Just Don't Die

Not Funny

Blaine woke up to his heart thumping in response to a dream he had not had in years. It was Saturday, October 23rd, and the nightmare he had just woken up from was a memory of this day. Blaine's entire focus for the last two weeks had been to make sure that today's event would change from a horrific memory to just another bad dream.

Blaine rolled from his bed and grabbed his glasses next to the alarm. He still had ten minutes before it went off, but he wasn't going to take any chances today. He would save his workout for this evening after he and his dad were home safe. With the pit of his stomach turning and cramping, Blaine set to put this day behind him. He quickly showered, put on clean work clothes, and then started the coffee, bacon, and eggs.

As Gabe came out of his bedroom, Blaine noticed he had a slight smile. Blaine admitted his memory of this day was deeply tainted, but from this perspective, his dad's upbeat attitude indicated he was not unhappy about having to work yet another Saturday. This job would explain the extra savings that were found after his death. It crossed Blaine's mind that he had never heard much about this job or the extra money, even after his death. He wondered if he had been paid yet or was waiting for the job to finish before telling them. Blaine smiled at his dad as he poured the coffee because all he could think was that this would no longer be the worst day of his life.

Blaine spent the ride staring out of the passenger side window of the old van. His mind was deep in thought about how different his life would have been had this day never happened. He thought about what he might have to do to help his dad if changing the sequence of events wasn't enough. He can do CPR, but he doesn't even have a cell phone to call for help. The recurrent thought was also the most overwhelming fear: is his fate already set? Will it be like all the movies where the character is saved from one death only to experience a different, more horrific death?

When the van pulled up to the site, absolute dread set, like sand in every joint of Blaine's body. He exerted every effort he had to maintain the facade of a normal stride and gait as he walked with his dad toward the electrical box on the side of the house. Gabe had told him this would be the last day he had to work on the house before the insulation and drywall had to be put up, and it would be a short day. All that was left to do was place all the breakers in the breaker box, turn the power on, make sure all the outlets worked, and then they'd be done.

Blaine continued to make note of things that he had no memory of due to the overlapping tragedy. The day was unusually warm for late October in southwestern Colorado due partly to the thick overcast that created an otherworldly ambient light. The drizzle of cold rain effectively set the scene for the darkest day in his life, but at the same time, the subtle smell of fresh mud that had been dry too long added an air of optimism to his perception that had been over-saturated with fear.

Blaine filled his lungs with the aromatic air, mentally gathering his strength as he followed his dad to the breaker box. Blaine looked at the wet mud his dad stood in as he placed each breaker into the box.

"You're sure the power's not hooked up, right?" Blaine said, clearing his voice to steady it.

"This ain't my first rodeo, kid," Gabe said without looking up, "I've been doing this since before you were born."

"Just checking. Can't be too careful."

His dad paused for a minute, looking up at the sky. "There it is," he said, eyes still skyward.

Blaine followed the gaze up to see the minute white specks of snow start to replace the rain. His memory was quickly jogged, and he remembered that there would be a significant snowfall tonight. The snow was the last thing on his mind at that time, so he only vaguely remembered details like the schools being closed the following Monday.

He didn't go to school that next week and no one blamed him. Blaine was still lost in recollection, staring at the snowflakes, when he heard a small yelp and the thump of a body hitting the ground.

"No," Blaine gasped with a calmness that betrayed the short circuit that had just occurred in his temporal lobe.

Blaine was starting to shake as he looked to see his dad lying in the mud, eyes closed and his tongue hanging out of his mouth. The tears started to flood from his eyes as he took a step towards the still body.

"This isn't possible. It's not possible. I changed it." He whispered hoarsely, kneeling by his dad's unmoving body.

Blaine's tears stopped as the critical part of his brain took notice of his father's tongue. Why would his tongue hang out? He'd seen plenty of people, both dead and dying, and not one had a tongue hanging out of their mouth. Slack-jawed, maybe, but never a tongue. His hand went quickly to his father's throat to check his pulse.

As soon as he touched his fingertips to his dad's throat, he jerked back as Gabe started to shake and convulse. Blaine had seen a seizure before and knew what it looked like. When he heard the sounds coming from his dad's body, he knew the sound was familiar, but his mind was still stuck in nurse mode.

Blaine's mind and body remained ready for CPR, but the sound his dad was making didn't match anything he was prepared for.

"Dad?" Blaine squeaked.

His dad's eyes wiggled open, shaking with the rest of his body.

"Dad!" Blaine screamed this time.

It was laughter. His dad was laughing. Laughing so hard his whole body was shaking.

Blaine jumped up and turned away.

It was too much. The moment he realized what had just happened, tears started to pour out of his eyes again, but unlike before, it was now pure, unadulterated anger. He saw nothing but red and walked back to the van, unable to calm himself down.

Gabe was still laughing when he returned to the van and threw his work bag into the back. He grinned at Blaine in the passenger seat, who sat emotionless, staring straight ahead into the falling snow. "Oh, come on now. It was a little funny."

Blaine was so emotionally drained he couldn't think straight. While waiting for his dad, he had calmed himself down and concocted a story about why he had found no humor in the prank. The reason wasn't a lie, just not the complete truth.

"I woke up from a very elaborate dream this morning where you died working on this house," Blaine said monotonously and without looking at his dad.

The smile faded from Gabe's face. "Well, shit, you should have told me. That makes more sense. You asked me about the power being unhooked at least five times." Gabe looked over his shoulder as they backed out of the muddy driveway, his smile returning. "I'm not sorry, though. The look on your face was hilarious. I feel a little bad that you had the dream, but funny is still funny."

Blaine digested it for a moment. Had he not been from an alternate universe in which his dad died horrifically, this might have been a funny prank. He had spent more quality time with his dad in the last two weeks than he had memories from his life before, and no matter what, his dad is now alive and well. He could either focus on the perceived slight of an insensitive prank and be angry, or he could be thankful to have even another second with his dad.

"Yeah, well, you owe me lunch then," Blaine said after several seconds of silence. He would appreciate more of what he did have instead of focusing on what was lost. It was a much easier task since he had a unique comparative perspective to know, without a doubt, how bad things can get.

"Fair enough, but it will have to wait for dinner. I'm taking both you and your mom out. I have some pretty exciting news. I was thinking steak at the Ore House?"

"Sounds great, Dad." Blaine knew that this must be when his dad had planned on telling them about the money he got for the house. It's too bad he didn't get the chance before. The only thing Blaine wanted right now was to revel in this single, life-changing victory. So he would.