” I asked, curious how Thomas made headway while Mike didn’t.

“Just told her that we’d been waiting an hour and hadn’t heard a thing about Ma. She said that someone should’ve spoken to us by now and she apologized.”

Mike’s nose wrinkled. “That’s it?”

“That’s it. I also told her how pretty she looked tonight too.”

“Liar,” Mike grumbled and crossed his arms over his chest.

“Whatever. It worked, asshat.”

“Everyone just shut the fuck up,” I said, wiping my hands on my pants and trying to calm down. My heart hadn’t stopped racing since the moment the phone rang. “I can’t listen to you bicker like little kids right now. Ma could be dying, for all we know.”

“Don’t you dare say that!” Izzy shot up from her seat and shrieked. “You shut your fucking mouth.” Tears pooled in her eyes before breaking free and falling down her cheeks. “I couldn’t deal with losing Ma.”

“Izzy,” I said and held my hand out to her. I pulled her into my lap like I had so many times when she was a scared little girl and comforted her. “She’s going to be okay, Izzy. She’s a tough woman.” I rocked her gently and tried my best to calm her down.

“Gallo?” A nurse standing near the doorway to the patient area said.

We all stood, moving toward her quickly. “Yes?” Izzy was the first to talk.

“Follow me, please.” She waved us to follow and we did, not speaking but just moving.

The more steps I took, the harder it became to breathe. Every step took effort as we moved down the corridor. Alarm bells went off, beeping from the heart monitors made my ears hurt, and the staleness of the cold air made each breath a struggle.

The nurse pointed down the hallway. “Room six at the end.”

We picked up the pace, unable to wait another moment to find out if the glue that held our family together was alive or dead.

“Mommy,” Izzy said, standing near the doorway before disappearing inside.

I inhaled and held the air in my lungs. Please let her be alive. When I entered the room, she was sitting upright clutching her left side.

“It’s her ribs,” Pa said and hung his head, kicking his feet absently. “She broke one and couldn’t breathe. I thought she was dying.” He rubbed his forehead and grimaced.

“Thank fuck,” Mike said and staggered backward, holding his chest.

“Sal, why did you call the kids?” Ma said, trying to adjust, but wincing and grabbing her side.

“Mar, they had a right to know you were in the hospital.”

“How the hell did you break a rib, Ma?” Thomas asked, grabbing her hand and holding it in his.

“It was an accident,” she said through gritted teeth, her eyes cutting to my father.

“It’s my fault.” He put his head in his hands. “It’s all my fault.”

“What did you do, Pop?” I rubbed his back and my heart ached for him. One thing I knew is that he loved her and would never do anything to hurt her.

“I was changing a light bulb and he let go of the ladder,” Ma explained, but her eyes shifted.

“Why the fuck were you changing a light bulb this late at night?”

A nurse walked into the room carrying a pair of scrubs for my mother and not paying attention. “Here you go, Mrs. Gallo. This way you don’t have to wear that French maid outfit home.” When she looked up and noticed us all staring at her with our mouths hanging open, she froze. “Oh, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to—”

“It’s okay, dear. Thank you for the clothes.”

“What the fuck, you two?” Izzy ran her fingers through her hair, pulling on it gently. “What really happened?”

“We kind of got a little out of control after a bottle of wine. I went to flip your mom over, she wasn’t expecting it, and when I landed on top of her, I may have broken her rib.”

I pinched the bridge of my nose and tried to get that visual out of my head. “Jesus!”

“Way to go, Pop.” Mike punched him in the shoulder and my father’s body rocked back.

“You two really need to find a hobby.” Izzy made a gagging sound.

“Or maybe a sex swing,” Anthony added.

I walked into the hallway to catch some air and calm my nerves.

Me: She’s fine. Broken rib and will heal.

Suzy: How did she do that?

Me: You don’t want to know.

Suzy: I do.

I shook my head, trying to rid myself of the mental picture of them having sex and Ma wearing a French maid getup.

Me: You don’t.

Suzy: I do.

Me: Ask Izzy. I’ll be home soon.

When I walked back in the room, everyone was kissing them good-bye.

“Want me to stay and help you get her home?” I asked, shoving my phone back in my pocket.

“No, son. I can do it. Go home and get some rest.”

“Okay, Pop.” I hugged him tightly and turned my attention toward my ma. “No more craziness for you, young lady. Just rest and Suzy will come over tomorrow to help take care of you.” Kissing her on the forehead, I thanked God for sparing us from losing her.

“I don’t want to put her out.” Ma twisted her hands in her lap and frowned. “I can’t believe this happened. I guess we’re not as young as we used to be, huh, Sal?”

He winked at her and she blushed. “You still got it, though, Mar.”

Izzy shook her head and pursed her lips. “And you were giving us shit about our sex lives.”

“I don’t have little ones at home, Izzy.”

“If I remember correctly, that costume is really old.” Izzy giggled and covered her mouth.

I pulled her out of the room with me and waved over my shoulder. “Night!” I yelled to them. “Shut up, Izzy.” I smacked her on the back of the head for being a doofus.