The air held a stillness that rarely afflicted the islands. Even when the trade winds died down, the palm trees seemed to have a gentle dance about them as if answering the methodical rhythm of the crashing waves off in the distance.

But not today. As Jack and Annie sat neatly in the bleachers, Annie noticed the complete lack of motion in the yellow and green triangular flags positioned carefully across the lanes–the special markers designed to provide the backstrokers with a perfect stroke count as they measured out their distance to the wall. Today the flags seemed to just hang heavy, like the pit in her stomach. It had been just one week since they had officially decided to try to work things out. They both knew that their daughter Casey’s swim meet was hardly the ideal location for a true heart-to-heart talk, but the week had gotten so busy, and neither one of them was willing to miss this chance to see Casey qualify for next week’s invitational.

“KICK!! KICK!!” yelled Jaden’s mom from two lanes below. Jaden and Casey had spent nearly every day together since kindergarten and were practically sisters. Normally Annie would have been cheering Jaden on with as much vigor as her mom, but today she sat frozen, unable to connect with the action on the pool deck – her mind furiously working through the various ways that the inevitable conversation would play out later in the evening. Casey’s big event was the 200 Fly, which wouldn’t be for a few hours – Annie considered driving home “for snacks” and an opportunity to clear her head.

“Maybe I’ll take off for a little bit” they each suggested in unison. A slightly stifled laugh passed both of their lips. Together for most of the twenty-three years since high school, it wasn’t uncommon for them to share synchronized outbursts, so the small chuckles were more an exhalation of tension than surprise — each relieved to know that the awkward feeling was mutual.

“How about a walk?” Jack suggested. Annie just nodded, still afraid to come across as anything other than relaxed about what this “trial-period” meant to her. Jack had always been the easy-going, calm one. Even her final “I HATE you – You ruined my life!” was met with a cool and reserved, “I love you. I really am sorry I hurt you,” and a politely closed door. It wasn’t that he didn’t have emotions. He had plenty of them. But after years of growing up under a roof that constantly seemed to tremble from the fury that spewed beneath it, he had promised himself that he would never let his emotions dictate his behaviors, and to this day he had been fairly true to his word. Sometimes sensible to a fault.

Annie wasn’t exactly a basket case herself. The first female to hold the title of County Prosecuting Attorney, she quickly grew from daddy’s princess, (more specifically daddy’s favorite of six children, of which she was the only girl) to the shining star of the family. Even her brothers would reference her beaming with pride – “My sister, the lawyer… “ And after twelve years of dedicated service to the field of prosecution law, quickly climbing the ranks every two to three years to land her Mayoral appointment, it became, “My sister The County Prosecuting Attorney…” Of course no one could be prouder than her father. A lawyer himself, he always doted over the one child who chose to follow in his footsteps – and eventually went on to outshine him. He would often joke, “When she was a little girl she liked to walk around in my slippahs. Now she wears bigger shoes than even I can fill.”

But just after the appointment, things started to change quickly — three years ago, to be exact, when her mom was diagnosed with cancer. Annie never knew if it was a blessing or a curse that they had caught it so late – too late to do anything; late enough that the suffering only lasted two months.

It’s true that Annie had always been dad’s favorite, but it was the mother of his children – his wife – that had held that truly special part in his heart. They had known each other since they were kids. She had sacrificed her own career and community ties to follow him to build his law profession in Hawaii. They had never really known financial struggle, but they had buried siblings and even a child together. When she died, in many ways, so did he.

It didn’t start as much. A couple of bourbons in the evening after dinner. “I’m retired,” he would say. “A glass of bourbon at the end of the day is what I worked so hard for all those years.” As the months went by, the evening bourbon was prefaced by a few beers throughout the day. “Going through your mother’s stuff is thirsty work,” he would tell his own kids whenever they asked. Eventually, from each one in turn, “Dad maybe you can hold off on the Irish Coffees in the morning when the little younger ones are around?”

He wasn’t an angry drunk. Annie never necessarily feared for Casey’s safety when he came by, but she also knew that Sunday morning outings with Grandpa couldn’t go on like they once had. It wasn’t until Jack got serious about keeping him away from the house that things really started to get bad. “But daddy, Grandpa hasn’t been here in weeks. Why can’t I see him?” Casey would demand. “I’m sorry sweetie. Sometimes grownups just have to figure things out, and there’s really no way to explain it.”

“This is YOUR fault! I heard you and mom talking. I know that you don’t let him come here anymore. I love him, and you can’t keep me from seeing him!” These emotional outbursts were usually followed by long stretches of sobbing from behind the petal pink bedroom door.

