Baba's Story

by Katić, Mirjana

  “As you can see, mom, I’m fighting the battle, but I don’t know if I am going to win it.”

  “Yes, son, you will, just keep on fighting.”

  “I will, mom, I will for both our sakes, and for our family.”

  Marko felt a terrible pain churning inside his chest. After such pain he had a bad cough, often times with blood in his spittle. Marko didn’t want his mother to see that. He put the bloody tissue under his covers, instead of putting it in the waste basket. Mitra and Doris sat beside him. They were quiet for a while just looking around at other patients, coming in and going out. Somebody was groaning.

  The nurse came and took Marko away for tests. She told them to go to the waiting lounge. They went there. It took quite a while until Doris was called to the nurses’ station. Doris took Mitra with her.

  “Mrs. Milutinovic, your husband is in number five. You can go and keep him company. Please wait for the doctor to see you with your husband’s reports.”

  “Thank you,” Doris said to the nurse. They both went and sat with Marko. He was sleeping. They sat beside him for more than an hour. Marko slept the whole time. Doris told Mitra that Marko hadn’t sleep much last night. He was in a lot of pain.

  “That is why he is sleeping now,” Mitra added.

  Finally, the doctor came with the results. He introduced himself as Dr. Johnson.

  “Marko is your husband, right?”

  Doris confirmed, “Yes, he is.”

  “Your husband’s results are back. His condition is not so much due to his illness, but the flu. The body has to fight viruses on its own because antibiotics are not effective against viruses. Make sure he drinks a lot of liquid. His upper body should be elevated to breathe easier. If he gets worse, bring him back. But for now, you can take your husband home.”

  Doris thanked the doctor and turned to Mitra, “You come home with us, mom. Somebody will take you to the residence later, unless you wish to stay with us overnight.”

  “No, I won’t stay overnight, but I would like to stay with you for a while,” Mitra said.

  When they got to Marko’s home, Doris went out to get roast chicken, potatoes, veggies, and spring salad. She returned with the food and two Tim Horton cappuccinos for Mitra and Marko and a coffee for herself. Despite all the pain and sorrow, they enjoyed having a meal together. Mitra thought to herself, “What an unbelievable difference; having a meal with your family instead of with the incapacitated strangers around you.”

  Marko said, “Thank you, mom, for coming. Sorry I haven’t come to see you in almost a month, I won’t try to explain myself or make excuses, but lately I’ve had no energy.”

  Just after they finished their dinner, Stefan and his wife, Suzan, dropped by. Stefan kissed Mitra first then said their customary greeting to his brother, “Hi, bratusko.”

  “So, you are trying to scare us all.”

  “I want to test how much I mean to you people,” said Marko.

  “Okay, smart guy, but be careful do not test our love for you.”

  They had a little laugh just to ease the tension. Marko explained to Stefan what the doctor said. They all sat together until 9:00 pm. Marko said he was tired and had to go to bed. Mitra asked Stefan to take her back to her place. Doris offered to put her up for the night, but Mitra wanted to go back.

  Mitra knew that Doris had her hands full looking after Marko. She didn’t want to add more work and worries for Doris. Besides, Marko needed to rest without extra stress. Mitra and Marko kissed and hugged as usual. Stefan yelled out to his brother, “Take care of your wife and don’t scare us anymore, bratusko.” Mitra and Stefan left, but Suzan stayed with Doris, as Marko was already in bed.

  After a few minutes, Stefan asked his mother how she was doing.

  “Sorry, mom, for not coming to see you more often. The start of the school season involves a lot of preparation before classes begin. I will try to visit you more often.”

  “Don’t worry, son. I’m all right but please visit Marko more often than me. You two, or I should say three, get along very well all the time. He likes yours and Sava’s company.”

  “Does Sava call you, mom? Is she coming to see Marko soon?”

  “I don’t really know,” Mitra answered. “The last time I talked to her she told me she had a very big project to do. She had to finish it.”

  “I hope Marko will be healthy enough to spend the coming holidays with us.”

