This choice: Option 1: The Hughes family Christmas • Go Back...Chapter #3The Hughes family mix-up by: Kirafair   Late on a Friday afternoon at a YourEssence pharmaceutical production facility, a nameless technician stared mindlessly at the seemingly endless column of empty pill bottles as they passed by on the way to the label maker. His job didn’t require a great deal of skill. Mainly to be ready to respond whenever the automation developed a fault. This tech and others like him were easily replaceable. Thus, the leadership at YourEssence perceived no need to pay him a generous hourly wage.
A loud beeping noise snapped the tech back to reality. This was an alarm he was quite familiar with. Particularly of late
“Fuckin’ assholes in management. I keep telling them the feeder in the label maker needs replaced. But will they listen to me? Not a chance” he cursed.
He stomped over to the spot on the conveyor where the bottles had stopped moving. He managed to fish two bottles out that had labels with the patient's information poorly applied. The adhesive sides overlapped both containers creating a confusing mess.
Standard operating procedure called for him to toss the bottles and manually print out two new versions. But first he had to find these people’s labels in the print queue and re-order the whole process. That took a lot of time and he was nearing the end of his shift. Since he was pretty much fresh out of “fucks to give” this week, he used his pen knife to cut and unpeel the labels. Pleased that he had quickly fixed the problem, he restarted the conveyor.
The two bottles sped along to catch up with their previously labeled brethren. The problem was when it came time for a machine to appropriately add the patient-specific pills, the contents would not end up matching the intended recipient.
*****
20-year-old Jack Hughes slowly awoke in the bedroom of his family home. He didn’t need a clock, based on the way the sun streamed through the windows, to know it was getting late in the morning. Jack didn’t feel all that guilty about it. He had finished the last class of his University Fall semester the day before and then spent the rest of the day on a Maglev train returning home. Jack was still kind of irritated that he was one of the last students left on campus. His twin sister Bethany had been home for a few days. She was majoring in a nursing program at a small college not far from their house.
Today was Christmas Eve. Jack was looking forward to the two weeks break from school spending time with his sister, his mother Chelsea, and his girlfriend Erika. Unfortunately, the time with his gal would necessarily be brief. She was scheduled to leave for a ski vacation with her family a couple days after Christmas.
Jack made his ways to the kitchen following the pleasant aromas. The first thing he saw was his mother tapping away at her laptop at the kitchen table. Though he recalled her saying last night that she had today off, he concluded she must be scanning her emails. She was even dressed like a day at work. Her shoulder length brown hair was tied into a messy bun and she was wearing a Ivory colored blouse and fashionable Black slacks.
As soon as she noted his entrance, Chelsea leaped out of the chair and moved toward the stove.
“Good morning sleepy head. I’ve got some breakfast warming for you. Take a seat and I’ll get it for you” she said cheerily.
Jack did as suggested marveling at his Mom’s bountiful energy. She was more than 2 decades older than him and yet she was a dynamo. Jack still felt a touch of sadness even to this day thinking that she was forced to be for her family. Chelsea used to joke how lucky she and her husband Luke were to have two children in one shot. Their family life appeared idyllic. Until Jack was about 8 years old that is. Then his dad developed a brain tumor and passed away in less than a year.
Chelsea grieved for a short time and then single handedly pulled her kids out of their own despair. To that point, she had been a stay-at-home mom. But the life insurance check for Luke would only go so far. So, Chelsea got a job as an Oncology pharmaceutical sales rep. She did well and got promoted. Then a larger company recruited her. Chelseas was consistently a top performer and soon took on the role of territory manager. Later the director for the East Coast region. Her teams excelled under her guidance and a few years ago she was promoted to Vice-President of Commercial Sales.
She managed to do this all while still being a mother to him and Bethany. She went to every home game Bethany cheered at. Attended every baseball game he played in. Was involved with all the school activities. Cooked and cleaned for her children with never a complaint. He sometimes wondered how she had the energy to do it all.
