The Importance of Life Insurance: A Short Story David Crowe was a lawyer, but not a very happy one. Of course, the number of people who regularly use the word “happy” to describe lawyers is probably not all that high to begin with, but this was an especially unhappy day for David Crowe. As the wind playfully nipped and tugged at the lapels of his jacket, he shivered. It was only October and yet a cold pocket of air had forced its way into his tiny suburb in northern Utah. David usually enjoyed walking home from work, and yet there was always one day during the fall months that signified it was time to start taking the car. Unfortunately, the recent rainfall and chilly breezes probably meant that the season of coats and runny noses was going to arrive sooner than usual.
A Realization David tried not to think about this realization as he hurriedly progressed closer to home. There was a time when the advent of winter signaled the start of the ski season for David and his family. Every Saturday morning was set aside for trips to a local ski resort, starting when his first child was a mere five years old. His friends often wondered aloud how much fun taking a five-year-old girl skiing could possibly be, but once she entered junior high and routinely bested all the boys on the ski team, the other fathers began to understand. The faint smile on David’s face lingered and then faded as these happy memories dissolved away to make room for reality. He had stopped skiing a couple years after his two children had left home and enrolled in college. He always liked to tell his coworkers it just wasn’t the same without his kids around, but the real reason had a lot more to do with the pain in his knees and back than anything else. David always knew he was going to get old someday, but it didn’t make hanging up his ski poles for the last time any easier. And being reminded of this was why David wasn’t all that happy today. He had won his case, which was great for his career, but it was the fact that the man David had been representing in the injury suit against his health insurance company was only a few years older than him. And while he was loath to
admit it, David was frankly unnerved by the fact that men so close to his age might, not only suffer a stroke, but then have to legally force their health insurance company to honor their policy.
A Guilt Trip David’s stomach turned guiltily as he rounded the last corner on his way home. His wife had been suggesting that he purchase a life insurance policy for both of them over the last couple of years, but he continued to put it off. It wasn’t that he didn’t agree, he just hated buying into the idea that he might be leaving his wife and family someday. But after today, seeing his client win the money that he so desperately needed to take care of his family, it was hard for David to justify putting off a decision that would better protect his. His wife was right. All it would take is a quick phone call to their personal health insurance agent to get the ball rolling. A part of him still wanted to argue about it as he opened his front door, but perhaps it was disinterest or fatigue that simply prompted him to just drop it. And so it was on that cold, gloomy day that David kissed his wife hello, and then told her they’d be going online to do some policy shopping after dinner. Not the most romantic gesture, he thought. But from the surprise and happiness he saw in her eyes, it was as if he had turned up with a bouquet of roses to ask her out to the prom all over again. Photo Credit: Joe Gratz, Dennis Wilkinson, 401(K) 2012