The strangest phone conversation I've ever had.

Last week when the waterproofing team drilled out our basement and installed a sump pump, they also lugged out our old cement utility sink and replaced it with a newer, lighter, cleaner fiberglass version. 

It's a nice upgrade from its cracked and graffitied predecessor.  However, Mike the technician was missing a part, so we set a day for him to come back and finish installing it.  That day was yesterday.

Normally I wouldn't care about not having access to our utility sink, but our washing machine drains into the sink, so we've been without a washing machine for a week and are running out of clean laundry.

I called Mike yesterday to confirm our appointment.  He didn't answer, so I left a message.

He called me back yesterday afternoon.  The below is an (as far as I can remember) exact account of our conversation:

Me:  Hi Mike.  Thanks for calling me back.

Mike:  Hi Rachel, I've got some bad news.

Me : (Thinking he's going to say he is too busy and can't make it out that night) Oh?

Mike:  I just walked in the door and found my Mom dead on the floor.

Me:  What?  Oh my gosh! That's horrible.  I'm so sorry!

Mike:  Yeah.  I mean, I haven't called anyone yet.  My kids are freaking out. 

(Kids crying and dogs barking in background)

Me:  Mike, I'm so sorry!  Please just take care of what you need to take care of.  Call the ambulance. 

Mike:  Yeah, I mean, I need to clean it all up.  It looks like she had a heart attack, but I'm really not sure.  My kids are just freaking out right now.  I just brought her up from Oklahoma to live with me.  My kids don't know what to do...

Me: I'm so sorry.  This is just horrible.  I'm so sorry.

Mike:  I noticed that your husband has some tools.  If he has tools, you can just hack the pipe off yourself and install a new pipe.  It's not that hard.

Me:  Don't worry about that, Mike.  We'll figure something out with your company.  Don't even worry about that right now.  Just take care of what you need to take care of.

Mike:  Yeah, I mean, my kids are freaking out, you know?  My mom is just lying there dead on the floor.  I don't know what happened.  I haven't called anyone yet.  She's just here and she's dead...

Me: I'm so so sorry, Mike!  Please don't worry at all about your appointment.  Just take care of your kids and take care of what you need to take care of.

Mike:  Ok.  Ok.  I'm sure you can do the installation yourself.  We'll talk later.

I think he must have been in shock and I must have been the first person to pop up in his recently called/call back list.  I felt so horrible for him.  What an awful thing to have happen...especially with his kids there!

I've never had a stranger phone call in all my life.