Severance

“Are you alright?!” Dean heard the words echo around his skull like a ping pong ball in a blender. He stood up and brushed the dirt off his clothes, trying to compose himself as best he could. “Yeah, I’m fine. Just a slightly bruised ego.” he muttered with a hint of embarrassment. He hadn’t been that far up the ladder when he fell but the impact to his head was surprisingly nasty. Dean’s coworker, Marshall, looked at him with concern. “I don’t know man, you sure you don’t wanna go to the hospital and at least get checked out? I mean, better safe than sorry.”Dean looked slightly annoyed as he adjusted his tool belt and walked over to the drink cooler. “Nah, no need. I feel fine. Really, Marsh. I just wanna finish this job so me and Susan can go have a nice relaxing weekend with the kiddos. Been looking forward to it for a while now.” “Alright, have it your way captain stubborn.” Marshall retorted. “Just don’t go passing out on me or I’ll have to report it to the boss and I know you’ll just love that.” Dean rolled his eyes and got back to work.

As soon as Dean had finished his work he made a mad dash for his truck. He really had been looking forward to this weekend for quite some time. He had it all planned out; he would load up the whole family and head for Lake Dozier. The wife and kids all loved to grab a rental pontoon boat and cruise around the lake. Dean didn’t even mind that he didn’t get much fishing done on these trips. He was just genuinely happy to spend time with his family and see them happy. As he sped toward his home, a smile slowly spread across his face. Visions of his children, Gracie, Elizabeth, and Kendra, danced in his head. He pushed down harder on the accelerator.

“Daddy, daddy! You’re home!” the high-pitched squeals of excitement that Dean heard from his precious children upon opening the door were music to his ears. He scooped them all up in his arms and strolled into the kitchen where his wife was pouring glasses of tea. He set his children down, tousled their hair, and sent them back into the den. He embraced his wife and kissed her passionately; the kind of kiss that says I missed you and I’m ready for this vacation. Susan smiled affectionately and rubbed the back of Dean’s head. “You must’ve been breaking the speed limit mister. There’s no way you made it home that quickly following the law.” “I may have gone five or so over.” Dean grinned sheepishly. “Can you blame me, though? I mean who wouldn’t speed home to this?” Susan blushed and turned to head upstairs. “Come on, we’ve got packing to do!”

The girls were jumping feverishly on the bed, racing around the room, and then jumping on the bed again in a tempestuous cycle that had reached a fever pitch. Their excitement was matched only by the drowsiness that they all definitely felt but refused to acknowledge or succumb to. Dean put on his best mock “stern” voice and bellowed “Who will be the next victim of the…TICKLE MONSTER?!” The girls shrieked and scattered like dandelion petals caught in a sudden breeze. One by one, Dean caught each of them and scooped them up into his arms, issuing tickles indiscriminately. The laughter that roared through the house created a tangible atmosphere of joy. Dean headed downstairs to set the alarm for the night. When he reached the wall where the alarm console was located he tilted his head in confusion. “Where’s the keypad?” he asked himself quizzically. He turned in absent-minded circles as if he were in an unfamiliar place and spotted the console on the opposite wall. “Must’ve been a longer day than I thought because I could’ve sworn the keypad has always been on the OTHER wall.” He chuckled to himself. He shrugged, set the alarm, and headed back upstairs. “Okay, seriously, time for bed kiddos.” Dean handed each of them a glass of water and turned to see Susan walk through the door to give goodnight kisses. She spent time reading a story to three very sleepy sets of ears and when the story was finished all three of the girls were already dreaming. “Sleep tight munchkins”, Susan said with a smile. “We’ve gotta get an early start in the morning.”

The ride to Lake Dozier was a fairly lengthy one but Dean didn’t mind. That meant he got to spend some quality one-on-one time with his favorite people in the world. Every road trip game from “I Spy” to “The Alphabet Game” was played on their way to the lake. Every so often the girls would doze off in the back seat leaving space for Dean and Susan to have deep discussions and enjoy a brief slice of alone time. “Who would’ve thought two years ago, heck, even a year ago that we’d be where we are today?” said Susan with a smirk. Dean took her hand and traced along the back of it with his thumb. “I know. I can hardly believe it myself but the Lord has really blessed us, babe. If it hadn’t been for that big client popping up out of nowhere and giving us enough work for the next several years we’d probably still be living paycheck-to-paycheck. We certainly couldn’t have afforded these nice lake vacations. I mean don’t get me wrong, I have been truly happy with you and the girls even in the leanest of times, I’m just glad I can do this for y’all. I really don't know what I'd do without you and the kids." Susan’s eyes began to well up and she whispered, “I love you so much, Dean.” They rode in contented silence until they reached a gas station. “Time for a brief pitstop, ladies.”

