I held the phone to my ear. “Mom.” Just as I had with Wendy, I waited. She usually ran over me, too.

“Ryan Rose, have you heard from your sister?”

I’m named after Mom’s mother, Rose Ryan, while Wendy is named after Dad’s. Mom flipped my grandmother’s names, for which I have always been grateful. Now I tried to form a mental image of the woman who had named me, molded me and driven me crazy far too many times.

Was she at the hospital waiting to bring my father home? Were they home already, in their bedroom, which was large enough for a family of ten? And where were the girls? I couldn’t picture my nieces at all.

I cleared my throat. “We just got off the phone.”

“What in the world is going on?”

I was digesting the fact that Mom had called me, despite knowing I was an unlikely choice. My sister and I only speak every month or two.

“There’s a long list of other people I’d expect you to call first,” I said, buying time.

She ignored that, which led me to believe she’d probably already called them. “She was supposed to fly home from California hours ago. The girls are at a Saturday field day at their school, but one of the teachers just called. Wendy didn’t pick them up, and they’re still waiting. I assumed she’d gotten home and headed straight over to watch them compete.”

Clearly she was upset, since Wendy had been in Arizona, not California. “Are the girls okay?”

She continued as if I hadn’t asked, and each word was louder than the one before. “I know her plane got in on time. I just checked the website. She knows I have to pick up your father today, and she’s not answering her cell. The school wants to know what to do with my grandchildren.” She paused and then said, loudest of all, “And why would she call you?”

I uttered my first lie. “She said she wasn’t able to get hold of you.”

“Nonsense. I’ve had the phone with me all afternoon.”

“I don’t know about that, Mom, but she didn’t catch her flight, and she asked me to drive to Seabank and take care of the girls until she can make arrangements to come home.”

“She called you and asked you to drive all that way, just for the hours it will take her to get another reservation?”

I skirted the truth. “I think there was more to it than she said. Whatever caused her to miss the flight seems complicated. She says she’ll let us know more soon. Meantime, I said I’d drive over and stay with the girls until Wendy gets home.”

“This isn’t like her. Are you telling me everything?”

“She was in too much of a rush to go into detail.”

“Do you have any idea how this affects us? Your father needs a quiet house and my complete attention. This morning his doctor told him that from now on he should eat a low-fat vegetarian diet. Preferably vegan. No dairy, no meat. Do you think I know how to prepare that kind of food? He’s a steak and potatoes man. He thinks salads are rabbit food.”