Billy's Vacation by Emma Southard

Billy and Chester had been together forever, it seemed, except for when Billy went to work; the two of them were inseparable. Billy loved the feel of Chester’s scruffy face next to his when he woke up each day. Their morning walks and shared breakfasts were the perfect start to Billy’s day. And every day when Billy came home from work Chester was always there waiting to greet him.

After they had been together a year Billy thought it was time they went on a trip together Billy cleared his schedule, requested vacation time from the office and made the appropriate flying arrangements.

“It’s settled,” he told his closest colleague, Laura, “Chester and I are going to Sanibel Island in Florida.”

“Oh this is so exciting,” she exclaimed. “You two have never traveled together, this is such a big step in your relationship!”

“I know, I really think it’s about time we did this, I’m really looking forward to us having some quality time together,” Billy smiled.

“You know, since you’re taking this step, maybe it’s about time you brought Chester by the office for us all to meet him.”

“You know, that’s probably true. I’d really like you to meet him Laura, he’s just so great.”

Finally the time had come. Billy and Chester were all packed. With Billy’s jeep full of duffel bags and suitcases stuffed with swimsuits, suntan lotion and beach chairs, Billy and Chester headed to the airport. They were both nervous for the flight. Chester had never flown before and they weren’t able to sit with each other on the plane, Billy couldn’t even comfort Chester if he got scared. But it was a short flight and when they reunited after landing Billy took great comfort in holding Chester tightly and promising that the next time they traveled they would drive so Chester could sit next to Billy in the passenger seat of his Jeep the whole time.

It was a beautiful week. They spent their mornings on the beach- enjoying the water and playing catch in the sand. Every evening Billy cooked dinner for the two of them since they couldn’t take advantage of any of the fine dining in the area. And every night they lay in bed, happy to be together in such a beautiful place.

On their last day in Florida Billy was leafing through a magazine while lounging on a beach chair as Chester was wading in the water. With a yelp, Billy looked up to see that Chester was out way too deep. Billy knew that Chester wasn’t the best swimmer, and as Billy ran towards the water, he saw- amid Chester’s frantic splashing- three triangular fins.

Laura was devastated to hear that Billy had died in a tragic shark attack while on his romantic vacation, in an attempt to save Chester. Being the hopeless romantic that she was, the beauty of the situation was not lost on her. She knew she had to attend the wake in hopes that she could finally meet Chester, the amazing man that had cost her friend his life.

She was very apprehensive as she entered the funeral home. She had never met any of Billy’s family before. She didn’t even know what Chester looked like. Funny, she thought, how Billy didn’t have a picture of him on his desk just that framed picture of his dog.

The funeral home was moderately full of darkly clothed people in various levels of grief. Little kids ran around under foot laughing and playing, avoiding the disapproving looks of their parents. A few teenagers sulked in the corners, unhappy to be at a family function on a Saturday afternoon, for an uncle or cousin that they had barely known. And the adults gave the obligatory back pats, and passed out tissues as people erupted in tears throughout the room.

The casket was closed, but a beautifully framed headshot of Billy had been placed atop it, surrounded by flowers and a newspaper had been placed next to it.

Laura approached a red-eyed woman nearest the casket. She had hair the same exact shade as Billy’s and that same slightly turned up nose.

“Hi,” she smiled. “I’m Laura Thorton I worked with Billy.” The woman tried to smile.

“Oh thank you for coming,” she stopped to dab at her eyes with a balled-up tissue. “Billy was my brother. Oh it’s just so sad; he was so young- had so much of his life ahead of him.”

“It is sad, we will all miss him at the office,” Laura agreed, eying the crowd. “May I ask, is Chester here?”

“Chester?” the woman looked confused.

“Yes after all Billy told me about him I just have to meet him.”

“Billy did love Chester, but we really didn’t think it was appropriate to bring him here.”

“Oh my,” Laura hesitated. “That’s just too bad; Chester must be so heart-broken.”

The woman gave her a strange look. “I suppose, he doesn’t really seem to notice a difference. You know as long as there’s someone there to feed him and let him out at night.”

“Let him out at night?” Laura was very confused. “What do you mean? Chester must be devastated, they were so in love.” The woman looked angry now.

“Look lady, I don’t know what kind of animal lover you are but my brother was certainly not in love with his dog.”

“Dog?”

The woman picked up the newspaper from atop the casket. It was a Florida paper and on the front was a picture of Billy and a large golden retriever. The heading read “Man dives in, punches shark to save dog.”