After everyone had grabbed snacks and visited the restroom Dean and Susan let the kids run around and play tag in the picnic area for a bit. “I know we’re almost there” said Dean, “but I just love watching them run around and have fun. Besides, it’s never a bad idea to stretch your legs.” Susan grinned and rolled her eyes playfully. “Well at this rate they’re gonna be playing tag in the dark. Let’s keep trucking so we have time to settle in before bed.” Dean smiled and agreed and they loaded up and traveled the last stretch of highway to the lake house.

The next morning everyone was up extra early. Not one of them could contain their excitement to rent a boat and get out on the water. Dean and Susan whipped up a breakfast spread worthy of a royal feast but the kids were too focused on starting the day to be very interested in eating. “No activities until you’ve had breakfast.” Dean said matter-of-factly. “Ugh, fine!” the girls all groaned in an overdramatic symphony. Susan came into the kitchen holding several bags and some life jackets. “Everyone has an extra bathing suit, a bottle of sunscreen, a life jacket, sunglasses, and there are plenty of snacks and drinks in the cooler!” The girls shouted in unison, through mouthfuls of pancakes, “Whooohoooo! That means we’re ready to go!” Dean chuckled and grabbed his keys. He had to admit that he was just as excited as they were. They all rushed out the door and headed to the nearest boat rental place. After what felt like an eternity, they secured a gently used pontoon boat to have their lake day on. The whole family was all smiles as they loaded their things onto the boat and boarded for departure. Their long-anticipated lake day had officially begun.

As Dean commandeered the boat gracefully out into the midst of the lake he looked eastward and noticed a thick blanket of dark, almost pitch black clouds. He furrowed his brow, “Babe, we checked the weather and it’s clear skies all weekend. No chance of rain. So what’s that all about? Weatherman phone it in this week?” “I don’t know dear, but maybe it will stay over there and let us have our lake day.” “Yeah, maybe.” Dean muttered pensively.

The next few hours were filled with fun and laughs. The kids jumping off the boat and swimming back just to do it all over again, Susan tanning in the bright sun, and Dean even got to make a few casts with his new rod and reel. As they sat anchored in a small cove on the east side of the lake, Dean took a deep breath and drank in the view around him. The joy and love. The peace. Time seemed to stand still and he thought to himself that he might like to live in this moment, this specific moment, forever. Suddenly a cool but harsh wind swept over the boat. Dean turned his eyes to the East and saw the stormy sky now fast spreading over the horizon toward them. Others on the lake must have seen it too because every boat on the East side of the lake was now skipping across the water at full speed toward the boat ramp. Dean ushered everyone back on the boat and safely into a seat before starting up the outboard and following suit. As they sped along the air changed temperature and raindrops began to plop heavily against the deck of the boat. The other boaters became increasingly panicked and started to speed with reckless abandon across the lake’s now choppy surface. Dean tried to focus more on the other boaters than the weather but one boat, a sleek bass boat built for speed, was captained by someone paying a lot less attention to his surroundings and before Dean knew what was going on the bass boat sped into them at full speed, wedging itself under the pontoon and causing it to capsize. Dean was thrown Port and Susan and the girls were thrown Starboard. Cold lake water jetted into Dean’s nostrils as he went under, his gaze frantically shifting in search of his wife and children the entire time. He spotted them a short distance away, just under the surface of the water. As Dean desperately tried to make his way over to them he noticed the sharp pain in his ribs and realized they must be broken. He pushed through the pain and inched excruciatingly slowly toward his distressed family. He extended his arm out as far as he could, reaching for them, inches away. He kept them in sight, suspended just under the surface until he finally lost consciousness.

“Holy crap, he’s awake.” These were the first words that Dean heard when he came to. He squinted his eyes, his vision blurry, and looked around. He was in a hospital room. “You took quite the tumble, mister.” Dean shot straight up in the bed, rigid as steel. “My kids! My kids and my wife! Are they ok?!” The nurse looked at him with a hint of curiosity and bewilderment. “I think you hit your head pretty dang hard when you fell off that la-“ “I have to know if they’re okay!” Dean jumped out of the bed pulling out I.V. tubes and ripping off monitor patches. He fell to the floor with a thud, his legs straining under his weight. He pulled himself up and darted out of the room as fast as he could manage. As he approached the nurse’s station around the corner he saw a woman standing with her back to him, talking to one of the nurses. “Did my father come through his surgery alright?” he heard her ask. She heard his labored breathing and the commotion he made as he stumbled down the hall and turned to face him. Dean was flabbergasted and simultaneously ecstatic to see the face of his wife looking back at him. She wore a visitor’s tag with the name “Susan” scribbled on it in permanent marker. “Oh, darlin’!” Dean said, tears welling up in his eyes. “I’m so happy you’re okay! How about the kids? Are they with you? Are they safe?” “I’m sorry” said the woman, with a look that was equal parts confusion and pity, “Do I know you?”