  Mitra knew what Stefan was talking about. She began to cry. She didn’t have any tissues left to dry her eyes. Stefan offered her tissues. As she was wiping her eyes, she said, “It’s three months until the holidays. That is a long time for Marko to hang on until.”

  “I know, mom, I know,” Stefan said. “But hopefully he will.”

  They arrived at the centre and Stefan helped his mom to her room. They hugged and kissed.

  “Good night for now.”

  Chapter 20

  On the way down, Stefan met Sandy.

  “Hi, how are you?” Stefan said.

  “I’m good, thank you for asking. How are you Mr. Milutinovic? How is your mother doing? I heard she had a big scare today with your brother.”

  “Yes, she did, so did the rest of the family.”

  “How is your brother doing these days?”

  “He is trying very hard to hold on to life as much as he can, but he has deteriorated considerably.”

  “I’m sorry to hear that.”

  “Thank you for asking, I appreciate it. Please check on my mother from time to time, she appreciates your company very much.”

  “I will, I promise.”

  When Stefan left Sandy, he was thinking how much he liked her for no apparent reason. “She has very nice manners and she cheers up my mother a lot.”

  Mitra lay down on her bed to get some rest. She was exhausted after a day filled with sadness. She tried not to think about how much Marko had changed for the worse since she had seen him a month ago. Tears flowed down her cheeks. She crossed herself and said her prayers. This time, even the prayers didn’t help her ease her melancholy and sadness. She started to wonder how she could live watching her son dying.

  Oh no, no, she couldn’t think about that. God would help her and hopefully she would go before him. She prayed to God to take her before Marko. She remembered how horrible it was to watch Petar die. At least Petar’s death was quick. He didn’t suffer too long. It happened within a few hours.

  Mitra’s mind went back and forth until she got very tired and finally fell asleep. She slept until 9:00 pm. When the nurse checked on her, she found her on top of her made up bed all dressed in her good clothes. She touched her gently three or four times to wake her up. Mitra opened her eyes and saw the nurse standing beside her. Mitra jumped when she saw the nurse.

  “Is everything okay, nurse? Why are you here? Is my Marko all right?” Mitra asked, still drowsy.

  “I’m sorry if I have startled you, Mrs. Milutinovic. I didn’t mean to. You were talking about Marko.”

  The nurse was a new employee and she didn’t know anything about Mitra.

  “Marko is my oldest son. He isn’t feeling well.”

  The nurse didn’t know Mitra and wasn’t going to pry. She asked Mitra if she needed any help, and that she would come back with Mitra’s medicine. Mitra thanked the nurse and told her she could manage everything herself.

  “You are welcome, Mrs. Milutinovic. I have to give you your medication,” the nurse said.

  Mitra got off the bed when the phone rang.

  “Hi, Baba.”

  “Hi, Sofija, why are you calling so late?”

  “No, it’s not that late. I know you don’t go to sleep before 10 or so. I called you because I wanted to know how you were after you got scared about grandpa Marko. I know uncle Stefan took you back.”

  “Yes, that is true; he came to see his brother. Suzan came also. Don’t worry dear, I’ll be all right.”

  “I will come to see you as soon as I can, but
we’re already having a lot of tests. It’s pretty hard, much harder than high school. They want to weed us out,” said Sofija.

  “I don’t think you will be the one falling out,” said Mitra.

  “I don’t know, Baba, anything is possible,” Sofija said.

  “Yes, my dear, anything is possible in our lives.”

  “Baba, I hope you will have some rest and sleep tonight,” Sofija said.

  “I hope so too, but that is not my biggest concern.”

  “I know and I’m truly sorry for what is happening with grandpa but what can we do about it?”

  “Nothing my dear, nothing.”

  Sofija paused for a few seconds not knowing what to say. Mitra broke the silence, “Thank you for calling, dear, I love you.”

  “I love you too, Baba. I love you very much and I’m sorry you have to go through this.”

  “We all have to go through it. Good night, dear.”

  “Good night, Baba.”

