My mother danced at my sister’s wedding
Probably the first time
In a long time
We aren’t a family of dancers
Someone took a picture
And it stuck around
In her hospital room
For a long time

They put off the surgery
Until after the wedding
On purpose
And I don’t know
If that was good or bad planning
Considering what came after

I went by the house the day before
She went into the hospital
We sat around and didn’t talk too much
Like most of my visits
I gave her a hug
And took off
I had to work in Phoenix the next day

I tried not to think too much about it
When you have a bad feeling
Ignoring it sometimes seems best
And so I carried on
Worked
Stared at the hotel walls
Thought about other things
And when I called
My dad said everything was fine
He lied but I understand