THE FORBIDDEN CALL
“Put that phone away!” the nurse’s sharp voice sounded like a verdict. “No recording allowed here.”
Brooks’ mother, Teresa, panicked.
I can’t rob my son of this moment.
She hid the phone under her hospital gown. The camera peeked through the fabric, catching glimpses of the ceiling and IV drips.
In the airport, Brooks pressed his ear to the speaker, trying to hear his wife’s breathing over the terminal noise.
“Brooks, are you there?” Haley moaned.
“I’m here, baby. I’m with you. Just breathe.”
Brooks froze. They were about to cut him off.
The doctor delivering the baby noticed Teresa’s strange posture. He saw the glowing screen under her clothes.
The doctor stepped closer. He looked at the screen. He saw a soldier in uniform, sitting on a floor hundreds of miles away. Tears were standing in the young man’s eyes.
The doctor nodded.
“Hold the phone steady,” he said softly. “Let the father see.”
The connection stabilized. Brooks could see everything.
But suddenly, a loud voice boomed over the airport loudspeakers:
“Attention, we are now beginning boarding for the flight to Jackson.”
A flight attendant approached Brooks.
“Sir, you need to board the aircraft. Now. You have to turn off your phone.”
He needed to fly to them. But if he stepped on that plane, the signal would die at the most critical moment.