  Mitra prepared herself for bed. The nurse came with her medication. The nurse was smart and didn’t leave pills with Mitra. She waited until Mitra swallowed them all. Mitra planned on not taking them. She wanted to die before Marko did.

  She started thinking about Marko’s childhood. She remembered the first steps he took between her and his father. His little arms were straight out, eyes scared. They would extend their arms towards him and as he moved forward to touch their fingers, they would pull slowly back from him. The closer he was to their fingers the more secure he felt. Once he came close and grabbed one of their hands, they would give him a big hug and kiss. His face would light up with a big smile, knowing something good had happened to him.

  He was a good baby, not fussy or mischievous. He was little bit delayed with speech. He could say only a few words clearly. They were really worried and took him to the doctor to see if there was a problem. The doctor reassured them that everything was okay because what he was able to say was clear. Once he started speaking, they were surprised how fast he was speaking normally. It looked like he could have spoken long time before, but didn’t. He was confused between two languages; Serbo-Croatian and English.

  He went to McMaster University, so he could stay home. He always wanted to be a teacher. Throughout university, he had high marks. He was hired full time after he finished his studies. They were very proud of him.

  Their first child had a university degree, while Petar and Mitra hadn’t even finished public school.

  He met Doris at university; she was also studying to be a teacher. When he brought her home to meet his parents, they were disappointed that she was not Serbian, but English. Her good manners won both of them over and they started liking her a lot. They had a beautiful wedding and received very generous gifts. Petar and Mitra paid for the total cost of the wedding.

  With the money they saved already from working as teachers plus the money they got from the wedding, Marko and Doris put a sizeable down payment on the house just across the road from Mitra and Petar. When they moved into their house, Marko said to Mitra, “You know, mom, why we bought the house close to you? We want you to babysit our children.”

  “What about your dad, is he not allowed to watch them?” Mitra asked.

  “Of course, mom, but you will be better with that. Dad likes to go and visit his friends. You don’t go any farther than across the road to see Stana.”

  They all laughed.

  It wasn’t meant for Petar to see his first grandchild; he died soon after they moved into their home. Marko was saddened that his father wasn’t around anymore. When Marko was little, Petar would spend a lot of time with him playing games or taking him to the large and beautiful Gage Park to enjoy sand, swings, and a swinging horse. Those were wonderful times in Mitra’s life; watching her beautiful, healthy children playing with their father. How could it happen that her life could be so beautiful and fulfilling at one moment and then be full of loss and become heavy with grief and sorrow the next?

  While Mitra was thinking about Marko’s life and how much joy he brought into their lives, she felt more relaxed. She said her usual prayers and her last words were to leave it all in God’s hands. Mitra was very glad that Doris was a good wife and a good person.

  That helped especially in Marko’s position. Around midnight, the nurse heard something fall in Mitra’s room. She came in to see what was going on.

  “Are you all right, Mrs. Milutinovic?”

  “Yes, my brush holder fell over but I’m all right.”

  She came in warning Mitra not to bend, she would pick it up.

  “Thank you, nurse, very much. I’m sorry for making noise.”

  “Have you slept at all?” the nurse asked, since it was close to midnight.

  “No, not yet, but I will,” Mitra said.

  “Would you like me to give you something for sleep?”

  Mitra thought for a minute and said, “I think it would be a good idea.”

  “I’ll go get it. Are you ready to go to bed?” the nurse asked.

  “Yes, I am.”

  The nurse came back with one sleeping pill. Mitra swallowed it with a few sips of water. She lay back in her bed, thanking the nurse for her kindness and concern. In a few minutes, she became drowsy and fell asleep. When she woke up it was 6:00 am. Her mind was filled with many questions about Marko. She was so restless that she didn’t know what to do with herself.

  She took some deep breaths to release the pressure of her heart. She was still like that at 8:00 am when Sandy knocked on the door. Mitra said, “Come in, please.”

  Sandy saw Mitra in a panic.

  “Are you all right, Mitra?”

  “Yes, I am, but my son Marko isn’t.”

  “Yes, I know, I spoke to your son Stefan and he told me about your son Marko. I was thinking about whether to come in and see you last night but then I thought it could make it worse to talk about it. Sorry, if I made the wrong choice.”