He never could understand how despite his hard work to be cool and rational his home still always seemed to ripple in the wake of untamed emotions.

And then the call. “Mr. Walker. This is Dr. Yao. We need you to come to the E.R. We tried to contact your wife, but it seems she’s in court and inaccessible by phone. I…”

“The E.R.? What…? Is it Casey? What happened?!”

“Sir, yes, I have your daughter Casey and your father-in-law as well. It seems they were driving…”

“Driving? How the hell could they be driving anywhere? Casey doesn’t drive. And that old man’s a drunk! She’s not even allowed to see him. You must be mistaken!”

“Sir please. I’d like you to come in so I can explain everything to you in person. Are you ok to drive, or would you like me to have one of the officers come to pick you up?”

“Officers? Why are there officers there? Jack demanded. “What is going on?”

“Mr. Walker. There was a car accident. I can explain everything when you get here.”

As the words sank in, it was all Jack could bring himself to say, “Is she going to be ok?”

“I believe so yes. Both of them are stable and will likely be released today. I’ll see you shortly?”

“I’ll be there in twenty minutes.”

Jack didn’t even try to get in touch with Annie. He knew her phone would be turned off for at least another couple of hours and he needed to see Casey.

*********

By the time Annie got the news and made her way to the hospital, Casey’s discharge papers had been signed off on and Jack was getting final instructions for wound care and infection prevention. Fortunately, Casey’s physical injuries wouldn’t cost her much more than several weeks of missed practice.

The trauma to the family however would be much more debilitating.

After hugging Casey and checking her over to make sure that nothing was really worse than it seemed, “Where’s my dad?” Annie asked – first to Jack and Annie and then to the officer standing off to the side. “They said he was fine – no major injuries. I want to see him now.”

The young officer started to fidget. First shifting his weight uneasily from left to right, and then clearing his throat in preparation to speak. Before he could answer, from behind her she heard “I’m sorry honey. It was the right thing to do.”

Annie spun around to face her husband. “What was the right thing to do?” “What did you do?”

“He pressed charges mom. Against grandpa. He told the police that he wanted him arrested for drinking and driving and for endangering the welfare of a child. They took him in about an hour ago.”

*********

The weeks that followed the accident were rough but not unmanageable. Jack was able to work from home and keep Casey company while she recovered. Annie had her hands full at work, which probably was for the best since it gave her some distance from Jack. Even Casey was able to return to school fairly quickly and join practice from the sidelines until she was well enough to get back in the water.

It wasn’t until the trial that Annie had to face the real burden of Jack’s decision. As Prosecuting Attorney for the county, she had no choice but to oversee her father’s conviction.

“Mom, I love grandpa too, and I don’t want to see him charged with a felony any more than you do, but what choice do you have?”

“Just the one I suppose.”

“Have you talked to him yet? Explained that you don’t have a choice?”

“No. The truth is, there is nothing I can say that would keep that look of disappointment from his eyes, and I just can’t stand to look at him, and know that I’m the cause of it.”

*********

In the end, the decision was surprisingly easy. Annie had invested so much of her life to being on what she thought was the right side of the law, but in the end, she realized that what was right or wrong wasn’t always so clear. She knew that her objectivity had been compromised and that any case that followed this one would be viewed through her refocused lens – one that valued family ties over the law.

“I know it was the right thing to do – to walk away from a position that I knew I couldn’t ethically uphold anymore…” She explained to Jack on the fateful Sunday afternoon. “I know it was the right thing to do and that I will land on my feet again – I always do. But there’s one thing that I still can’t come to terms with.”

Jack nodded mutely, believing he knew what was coming next.

“The decision was the right one for the circumstances, but it was not a decision I should have ever had to make. No person should ever be forced to make a decision like that. I know you were angry. And I know that you were scared, but there could have been another way…”

“Another way to what?” Jack cut in. “Keep Casey safe? You knew your father was in bad shape. You knew he was a ticking time bomb. How could you let her go in the car with him in the first place? I know you’re angry that I pressed charges, but have you ever considered how I felt? I begged you not to let him spend time with her. He may be your father, but Casey is our daughter. She’s our responsibility. I love you. I really do. But you…”

“Love? Having my father arrested when you knew how fragile he was is love? Putting me in a position to have to decide between the law and my father’s life is love? If that’s your kind of love, I don’t want to know it anymore! You ruined my life. Our lives. I hate you!”

At this point there was nothing left for him to do but quietly nod and say “I love you. I really am sorry I hurt you,” and a politely close door.