The Family That Laughs Together, Stays Together

The pale mother and recovering toddler headed out to the parking lot while the father settled the bill. As he was filling out the paperwork, he suddenly felt the blood completely leave his face like the tide rushing out to sea just before a massive tidal wave. He felt his mouth go dry and his hands go clammy. You’ve got to be kidding me. The clerk handed his insurance card back and said cheerily, “You’re all set. Good night!” The father grunted something incomprehensible and pondered turning right to the bathroom or left to the parking lot. Being the good father that he was, he decided to get his sick wife and baby home. He walked out to the car where the mother was already in the driver’s seat. He was trying to talk himself out of laughing until he arrived home. No such luck. Things were just too funny on this night. The car was barely moving when the window was rolled down and the father shared a joke with the parking lot. And then there were three …

Upon arrival home, the mother and toddler wearily climbed into the master bed which was now a bare mattress with a bare comforter. The toddler quickly fell asleep while the mother made a few more trips to the bathroom. The mother and father debated getting the prescription filled immediately or waiting until morning. The mother reasoned that there would be no sleep without some form of medication. The father reluctantly agreed, climbed into the car that didn’t have remnants of laughter all over the passenger door, and headed out to the other all night pharmacy which coincidentally was in the strip mall across the street from the previous all night pharmacy. This begs the question: what’s wrong with the inhabitants of this town that they need two all night pharmacies within fifty yards of each other? The father felt queasy and exhausted, but was proud of his heroic efforts to take care of his family at 2:30 a.m. In fact, he felt downright thirsty. And he remembered that as a small boy, his mother always let him have Coke to help his upset stomach. So he picked up a bottle on his way out of the pharmacy. But always mindful of his weight, he settled for Diet Coke.