  Mitra explained what the nurse had done for her and how much it had helped.

  “Great. Are you going down for breakfast?” Sandy asked.

  “I don’t know, I think I won’t go,” Mitra said.

  “It would be good for you to mix with people, but if you really won’t go, I can bring you something,” Sandy said.

  “I don’t think I can be in a crowd of people this morning. Would you mind bringing me some juice and coffee? I feel very dry,” Mitra said.

  Sandy left right away. Within a few minutes, she was back with half of a bagel with cream cheese, a banana, juice, and coffee. Mitra was surprised how quickly Sandy returned.

  “I thought you would bring me this after you had your breakfast,” Mitra said.

  “Don’t worry, I’m fine. There is a lot left for me too,” Sandy said.

  Before Sandy left, she promised Mitra she would come back and keep her company. Mitra was happy for Sandy’s friendship once more. After she had the coffee, juice, and banana, she decided to call Marko’s house to see how his night had been, and how he was feeling that morning. Just as she was going to pick up the phone and dial, the phone rang. Marko’s name was on display.

  “Hello, mom,” Doris said.

  “Hello, dear,” Mitra answered.

  “I know you’re worried about Marko, but first, how was your night and how did you sleep?”

  Mitra assured Doris that people were taking really good care of her. Doris knew what Mitra wanted to hear and told her, “Someone wants to talk to you, mom.”

  When Mitra heard Marko’s voice, she became very emotional. She didn’t know how to calm her nerves. Marko asked her if she had slept well. She didn’t reply instantly but paused a bit, “I’m all right, son, don’t worry. I have plenty of time to sleep.”

  “I have to tell you, mom, I slept pretty good. This morning after I woke up, Doris made a nice breakfast for us. I’m relaxing now with my cup of coffee and newspaper. Did you have breakfast, mom?”

  “Yes, I did. Sandy brought me breakfast.”
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br />   “Why didn’t you go down for your breakfast, mom?” Marko asked.

  “I just didn’t feel like it,” Mitra replied.

  “Thank her for me, mom. I am glad she is so good to you,” Marko said.

  “Yes, she really is.”

  “Mom, please don’t be cooped up in your room. Get out and get involved in something. Don’t worry so much; your worries won’t help me.”

  “I understand, son. I’ll try not to worry, but I’m not promising. Please tell Doris to call me when she has time. It would be better than if I call you.”

  “I’ll do that, mom, but you can also call whenever you want.”

  “Thank you, son, I will.”

  “Bye, mom.”

  “Bye, son.”

  Mitra was much more relaxed after hearing Marko’s voice. Sandy came back to be with Mitra. Mitra asked how the girls were.

  “They are well, but they feel bad about your situation. We had a little commotion downstairs in the dining room. You know that tall resident, Bob? He pushed little Jimmy. Jimmy fell to the floor. After he got up, he hit Bob over the head with his cane. Bob looked at Jimmy and called him a little piece of shit. Jimmy yelled back, ‘You are a much bigger shit than me, because you are much bigger. Why did you push me?’

  “‘I didn’t mean to push you. It just happened that you turned around unexpectedly.’

  “‘That’s an excuse. You walk around as if you were a big rooster.’

  “The nurse heard all of this and said to both men, ‘Look guys, since it was an accident and both of you said unpleasant things to each other, can you please apologize to one another? Let’s start first with you, Bob.’

  “Bob said to Jimmy that he was sorry for his fall, but Jimmy wouldn’t accept the apology, ‘Yes, I fell, but first you pushed me and made me fall.’ They went back and forth. Then I left.”

  Sandy said to Mitra, “I hope you don’t intend to stay in your room all day long. Can I do something for you? Would you like to go for a walk? Can I take you out for lunch or anything else? Today is a beautiful day. It’s pretty warm for October.”

  “Thank you very much, Sandy, for your offer. I appreciate your help and your friendship. I’m waiting for a phone call from my great-granddaughter to let me know whether she will be coming home for the weekend.”