The article presents a poignant narrative of a man receiving a late-night call from his aunt informing him of his mother's death. Overwhelmed by grief, he reflects on the emptiness left by her passing, similar to when he lost his father. Despite his professional skill in real-estate law, the shock renders him temporarily unable to function. He contemplates whether to inform his children and ultimately decides to contact his older daughter, seeking connection in his time of sorrow, highlighting the complex emotions surrounding death and family dynamics.
At ten o'clock on a Wednesday night, he gets a call from his aunt's number. It's late to get a call from his aunt, but his mother is often with his aunt, and it's not unusual for her to call at that hour.
He knows this from his father's death. He'll go around with another amorphous blank, until he himself becomes one in the consciousnesses of his children.
Normally, he prides himself on precisely this kind of ability. His work, in real-estate law, consists almost entirely of accurately doing things in the proper sequence.
He decides on his older daughter, because he will need to tell her anyway, and there is something in him that wants to speak with her, to, in a selfish and perverse way, use this death to evoke a connection.
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