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Authors: Steven Manchester
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lungs.
Denis’s face was blue, and his eyes were bulging out of his head. He tried to speak, but nothing would come out. Instead, saliva oozed out of the corner of his mouth. He looked at Lindsey. Even though he was completely obliterated with alcohol, his eyes were struck with terror.
He’s choking to death!
she realized and scrambled to get behind him. She started yelling, trying to get everyone else’s attention, while she wrapped her arms around him and gave one squeeze into his gut from the seated position.
No good
, she thought, while a sense of panic was quickly filling her. Tony, the only other sober one in the bunch, hurried over. The rest of the drunks stood paralyzed, staring. Tony and Lindsey yanked Denis to his feet. Lindsey got her hands interlocked under his rib cage and gave another thrust.
Still nothing
. She did it again. The old man’s legs turned to rubber under him, and Lindsey felt her panic overflow; she was losing her father in her arms.
Oh God, please…
She jammed his abdomen hard again and heard him let out a slight gag. As he tried to reclaim his feet, she looked down and noticed a chunk of chicken marinated in saliva and mucous lying on the ground.
We got it out!
she realized and felt her own legs go limp.
Lindsey spun in front of her father to watch two feet of snot swing from his nose to his knees. He gagged and choked, but he took in air. He coughed up a few more pieces of the dinner that had been lodged in his throat. His bloodshot eyes looked like they might actually explode. She patted his back twice more. Her head felt light and her legs began to quiver.
He’s just erased two years from my life
, she thought and took a seat.
Her father, on the other hand, cleared his throat and spoke for the first time. “That was the best damn chicken I’ve ever tasted,” he joked, trying to reclaim some of his dignity.
Everyone laughed—everyone but Lindsey. This grown child of a violent alcoholic understood that while they all froze, she and Tony were the only ones sober enough to take action. For that reason alone, her father still lived. For the first time that day, she thought,
Thank God I was here.
“Want something to eat?” Lindsey’s friends asked, but she couldn’t. Her hands were shaking too much. Instead, she dumped out the rest of her father’s meal and told him, “You’re all done drinking for the day.” Everyone froze again. No one could have said that to Denis Wood unless his life depended on it. For the first time in Lindsey’s life, the old man didnt’ argue. He nodded once, grabbed a bottle of water and took a sip, trying to get rid of that bad feeling in his gizzard.
Lindsey thought,
My father gave me life, and I’ve repaid the gift by giving him a second life.
Part of her wished they were even. She looked at him and felt equal amounts of love and hatred.
But we’ll never be even,
she realized.
We’re family.
It was decided that Ruggie would stay the night at the campsite and sleep his buzz off, while Denis would go home with Lindsey.
“That was fun,” Denis said on the ride home, trying to make light of his recent brush with death.
Lindsey never replied.
You’re just lucky I was there
, she thought, and then filed the nightmare away with the rest of them.
A few miles up the road, she thought,
I hope there’s an email from David waiting for me at home.
While the rest of the trip was traveled in silence
,
she directed her thoughts to dwell on more hopeful relationships.
*
¤ ¤ ¤ ¤
*
The following day, Ruggie called Lindsey to apologize.
“It’s okay,” she told him, letting him off the hook.
“I just got off the phone with your dad,” he said. “He says he can’t remember too much of what happened. He doesn’t remember choking, and he only knows that you saved his life because I just told him.”
There was silence. They both knew. Along with a couple thousand brain cells, the old man’s
life and death
lesson had been lost in an ocean of
Denis’s face was blue, and his eyes were bulging out of his head. He tried to speak, but nothing would come out. Instead, saliva oozed out of the corner of his mouth. He looked at Lindsey. Even though he was completely obliterated with alcohol, his eyes were struck with terror.
He’s choking to death!
she realized and scrambled to get behind him. She started yelling, trying to get everyone else’s attention, while she wrapped her arms around him and gave one squeeze into his gut from the seated position.
No good
, she thought, while a sense of panic was quickly filling her. Tony, the only other sober one in the bunch, hurried over. The rest of the drunks stood paralyzed, staring. Tony and Lindsey yanked Denis to his feet. Lindsey got her hands interlocked under his rib cage and gave another thrust.
Still nothing
. She did it again. The old man’s legs turned to rubber under him, and Lindsey felt her panic overflow; she was losing her father in her arms.
Oh God, please…
She jammed his abdomen hard again and heard him let out a slight gag. As he tried to reclaim his feet, she looked down and noticed a chunk of chicken marinated in saliva and mucous lying on the ground.
We got it out!
she realized and felt her own legs go limp.
Lindsey spun in front of her father to watch two feet of snot swing from his nose to his knees. He gagged and choked, but he took in air. He coughed up a few more pieces of the dinner that had been lodged in his throat. His bloodshot eyes looked like they might actually explode. She patted his back twice more. Her head felt light and her legs began to quiver.
He’s just erased two years from my life
, she thought and took a seat.
Her father, on the other hand, cleared his throat and spoke for the first time. “That was the best damn chicken I’ve ever tasted,” he joked, trying to reclaim some of his dignity.
Everyone laughed—everyone but Lindsey. This grown child of a violent alcoholic understood that while they all froze, she and Tony were the only ones sober enough to take action. For that reason alone, her father still lived. For the first time that day, she thought,
Thank God I was here.
“Want something to eat?” Lindsey’s friends asked, but she couldn’t. Her hands were shaking too much. Instead, she dumped out the rest of her father’s meal and told him, “You’re all done drinking for the day.” Everyone froze again. No one could have said that to Denis Wood unless his life depended on it. For the first time in Lindsey’s life, the old man didnt’ argue. He nodded once, grabbed a bottle of water and took a sip, trying to get rid of that bad feeling in his gizzard.
Lindsey thought,
My father gave me life, and I’ve repaid the gift by giving him a second life.
Part of her wished they were even. She looked at him and felt equal amounts of love and hatred.
But we’ll never be even,
she realized.
We’re family.
It was decided that Ruggie would stay the night at the campsite and sleep his buzz off, while Denis would go home with Lindsey.
“That was fun,” Denis said on the ride home, trying to make light of his recent brush with death.
Lindsey never replied.
You’re just lucky I was there
, she thought, and then filed the nightmare away with the rest of them.
A few miles up the road, she thought,
I hope there’s an email from David waiting for me at home.
While the rest of the trip was traveled in silence
,
she directed her thoughts to dwell on more hopeful relationships.
*
¤ ¤ ¤ ¤
*
The following day, Ruggie called Lindsey to apologize.
“It’s okay,” she told him, letting him off the hook.
“I just got off the phone with your dad,” he said. “He says he can’t remember too much of what happened. He doesn’t remember choking, and he only knows that you saved his life because I just told him.”
There was silence. They both knew. Along with a couple thousand brain cells, the old man’s
life and death
lesson had been lost in an ocean of
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