The Accident that Changed Everything

Chapter 20: Pool incident

As Kris exited the bathroom, he saw his dad standing over by the kitchen. His mom was gone off of the couch. He could also see Kyle standing in the hallway waiting for Kris to finish in the shower so he could take one himself. It seemed like the whole family was awake and already going about their morning routines.

"Morning, Dad." Kris greeted his dad. He wanted to tell him so badly about how he managed to stay dry, but with Kyle so close, and Sam already running around the suite with the energy of ten toddlers left him feeling reserved. Maybe he could tell him when they went downstairs to play some games.

"Morning, bud. We'll be going down in a second. The girls want to go swimming. You want to join us?" His dad seemed to be in a good mood this morning. That was a huge plus, if Kris was lucky that would mean his dad would actually want to celebrate with Kris about being dry instead of ridiculing him for doing something all 8 year olds ought to be able to do.

"Umm... Can we play at the arcade instead?" Kris was never a fan of swimming. He was terrible at it, and hated the activity. His sisters on the other hand loved it and would spend their entire vacation in the pool if they could. To be fair, he also knew he was the same way when it came to the arcade. If they didn't have anything else to do, and an unlimited budget, he would spend the entire time playing video games, and maybe riding some of the rides that were available at the park.

Kevin looked around the room, thinking for a moment.

"Tell you what, after we get the girls settled in at the pool, you and I can hit up the arcade for a few rounds. But we'll need to check up on them after a few rounds. Deal?" Kevin knew Kris hated swimming, but there was no reason to keep him up in the suite while Kim went back to sleep for a few more hours. He knew Kyle would be responsible enough just to read a book or something while the rest of them were downstairs. He had already chatted with Kyle to find out he didn't want to join them yet, instead wanting to enjoy a long shower all to himself.

"Okay!" Kris wasn't sure he could convince his dad to join him. He knew his dad liked playing video games, too, but he was also super protective of the family. Normally, splitting up like this would never happen, but it sounded like he was going to give it a shot for a change, and they could all do something they wanted this morning.

Kris saw Sam and Tammi grab a small bag with a towel draped over it. They had both changed into their swimsuits while Kris was in the shower. Now, it made more sense why Kyle was standing in the hall waiting to take a shower himself. He wasn't allowed in the shared room while they changed. Their swimsuits were modest one-piece dress swimsuits.

Kris quickly followed behind them as the four of them left the room, heading down towards the lobby to go for a swim, and for Kris to play some games. Sam and Kris both had a hard time containing their excitement. Sam was already jumping up and down in the elevator. Kris was just as excited trying to talk to his dad about all of the games he couldn't wait to play. Trying to ask what games his dad thought they had in the hotel for them to play.

But both Kevin and Tammi were calm; Kevin was busy checking his phone to make sure everything was alright upstairs and formulating a plan on how he wanted this all to play out. Would they play at the arcade for 20 minutes or 40 before they checked in on the girls? Was it really a good idea to leave those two alone? Should he have asked Kyle to join and watch Kris? When was breakfast hour over? Did Kim have enough time to sleep until they were done playing? When did they have to finish playing? Kevin couldn't help himself in trying to plan out every last detail. He unintentionally ignored his kids and their excitement as he tried to figure everything out.

"Dad... Dad... Dad?" Kris was nudging Kevin's arm at this point. Kevin was so much in a fog, worrying about everything, that he hadn't even realized they had already arrived at the pool. Tammi had already checked in and got in the pool, but Sam was still standing by him, waiting for something.