Family Night

Family night is about them going out during a rain storm and ends up in an accident which leads to the fathers death, the death of their daughter, and leaving the mother and wife paralyzed.

The evening rain of July 10^th hammered against the windows all around the house. My husband, Jessica and I had a family tradition every weekend. If Jessie did an excellent job in school and be good around the house, we could take her wherever she wanted to go. Every weekend was different from the last.

Jessica sat comfortably on her bed, clutching on her stuffed bunny.

“Do you need to go potty before we get dressed?” I asked keeping my tone soft. A flicker of hesitation came from Jessie’s eyes.

“No, mommy, I don’t,” Jessie told me as I began to dress her. The back door had burst open, as rain had a downpour. Shoes squeak on the kitchen floor. The wind following John inside. He shook his head, sending droplets flying on the tile floor. A tired smile made its way to his lips as he saw his family.

“Where’s my little girl?” John asked. Jessie came out of her room still clinging onto the bunny.

“Boooo,” she said.

“Ahhhhh,” John said. “How’s my little girl?”

“I am fine daddy. Are we going to the movies now?” Jessie asked jumping up and down where she stood.

“Yes. Let daddy get out of his work clothes and we will go,” John promised. He kissed Jessie on the forehead, then encouraged her to play with her toys until we were ready to go.

He turned to me, he put his arm around my waist then gave me a kiss. Mud clung to his work boots as he walked onto the kitchen tiles. When he hugged me, a smell of rain and earth touched my nose. But I did not care. His arms around me were a warm, solid comfort. I was so glad he made it home safely out of the terrible weather. The rain still hitting the windows making the whole house shake. We did not want to disappoint Jessie. John turned and walked to the bedroom to change out of his smelly work clothes.

Finally, we were all in the car, anxious to go.

“What movie do you want to watch?” John asked us.

“Jessica, tell daddy what you want to watch,” she smiled from ear to ear, as she jumped up and down in her car seat.

“I want to watch The Little Mermaid, Daddy,” Jessie said. John looked at me, smiled and nodded. Jessica loves that movie. And she made sure that we knew it.

It was raining harder than earlier, and John had a tough time seeing the road on the way to the theater. Thankfully, we arrived safely and found seats in the back, where it was quiet. The movie ended too soon then we were back in the car.

“May we get ice cream?” Jessica asked.

“Of course we can,” John told Jessie. When he turned the engine on, the car roared to life and John turned on the heater so we could get warm.

Lightening streaked across the sky, catapulting our surroundings into darkness. John turned the corner the storm grew in intensity as the lightning struck the ground near our car.

“LOOK OUT!!!!” I yelled to John as our car and another car veered in different directions hitting the tree.

“OH MY GOD!!!! Are they okay?” someone asked in a faint whisper. I could not see who the person was who asked that.

Between the car seats, Jessica’s small body was forced awkwardly in between them restricting any movement she tried to make. Her struggle muffled by the smell of blood," she groaned as the metal trapped her between the seats. The smell of car exhaust maxed out the smell of blood making every breath a struggle.

“Mommy, it hurts,” Jessica whimpered. “The seats are squeezing me.”

“Hold on baby,” I told Jessica, trying to keep my tone even and hopeful so she does not get more scared.

“Daddy?” Jessica said. But he did not respond.

In the distance, sirens blared. So, it was clear that someone had called the ambulance.

“It hurts,” Jessica cried again.

“I know sweetie. Please hold on, okay?”

“Okay, mommy.”

As the ambulance and first responders rolled up, the streetlights came back on. Immediately, they set to work extracting us using the Jaws of Life.

“We were heading to the Ice Cream parlor when the car hit us,” I told them as they loaded me into the ambulance. When I looked down, a chill surged up my spine. A slight panic made its way to my eyes.

At the hospital, John was pronounced dead. Jessica ended up in a coma and had sporadic seizures. I was paralyzed from the waist down.

A month after my release from the hospital, the pain of loss triggered my mental health, and I was not coming out of it. I saw a grief counselor. Without the help and proper coping mechanism, I would not know how to handle what happened on what should have been a routine family night. From the therapy, I still felt isolated from myself. Jessica never awakened. A few months after the accident, she died.