As the result of a seemingly harmless joke, Julia was left with two sprained wrists. It happened because her son had decided to give her a good scare in the house they lived in.
He popped out into the hallway with a scary mask, she freaked out, fell back and landed on her hands, causing the sprains. Nothing serious, but enough to require her hands to be wrapped for a few days. Sure, she could move her fingers, but she couldn't do anything strenuous with her hands.
To be fair, Julia was the one who had started the short-lived prank wars.
It was Sam's 23rd birthday, and he wanted to be a marine biologist and underwater explorer, just like his mother. His mother decided to scare him by putting a fake lizard on his shoulder the first time they went diving together. For a second, Sam was freaked out until he realized it was a joke. That was the moment their mini prank war started.
It was all fun and games, until now, when they drove home from the hospital and Julia had wraps around each wrist and a stern expression on her face. Sam had been apologizing profusely since the incident happened a few hours earlier.
"No, no, it was my fault," she insisted, trying her best to remain cordial about the accident. "I was the one who started this whole thing. Besides, I'm way too old to be pulling pranks. I shouldn't have started this."
"Well, you're not old at all," Sam replied as he drove, trying to make his mother feel better in any way possible. "It was my fault for making things too scary, you know, jumping in the hall like that."
She thought for a moment and joked, "Maybe you're right. You do bear some responsibility for how far you took things."
As they spoke in the car, Julia did her best to maintain a proper composure. Most of all, she needed to set an example by being a proper parent, and not freak out about the whole thing. So she did her best to keep calm.
"I'm so sorry. I'll make it up to you. I promise, I'll do your laundry for the rest of the month, the dishes, and all the house cleaning."
"What about the diving expedition this weekend?" Julia asked, knowing that her son wouldn't be able to answer.
Of course, Julia had referred to a diving expedition in which she and her colleagues were going to take a small boat out into the ocean for scuba diving. They had been working on new sonar equipment in the lab, and this was their chance to finally test it in the ocean.
The team was going to scuba dive and observe the effects of the new sonar on a school of dolphins. Particularly towards their mating habits. Sam would be coming along too as an assistant.
The car stopped at a red light and Sam looked deflated.
"God, I feel horrible."
"I shouldn't have said that," Julia stated, regretting her comment. "I don't want you to feel bad. It was an accident."
"What are you going to tell the others?"
"I'll just tell them that I fell and that I won't be able to dive with them."
The light turned green and Sam drove. "I feel terrible about this. You've worked years on that thing. Is there any way to delay the trip?"
"No. The dolphins won't be around these parts for much longer, but it's not a total loss. I can always stay in the boat and operate the equipment. That's a very important job. The divers will be depending on me."
"Bummer. You're the one who should be in the water. Not manning the boat equipment."
Julia held up her wrapped wrists. "Maybe if I could use my hands, I'd be able to dive too."
"Another guilt trip? Thanks."
"I couldn't resist," she shrugged with a smile. "But seriously, I'll let the others know that I'd like to switch positions and I'll remain in the boat by myself. You and the others go diving."
A sense of resolve came over Sam. "Well, if you're staying on the boat, then so am I. I'll help you operate all the equipment."
"You don't even know how to use the equipment."
"You could teach me."
"I suppose," she conceded. "But you're a great diver. You belong in the water with the rest of the team. Watching the effects on the dolphins is going to be an extraordinary scientific achievement."
"I'll watch on the boat with you. Come on, who needs to go diving when we can just sit down and relax?"
"There's no quit in you, is there?"
For the first time since the prank accident, Sam looked happy. "I'm just as stubborn as you are, I guess."
"Fine, when we get home, I'll let the others know that we'll be doing the boat manning duties."
Suddenly, their bad day was looking a lot better, and it would lead them down a path that neither of them would have expected.
***
A few hours later. Julia had made the calls to her colleagues and they all agreed to the changes, after wishing her a speedy recovery.
She tried to remain professional and mature about the whole thing. After all, what could she do? Bad luck can happen to anyone, and it happened to her at the worst possible time in her life.
