The Night Before Our First Family Vacation, Everything Unexpected Happened

For years, vacations were something I only heard other families talk about. In our house, Sundays meant bills spread across the kitchen table and quiet calculations about which expense could wait another week. There was never “extra,” only survival.

So when my husband and I both received promotions within weeks of each other, it felt like a door finally opened. One night, with our twin daughters coloring between us, I dared to say, “What if we actually go somewhere?” His smile told me he was imagining it too. Soon, I was booking flights, a beachfront hotel, and activities for the girls.

I crossed days off the calendar like a child, counting down to the first real break our family had ever known. The night before we were meant to leave, everything changed. My husband came home late, unsteady, his leg wrapped in a thick cast.

He said a car had hit him on his way to work, that he was fine, just shaken. I burst into tears, ready to cancel everything, terrified of leaving him alone. But he insisted we go without him.

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