He Called Me At 2 AM: “Your Card G0t Declined At The Hotel. Send Me $9,000 Now Or Else…”

I could smell the coffee.

I could hear the soft scrape of his slippers against the floor.

Then my phone vibrated against the nightstand.

The dream disappeared so quickly it felt stolen.

I opened my eyes to darkness and the pale blue glow of the clock. It was after two in the morning.

Nobody calls a seventy-one-year-old woman after midnight with good news.

I reached for my glasses, missed them, and grabbed the phone instead.

Nathan.

My son.

I answered immediately.