"Dinner is ready!"
I hear my wife yell from the kitchen. I smile and get up from the couch to go get our son from his room. I knock twice and he says "come in!" So I enter.
"Dinner is ready, son. Your mom worked hard on it so come on out and eat."
He looks up the book he was so intently reading before nodding contently and putting a bookmark in the book and closing it promptly.
We go into the dining room where my wife has already placed the casserole in the center.
"Son why don't you help your mother set the table? I'll get our drinks. Everyone want a glass of ice tea?" I say as I go to the cabinet for cups.
"Tea is fine, honey." My sweet wife says back to me.
"Mmm- mom this is good!" Our son says as he chows down.
"Slow down baby! It'll last longer if you take your time and chew slowly!" My wife says.
She's so nurturing. I'm so blessed that my child has such a wonderful mother..
After dinner, my wife, son, and I all help clean up the kitchen, then while our full tummies settle we fill them more with a small bowl of ice cream and watch a Jim Carrey movie on the tv in the living room. As a family.
We're all enjoying our time together without phones or distractions. I have my beautiful wife laying her legs across my lap, with a small throw blanket draped across us. Our son is laying across the loveseat next to us, so comfortable I'm surprised he is still awake.
After the movie finishes, my wife says it's bedtime for our son and instructs him to go freshen up before bed.
He says "yes ma'am" like the polite young man we raised him to be and does as he's told.
He brushes his teeth, takes a shower, then goes to get in bed.
We both miss his forehead and tuck him in, before saying goodnight and our I love yous, shutting his light off and closing the door.
We then go back to the kitchen to which we pour ourselves a small glass of wine and return to the couch to close our Saturday night watching SNL.
We end up passing out on the couch with our legs entangled together.
I'm woken up by the sound of a steady beep noise. I take a breath and open my eyes to see myself in a hospital bed. W-what the hell am I doing here?
There's a nurse beside me checking my blood pressure. Once she notices I'm awake she gasps and begins tearing up. Then yells for another nurse.
"He's awake! He's awake!"
I try to gather my thoughts and I can't seem to at all. I was just on the couch with my wife! How did I end up here!?
A doctor and three nurses rush in. The doctor says,
"Sir do you know your name?"
"Do you know why you're here?"
I try to think to myself, are these people crazy? Am I crazy?
"I'm Mark Tamara and I have no idea what happened.."
"Mark, you were in a car accident a month ago.. you've been in a coma for almost 3 weeks.. let's get you stable. Do you have anyone you'd like us to call?"
"C-could you call my wife?" I said, frantic.
"You don't have a wife listed and no one came with you.. do you have her number in your personal phone?" The doctor said.
Then it all hit me.
It was just a dream. And I'm back in this lonely body I almost died in..
