Final goodbye in Adventures in paradise

Well another trip to the parents and back is done and dusted for Easter. My sister arrived right after I did. Mum said my older brother wasn’t coming as “Something came up” with no other details.
We went up the road to see Ma. My sister’s husband brought his camera for photos. I sat on the floor in front of Ma and I felt her put her right hand on my shoulder. That was a real moment. Probably the last moment of human touch between us.
Ma has also lost the ability to talk. Her tongue is too swollen and she can only have foods in liquid form. She’s apparently been like this for a month now, but I’d just learned of it. When we arrived and my sister asked how she was, I managed to make out her mumbled, “Not good.”
She was wearing a gorgeous green outfit (as though she was preparing for photos) and she looked well otherwise. She enthusiastically hummed and ahhed as she listed to us talk. Ma has always had a very bellowing laugh, so it’s a shame I couldn’t hear that again.
We probably hung around for a half-hour or so. She’s got all this family visiting her lately and we’re probably crowding her, let alone whoever’s idea it was to get last-monents-of-life photos. Saying “Bye Ma” as I exited her home really did feel like a final goodbye for me.
It was back at my parents house up the road that I started to overthink and blink back tears a few times, but I managed to.
We did a video call with my brother and his wife up in Mt Isa. They have three kids of their own and were babysitting two others.

I drove back that night and took the second range crossing bipass again. The hire car was really nice and roomy. I only ran into thick fog at one part of it and had to slow right down as I could barely see the lines on the road. I was more concerned about hitting a kangaroo, as I’d seen one earlier on. The bipass has a lot of boundary fencing so I figured it’d be a safer option.
It’s always a relief to drop the hire car off and get home again.