Dominion

Father & Son

They turn back and head out to the beach, passing by their mom, who doesn't see them due to her magazine.

"Was he being weird?" Marie asks.

"Kinda," Havel says.

"No, he wasn't," Jack says as he speeds ahead of the group.

Jack sprints towards Marie's sandcastle, kicking it into an explosion of sand and seashells.

"Hey!" Marie shouts, setting herself down beside the demolished castle.

...

Timon had overslept. As his eyelids separated, he was momentarily disoriented, having had dreams of his own home the night before and now waking up in this place. He recalls the argument he had with Phineas. His throat flares again as he peels away the covers and rolls out of bed. Timon leaves the guest room for the living room, where, to his dismay, Phineas sits on the couch reading a newspaper. Phineas confidently ignores the sounds of Timon's approach, his eyes ingesting the news line by line.

"Have you seen MaryAnn?" Timon asks Phineas.

Phineas turns his head while keeping his eye on a sentence he is finishing.

"She is outside. Watching the children, I think," he says, then turns back to the page, voicelessly mouthing the words he reads.

Timon leaves the cabin and steps into the sand. He shields his eyes from the sun, spotting his wife lying on the reclining chair with her magazine. He wonders why the children are not in sight.

Timon walks beside her, casting his shadow across her body.

"What's going on?" Timon asks.

MaryAnn lowers her magazine and sits up on an elbow.

"Oh—good morning, I thought I'd let you sleep."

"You seem—comfortable," Timon says, gesturing to her sunbathing arrangement.

MaryAnn narrows her eyes. "Is there a problem?"

Timon crouches beside her. "I'm... it's — Jesus," he says, followed by a deep breath. "You know, am I the only one..."

MaryAnn sits up and turns to Timon. He bows away and avoidantly observes the ocean. "Never mind," He says, wiping his face. "Where are the kids?"

"What?" MaryAnn asks, leaning forward to hear him better.

"Where are the kids?" Timon presses with sudden frustration.

"Down the beach a bit." She says, pointing up the beach. "Why? Everything okay?"

"I don't see them. You are supposed to watch them, MaryAnn. I told you to watch them, and here you are with a magazine." Timon says, then he stands with momentum to search.

"Timon, relax. I'll go and get them, okay?"

She stands from the chair and leaves the magazine, only to walk behind Timon and wrap her arms around him.

"Are you okay, darling?" she asks.

"Yeah, I'm okay." he says calmly. "This island is not safe for kids. There could be cougars or snakes—hell even a hog could get them."

"I'll go check on the kids. Why don't you go get some rest? You barely slept all night."

"I can't sleep," he says, "I feel too paranoid."

"Paranoid? About what?"

"No, not paranoid... I just have a lot on my mind," he responds. He glances away from her. "Go find the kids."