The Treasure_The Breath of Life

[https://y.yarn.co/d2d78a10-0b40-4e3e-80b2-a8bd21479835_screenshot.jpg]Chuck sat at the table gazing at his treasure. Through all the bullshit life had handed him, he never lost his treasure. When his second wife packed up her shit and walked out on him one night, she had no interest in taking the treasure. A failed business and an evil, conniving business partner who left him holding the bag on a huge tax liability could not reach the treasure. The only thing Chuck could count on in his life for the last thirty-two years was his treasure. Many things had come and gone, yet the treasure was the only remaining satisfaction Chuck had in his life. Chuck felt he had little left in life he cared about but he would give anything he had to protect his treasure.

Dave took a swig of his beer and watched as his opponent plunked the cue ball right into the corner pocket. “Nice shot Becky,” he said, grinning as Becky muttered something under her breath. Dave enjoyed shooting pool when Becky was at the bar. She was a good player and a good sport when she lost, which was rather often. Tall and rather good-looking, Becky would be a good complement to a man like Dave. Young and ambitious, Dave was too busy to entertain the idea of a full-time girlfriend. He had landed a good position with an oil exploration company after completing his Master’s degree, and at the age of thirty-two had the whole world at his feet. Things were looking good, and he only expected them to get better.

Chuck flagged down the waitress as she passed, “Get me another Yuengling please, and get Becky and Dave another round.” The waitress smiled and said, “Sure thing.”

Chuck thought about the balance he tried to work as far as how much time he tried to spend with Dave and how much time he felt Dave needed on his own. Dave’s mother died in an automobile accident when Dave was six years old. Thrust unexpectedly into the role of single father, and grieving widower, Chuck swore he would be everything David needed. With virtually no local family to help support him, Chuck soon found himself overwhelmed by it all.

Feeling like a drowning man, Chuck clutched at the straw that would become his second wife. Grievous errors soon become readily apparent, and Chuck began to see how his ideas of providing a motherly presence in David’s life was a train wreck in the making. One evening, after realizing she was not cut out to be a mother, his mistake packed her bags and left, never to be seen again.

“Hey Dad, you want a game?” Dave said. Chuck could see Becky and Dave were having a lot of fun, and thought Dave was just being polite. “Nah, either one of you guys would beat my butt. This old man’s just gonna sit here and drink his beer, besides, I got a pretty girl to look at.” Becky smiled at Chuck and gave him a little wink. When David decided to settle down, IF he ever decided to settle down, Chuck hoped he could find someone like Becky. Although he never allowed himself to feel sorry about himself, Chuck sometimes felt that his life had not been what he expected it to be. The loss of his wife at an early age, several business failures, an unfortunate marriage to a woman with Borderline Personality Disorder, all these things weighed heavily on Chuck sometimes. Above all, he knew one thing no one could ever take from him was that he had been a good father and had raised a wonderful son.

“Eight ball in the side pocket,” as Dave nudged the ball into the pocket. “Okay Becky, I’m done punishing you tonight.” He put his cue in the rack and walked over to his dad. “I’m gonna head home, I need to be on the jobsite extra early tomorrow.” Chuck rose to give his son a hug, then Becky followed suit, also throwing in a little kiss for good measure.

Chuck watched Dave walk out the door, thinking what a damn good looking kid he was. Becky asked if he minded a little company, and he was of course more than happy to chat with her for a while. They talked about Becky’s horses, her job, her Mom’s health problems, whatever Becky wanted to talk about; Chuck was more than happy to listen. The time came for Becky to leave, and after a hug and a quick peck on the cheek she left Chuck to finish his beer.

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“Well, time to get my ass home, “Chuck thought to himself. Chuck lived about ten minutes past Dave’s apartment, straight down Farnsworth Road. As Chuck walked to his car he noticed how it had gotten rather foggy. There were a couple of blind hills and some windy road on the way home. “Damn, shitty driving, hope Dave got home OK,” he thought. He climbed into his old beater and headed down the road.

“This is terrible,” he thought, as he turned down his music. Pink Floyd and concentrating on the road were not a good combination. He was easing down the road at about twenty miles per hour, wondering if that was too fast. Coming up to the intersection with Fowles Rd. he slowed down even more. This was a bad intersection, always a lot of accidents when things were bad. Anyone heading back into town like he was would have a short uphill to the intersection, and then just past Fowles Rd. the main drag took a sharp right. If you blew the right turn, there was about a thirty foot drop to the bottom of a ravine.

Chuck eased up to the intersection at about ten miles an hour, watching intently for signs of any oncoming headlights. As he got ready to make his right turn he noticed the guardrail smashed down and obvious signs that someone had crashed through and went down the hill. He got as far off the side of the road as he could

and put his four-ways on. Not seeing the reflection of any headlights he was confident he could cross the road safely. Crossing the road he got his cell phone out to see if he had any service. Luckily he had a couple bars, and his battery was still in good shape. If he needed to call 911 he was in good shape. He got to the break in the guard rail and looked down.

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“OH MY GOD,” he screamed! It was Dave’s pickup at the bottom of the ravine. He punched the 911 button on his phone. As soon as it was answered he shouted, “Ambulance needed,” and set the phone down on the top of his car. He knew he had the emergency location turned on, and was afraid if he took the phone down to the bottom of the ravine there would be no service. He sprinted to the gap in the guard rail and started the climb down.

Chuck was not a very religious man. He had been sent to Sunday School as a kid, but never really got the whole organized religion thing. He had a firm belief in God, and thought that God was a good benevolent Father in heaven, but he was not a church-going type of guy. As he climbed down the steep side of the ravine, he started the most fervent attempt at prayer he had ever tried. He was apologizing to God for being such a stranger. He was apologizing for not bring up David in the Church. He was asking God to PLEASE, PLEASE help him.

He got to the truck and saw that David was not conscious. Opening the door, he helped guide David to the ground. “Damn,” Chuck muttered, David never wore a seat belt. Chuck settled him down on the ground on his back. Chuck could feel no movements in David’s chest, no respiration. Feeling David’s neck he could feel no pulse. He put his ear to David’s chest, through the thin t-shirt David was wearing he could hear no heartbeat. Hearkening back to his old first aid training Chuck started CPR as he remembered it.

ONE, TWO THREE, FOUR, FIVE, BREATH.