The Grand Discovery

Welcome to The Spot Writers. This month, the prompt is “a surprising discovery.” This week’s story comes to us from Cathy.

Cathy’s novels, WOLVES DON’T KNOCK, a psychological drama, and MISTER WOLFE, the darkly dark sequel or stand-alone novel (18+), are available on Amazon. MY BROTHER, THE WOLF, the last of the series, is scheduled for release in 2023.

Cathy, not to be outdone with Melvin’s last three kayak adventures, continues with another tale. (She apologizes that these tales are getting weirder and weirder—and perhaps slightly deranged—and yes, the protagonist finally has a name!)

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 The Grand Discovery

by Cathy MacKenzie

 

Remember my three kids’ laughter across Sinclair Lake? Yeah, I remember it so well. Too well. Such a sad, sorrowful experience...

Well, low and behold, William survived. My son! William!

Yes!

He washed up on our shoreline—well, unless my merry mermaid brought him in. (Never thought of that until this moment. Hmmm…)

At any rate, I found him the next day. He wasn’t my favourite child, however, and as soon as I saw him, I wished I was looking at one of my daughters. Oh, I know, parents—fathers—shouldn’t have favourites, but we do, don’t we? Can’t be helped.

(Bet you thought my fav child would’ve been William, right? Two males sticking together...)

So, yeah, William, one of my children, my only son, survives!

As I said, I found him washed up on our shore the day after his supposed death (the deaths of all my children) when I went down to kayak. The lifejacket I’d tightened around him must have saved him. Obviously, he wasn’t dead when I’d dragged him out of Sinclair Lake.

When I found him on the shore, he lay alongside my kayak. His eyes, though open, were vacant as if he’d died before he’d a chance to close his eyes. (I’m sure you’ve seen movies where someone’s closing a dead person’s eyes.) I put my hand against his mouth and sensed a whiff of a breath. I didn’t have to perform CPR. I shook his shoulders, which jolted life into him.

He gurgled and sputtered up a couple of mouthfuls of seawater. Don’t know for sure how much. Who has a measuring cup handy in the great outdoors, especially on a lake? Nope, couldn’t measure it. But that’s immaterial. He was alive. And even though he wasn’t my favourite child, he was still my flesh and blood. And since he was my son, he’d carry on the family name. That’s all that mattered at that moment to me—but, of course, not to Marie. She was over the sun during the day and the stars at night to have one of her sweet children back in the fold of her breasts. She’d never really let any of them go. 

(Between you and me, I don’t think William was her fav, either. She’d never own up to it, of course, as I never would, but I’m quite certain one of the girls would be her pick.)

Usually, a man favours his male child. But... Well, William was different. Can’t explain how, exactly. Just wasn’t the son I’d expected after Marie and I fornicated. I won’t go into those details of me and Marie (kinda private)...

Marie shed way too many tears for the kids, too many in vain for William since he lives to this day. He’s married. Has kids. But neither he, his wife, nor Marie leave me alone with my grands. What the hell? Do they think I’m gonna drown them?

Life’s a freakin’ bitch. But, oh man, I’ve learned my lesson since that day in the 80s. I never take anyone kayaking with me. It’s all about me now. Me and the mermaid—when she wants to appear.

Yet...

One day, I got to pondering...

If I’d thought William was dead when I slipped him back into Lake Sinclair and he wasn’t, what about my two girls? Had they been alive when I tossed them back to Sinclair?

But—wait a minute: I put lifejackets on them. I buckled the buckles as tight as I could. I gave them another chance at life, didn’t I? If they died after that, wouldn’t that be on them?

I breathed more easy after that. I’d never sleep at night had I thought I’d killed one of my children.

 

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The Spot Writers—Our Members:

Val Muller: http://www.valmuller.com/blog/

Catherine A. MacKenzie: https://writingwicket.wordpress.com/wicker-chitter/

Phil Yeats: https://alankemisterauthor.wordpress.com

Chiara De Giorgi: https://chiaradegiorgi.blogspot.com/