SHARJAH // She waits by the phone, hoping it will ring.

Since hearing of the death of her husband, Waleed Al Wasi, on Friday, his wife, pregnant with the couple’s third child, has held onto her phone while repeating the phrase: “He will call me now.”

“She even perfumed his clothes with Bokhoor preparing them for his return,” said Waleed’s sister, Nojood.

“His children are playing in the tent where people come to pay condolences and keep asking when father is coming back.”

Nojood was the last person in the family to speak to Waleed, after he phoned to check up on them.

“Strangely, he kept telling me to take good care of our mother and these were his last words,” Nojood said.

Though the general feeling among both sides of the family is disbelief, she added, everyone is proud of Waleed’s sacrifice.

For Abeer Eid Al Rida, whose husband Ahmad Golam AbdulKareem was among those killed, something was amiss after his last visit.

“His farewell in his last visit was very intense and emotional and I knew he was not coming back,” she said.

The mother of four, whose youngest just turned one, made sure their children were aware of what their father had accomplished.

“I told them they must always be proud of him. Our 10-year-old son stands tall receiving people who come to pay condolences.”

Although she has restrained herself in front of the children, Abeer said she wept when their 4-year-old daughter asked when the family could go to heaven to see their dad.

For his sons Eisa and Abdullah, the memory of their father will live on.

“We will miss our father, the fun times with him, his talks and play with us, but we are proud of him, and proud to be the sons of the UAE soldier who gave his life for our beloved country,” they said.

In years to come, the children will continue to honour their father, Abeer said.

“I will teach my children to defend their country like their father.

“I am the wife of the hero. I am the wife of the martyr. He made us proud in his life and in his death. I will always hold my head up high.”