The funny thing was, Sam, who mostly relied on his mother, was suddenly taking care of household chores like it was his solemn duty.
He had cooked dinner, prepared the dishes, and made sure everything was neat. Julia could hardly believe that this was her son, the same guy she had raised for the past 23 years.
"Where have you been all my life?" she joked as they sat down to eat.
"I've been around."
"Not like this you haven't."
Julia took a bite of the food, then she winced.
"Any good?" he asked.
"Needs a little work, to be honest. I appreciate the effort though."
"Yeah, figures. I know you've wanted me to stop mentioning the accident, but I'll try to make it up to you. I'll owe you as many favors as you want until your wrists heal."
She playfully thought hard. "That might take a while. The doctor said no strenuous activities, even after the wrappings come off."
"Then I guess I'll still be working for you then."
Julia instinctively thought of something naughty, which made her smile in an almost inappropriate way. She worked hard, day and night, on her scientific endeavors. Whatever stress she had, she released it through late night masturbation sessions, using a small dildo. But that required the use of her wrist.
Now that her wrists were sprained, she wondered how Sam would react if she asked him to perform those duties for her. The look on his face would be priceless. She wondered if he would say yes. Maybe he'd say no.
Of course, she'd never ask. It was only a funny thought. After all, what kind of mother would ask such favors from her son?
***
The sonar device was an advanced piece of equipment created by the six scientists, including Julia. During testing, they discovered that the sonar waves had a profound influence on the sex drives of female dolphins, and if tuned to the right frequency, human women too.
They were on to something big. Their main concern was to study the effect it may have on potentially increasing the number of mammals in the ocean. It was a prospect which made the scientists all so excited.
Julia watched as the small team of scientists prepared for the dive. They all wore their diving suits, along with diving helmets so they could speak to each other using radio communicators.
Meanwhile, Julia and Sam were dressed in simple tshirt and shorts. They were all on a small boat, which was cramped due to all the equipment they had to bring with them.
After smiles, hugs, and a few parting words, the scientists made their dive, taking the sonar device with them.
"Now we have to do our part," Julia said to her son.
They headed to the lower deck of the small boat, which was tight quarters. There was hardly any room to move. It was the 'control center' of the diving mission. There was equipment everywhere and different video feeds on different screens. There was also computer equipment which was set up to help the divers and run the sonar.
Julia and Sam sat next to each other, mere inches apart with hardly any space to move, watching the video of the divers in action.
The group made light banter with Julia over the radio, which only made Julia feel sad that she couldn't be in the water with them.
"Beautiful view, isn't it?" she said to her son when the radio was off.
"Yeah, sorry we couldn't go."
"Please, don't apologize anymore. We're past that point already."
They looked at each other, and they both knew that it wasn't true. Deep down, they both knew that Julia was depressed that the incident had prevented her from diving that important morning.
The radio crackled with the sound of a voice and the lead diver asked for the sonar to be activated. That was when Julia pushed a few buttons and activated the underwater device. She was proud that she was apart of something so special, and it was her chance to make a small difference in the world.
Once the radio communication ended, she proudly explained all the functions to her son.
"The sonar will release three signals," she explained. "It was initially made for purely sonar purposes, but we've found that it could help sea mammals with their mating habits, leading to an underwater population growth. Pretty cool, isn't it?"
"No wonder I did so well in college. Good genes."
She laughed, "Flattering me won't help you. I fully expect all those favors you promised."
"Hey, it was worth a shot."
"True, but you still need to learn how to cook. But that's a conversation for another time. Are you ready to start this thing?"
"You bet."
Julia used the radio to inform the divers that the sonar was going to be activated in a few seconds. Then she instructed her son to put his finger on the switch, and Julia put her finger on top of his.
"Let's push the button together," she said. "3...2...1..."
Julia pushed, and both of their fingers pushed the button at the same time. They looked at each other knowing that they were sharing an important scientific moment together.