In between bites of his breakfast, he asked “Where’s Bethany?”
Chelsea had resumed work on her laptop “She’s downstairs on the treadmill. She managed to get up a few hours ago” she chided him.
“C’mon mom. I busted my ass for the final exams and didn’t get much sleep on the train”
“Hmmm. I hope you did well”
Probably because his Mom was the center of his universe, he had a strong desire to please her.
“I’m pretty sure I pulled all A’s” he said proudly
Chelsea got up to refill her coffee cup. She playfully messed up his hair “That is excellent news. Maybe now you can find a few moments to get your haircut during the break” she said cheekily
Jack dramatically rolled his eyes in annoyance “Sheesh, its barely touching my collar in the back”
Bethany picked that moment to enter the kitchen. She plopped down in a chair and dabbed at her face with a towel. “Finally decide to join us in the land of the living” she kidded her brother. Her brown hair was collected in a high ponytail yet it still touched her shoulders. Her tight workout clothes revealed she was in excellent shape. Jack made a mental note to hit the treadmill himself during the break
He ignored her as he usually did. Bethany loved 'jerking his chain' whenever the chance arose. Probably because he was a foot taller so she could play the 'little innocent me' card perfectly.
The family spent a while catching up on news about one another. Once that was done, Jack asked
“So what is the plan for the next few days”. He knew his Mom excelled at setting schedules and would already have it figured out.
Chelsea succinctly detailed the next 48 hours. “Follow our normal traditions. A nice dinner with just the three of us here tonight. Opening one gift before bedtime around the fireplace. Finish the gift exchange Christmas morning. Attend church service. Then the usual family and friends will come over for dinner. I’ve got a 20 lb turkey and all the fixings ready to go”
As Jack and his sister mulled that information over, Chelsea added “you have a few hours this afternoon if you want to catch up with your friends. Jack, please be sure to invite Erika over tomorrow night for dessert”
She glanced at Bethany “Same goes for you so be sure to invite Tyler”
Jack noted his sister was quiet. She had confided recently that she was considering breaking up with her boyfriend. Jack felt bad for her. He rather liked Tyler and thought they made a cute couple. But that was her decision to make.
*****
Later that Christmas Eve night, the three sat near a roaring fire sipping hot chocolate. A tradition that had endured long after Luke Hughes had passed away. To sate their young kids' desire to open their Christmas gifts, the parents had agreed to let them open a single one of their choosing. The need to open their gifts in a frenzy eventually faded as they grew older. But it was a tradition that held the family close so they maintained it year after year.
Jack figured he’d randomly grab a brightly wrapped package but his mother had other plans. She retrieved two small boxes from under the tree that were identically wrapped and handed one to Jack and his sister.
He glanced at Bethany who shrugged as they proceeded to open the gift. Its small size suggested it wasn’t clothes. Some new tech perhaps? He was greatly surprised to find inside a pill bottle whose label displayed his name and the product name.
“YourEssence? Isn’t that the anti-aging drug? Ummm Mom, don’t you think that’s kind of unnecessary?” he asked politely. Bethany expressed a similar concern.
Chelsea’s expression turned serious. “You will still age slowly with the changes plateauing in about 10-20 years. They’re still figuring that part out. But I got it for both of you to prevent something terrible like what happened to your father. If this drug had been around then, he would still be here with us. I can tell you I started my prescription a few months back and it’s been going great. So, I’m asking you both to take it. I know the odds are remote, but I simply couldn’t bear to lose either of you.”
The last part came out so sincerely Jack knew he couldn’t refuse. At her urging, he and Bethany took their first pill that night.
*****
As Chelsea prepared for bed, she pulled her own prescription for YourEssence out of the bathroom cabinet. She appreciated the efficiency by which the company operated. They had sent her refill in the same shipping container as the first doses for her children.
However, due to the mishap with the labels, two members of the Hughes family would be celebrating Christmas in a very non-traditional way.
What ends up happening?   indicates the next chapter needs to be written. |
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