That September was a particularly hard one. It meant that Charlie had been dead for a fourth of the time that he had been alive, and that Babs had been living without him for a fifth of the time she had been alive. It also marked the twin’s fourth birthday. They were turning into great kids with great personalities. Brevyn and Abigail decided to take them on the very first cruise. They figured they would be old enough to remember it when they got older.

They went during October, when it was still warm enough to swim. The cruise was five days long, and travelled to the Caribbean. Josh drove them to the port where they would leave, the twins bouncing in the car seats from excitement. Boarding the ship went relatively smooth, considering they had four year olds running around, getting into other people’s business. Thankfully, most people found them cute and laughed off whatever they did.

Three days into the cruise, they ran into some bad storms. During one of the lulls, when it was just drizzling, Brevyn and Declan were so anxious to get out of the cabin, they put their swimsuits on and went out into the rain. Isabella was coloring in her coloring book, and Abigail was enjoying some chill time on her phone, unaware of how much time was passing.

Brevyn and Declan made their way to the railing to look over at the dark sea, when the clouds suddenly burst out with more fury than they had before. It was all Brevyn could do to hold on to the railing with one hand while holding a screaming Declan in the other. An employee made her way over to them with life jackets in hand that they managed to put on.

Nothing else could be done until the bout passed, so Brevyn readjusted his grip on the railing and braced his feet. A particularly powerful gust of wind rocked the boat, and caused a huge wave to splash onto the deck, knocking furniture off into the depths below. Brevyn’s grip loosened as he tried to hold on to his young son. But a second wave, almost as powerful, hit him straight in the back, making them tumble into the raging water below.