Something certainly happens at the end of this novel, and it's actually something that's been hinted at throughout the story. Slocum constantly tell us he's worried that something terrible might happen to his children, especially to his helpless son—the unnamed one, not Derek. Slocum doesn't really care about Derek.
Aside from worrying that something might happen to his children, Slocum also tells us (at least five times) that he's afraid of asphyxiation. By the time the ending rolls around, we find two of Slocum's fears have come true: his son has died, and he has died from asphyxiation.
Let's back the car up for a second. (Sorry.) Here's the story: Slocum's son is struck by a car, and Slocum is horrified by the sight of his injuries. In an attempt to end the boy's suffering, Slocum hugs him so tightly that he dies of asphyxiation. "Something bad is going to happen to him. I know that now," Slocum eerily predicts several chapters before the incident actually occurs. "I know it will. And something bad is going to happen to me too, because it does happen to him" (5.27).
Ironically, the latter part of Slocum's prediction is what does not come true. Nothing bad actually happens to Slocum in the end. In fact, only good things come out of his son's death. Slocum ascends the corporate latter to his new position with ease and grace, and his family seems to get along much better.
So while something does ultimately happen, as the title promises, it does not shatter Slocum's world. Rather than stop the clock, it seems to accelerate it. In almost montage style, Slocum details how life goes on just fine after this something has happened in his life.
Which leaves us with a very scary thought. Everyone in this novel has kind of been waiting for something to happen to break up the meaningless tedium of life in corporate, middle-class America. But when something does happen, nothing actually changes. Does this mean that these people can't ever be saved? That there's nothing at all redeeming about the meaningless lives they lead? That everything really is forever empty, meaningless, and absurd?
Uhhhh…