The Weekend

Early one Saturday morning, Brian, a fifty year old man, left his house for a fishing trip. He was tall, thin, and had dark circles under his eyes. After working long hours throughout the week, he looked physically, mentally, and emotionally exhausted. He was a very hard worker, and he had finally taken a long overdue day off from work. He drove to his favorite fishing spot on the lake and unloaded all of his gear.

It was a warm fall day and beautiful weather for fishing. He had been looking forward to this trip all week. He strolled down the path toward the lake, enjoying the scenery. There were animals all over: birds, snakes, rabbits, insects, deer, and a fox. The leaves had started to change color and were at the peak of their beauty. There were flowers of all shapes, sizes, and colors; he thought the flowers kept getting more exquisite the further he walked.

After a fifteen minute walk through the woods, he finally reached the lake. The water was still, and there was a slight breeze; he could not have asked for a better day. He walked down the dock to his boat with all of his fishing gear and placed it inside. He boarded the boat and began the journey for his favorite fishing spot. He drove the boat slowly, enjoying his day. There was no one else in sight, which was how he liked it: alone with his thoughts, completely relaxed. The lake was perfect, and he loved to fish. He dropped his anchor, and cast out into the water. The sun was shining, the water was calm, and there was a slight breeze, blowing what little hair he had left. It was the perfect day to forget about the events of the past.

After two hours, he had not caught anything. He decided to take advantage of the nice day and take a nap. He was so exhausted that when he laid down on the partially torn cushion of the backseat of the boat, he immediately fell asleep.

He dreamt of his daughter and how much she’d grown up. She was tall, blonde, very athletic, and smart. She loved to play soccer and was always striving to get better. When she wasn’t studying or playing soccer, she was usually spending her time with her friends, keeping herself very busy. She was in high school now, but Brian was not ready for her to leave for college. She was all he had, and he knew he would be devastated when she left. He started having to work later in the afternoon and at night; so she was at school while he was home, and she was home while he was working. They weren’t able to spend as much time together as they used to. He missed the time when she was younger, and they would do things together. She would help him do chores, and they would play games together. With his new job, however, he could not spend time with her as often, and he felt bad. The weekends were the only time he could spend a lot of time with her, but he devoted his weekends to his personal relaxation. He wished he could quit his job so they could spend more time together, but they needed the money. From there, his thoughts wandered, but later he found himself dreaming about his daughter again. He thought about what she was doing that day.

He woke up immediately. The dream had jolted his memory, and he remembered that she had a soccer game! He looked at the time, realizing that he needed to leave if he wanted to make it to her game. He tried to start the boat only to realize he had run out of gas. He panicked. He had promised his daughter he would be at the game to support her because he had missed so many during the week. He knew if he did not leave soon, he would be late. He threw open the storage compartment and grabbed the oar. He then began furiously paddling, knowing he had about a half a mile left to reach the shore. The wind began to pick up, the sky grew dark, and it started to rain, sprinkling at first, but then it became a downpour. He was absolutely soaked and the water was running down into his eyes. Barely able to see, he paddled on, thinking of the disappointed look he would see on his daughter's face. He was determined to make it.

He finally made it to the shore. Without hesitation, he tied the boat to the dock and ran for his car, leaving all of his fishing gear behind. He ran down the dock, onto the trail, as fast as he possibly could. It had been so long since he had run; he felt like a young boy again, racing down the track in search of first place. This was different; however, he wasn’t racing for a medal; he was racing for his daughter’s happiness. By the time he finally made it back to his car, he realized the game had already begun. He still had to drive for an hour to get back to the field, which would mean the game would be almost over when he arrived. He took off, barreling down the highway like a thief attempting to flee the scene of a robbery. The drive that would normally take him an hour only took forty five minutes. He pulled into the school parking lot and jumped out of his car, only to realize no one was there. It was an away game, and he would not be able to make it there in time. He drove home, depressed and angry that he could forget such an important detail after all his effort. He was upset that he had let his daughter down and broken his promise. He sat at the kitchen table contemplating how he could ever make it up to her until she got home.

When she walked through the back door, she looked very upset. Her team had lost in overtime, and he could tell she had been crying. She took sports very seriously, and it was their first loss of the season; she was obviously devastated and went straight to bed. Brian stayed up for hours trying to think of a way he could make it up to her. He decided to surprise her by getting tickets to the World Cup. She had always loved to watch the games on television so he thought that if he took her to the game she would forgive him. So, he woke up very early and woke her up, telling her he had a surprise for her.

They got in the car and drove for five hours; she was very curious as to where they were going and became more and more confused as the ride went on. But, when they arrived she was so excited, and the look of happiness on her face was all worth it. They went inside, maneuvering through crowds of people, and when they found their seats, they were in the fourth row. She was so excited, she hugged him, and he thought all of his trouble was worthwhile. The game was highly contested and very interesting to watch; the United States came out on top. They were very happy to see the United States win, and it was the most fun they had had together in a long time. It reminded Brian of all the times they sat in their living room together, watching the games and enjoying each other’s company.

They walked out of the stadium and all the fans were cheering in the parking lot, celebrating the win. Brian’s daughter had a huge smile on her face, and it just made the day even better for him.

They finally got in the car and started the five hour trip home. He explained why he had brought her, and what he had done the day before. He told her about everything he had gone through to get there only to go to the wrong place. She didn’t even believe him at first because it seems impossible that all those things could have gone wrong. She forgave him for missing the game the day before and thanked him for the great day. She said that spending time with him that day made up for everything because it was such a great experience.

When they finally got home, they were both disappointed that the weekend had to end, and they both had to go back to the same routine of the week. Although he was still disappointed with himself for missing her game, he was glad they had been able to spend more time together. She had completely forgotten that he missed the game and was more excited that they had spent time together watching her favorite event of the year, in person.