NyQuil

By: Rachel Iverson

Juel and Sanjay, Cade (Juel's brother) and I always made lofty plans for after Luke went to bed. It would be a group effort to get our little dude down for the night, and then we'd all be ready to sleep ourselves—the parents of a toddler, especially.

One night, after Luke was off dreaming, Juel asked if the three of us wanted to go see a movie. My response was, "Wait, seriously?" She explained that we needed to leave right away if we were going to go, before she had time to change her mind.

Sanjay was all in. He wanted to see "The Call of the Wild," and Juel was slightly more interested in something else. Sanjay got his way.

We left the house and made it to the end of the street when Sanjay said, "Shit. I forgot. I took some NyQuil."

I knew not to declare victory until we were actually in our seats, so I figured we'd turn back. Sanjay insisted on powering through, despite already feeling and acting loopy and drowsy.

I can't remember if he made it through the movie (I really, really don't think so), but I DO remember him insisting we go to Taco Bell afterwards. He was such a goner. He wanted and nearly got everything on the menu. We laughed all night long.

I miss you. I love you.