Silver Lining

twenty seven.

As the end credits roll of an episode of Good Luck Charlie, I kiss Elise's forehead before I stand from her bed, my hand never leaving my bump, "Sleep well, sweetheart, I'll be upstairs if you need me."

"I know, thank you for watching TV with me, I think I can sleep now," she replies sleepily, "Good night, Iris; good night, Bailey."

"Good night, El," I shut off her light, and close her bedroom door once Bailey follows me out.

Getting the kids to bed is the first on my long list of jobs tonight; the sink full of dishes is next up on my agenda. Like any other day, Nathan is at work and I want him to come home to a clean house tonight. I'm lucky in the sense that my nesting instincts are kicking in, so I have the motivation to do so, and of course, we have a dishwasher to help.

Once the dishes are done and I've wiped down the kitchen surfaces, I find myself in the laundry room where I've spent a lot of my time recently, getting things washed for the twins' arrival. There's nothing left to wash of theirs now, I'm just doing a load of everyone's clothes from the last two days.

The feeling of the babies kicking and moving beneath the palm of my hand forces me to take a minute to breathe and relax, "I know, babies, I know you want mommy to lay down."

Bailey looks up at me doe-eyed, like he, as well, wants me to sit down.

"Not you too, Bailey boy," I rub the top of his head and he groans, leaning into my palm, "Okay, fine, let me finish this load and then I will sit down, deal?"

Speaking to something that can't speak back has become a regular thing for me with Bailey. He's a silent comfort I didn't realise I was needing my entire life.

There are no words to explain how much gratitude I hold for this dog and how he chose to stumble into our family because he's made it so complete. Nathan and I have the girls, we're expecting the twins soon, all we needed was a dog for our family.

The girls adore him, especially Elise; if she had her way, he'd be sleeping in her room tonight instead of helping me with laundry in here.

Once the washing is finally on, Bailey is happily trotting into the living room in front of me. He waits until I sit to join me, cuddling into my side, and I check my phone for the first time in over an hour.

The string of unknown notifications staring back at me has my heart dropping with fear and as soon as I unlock my phone to check, Charlotte is calling me.

"Iris?" Charlotte asks loud enough through her speaker, so I can hear her over the sound of her driving.

"Is everything okay?" I blurt out, sitting up straight on the edge of my seat.

"Try not to panic, but you need to make your way to the hospital now; Nathan's been in an accident."

My entire world crumbles around me from five simple words; any she tells me after doesn't register. My heart drops into the pit of my belly, a lump the size of my fist grows in my throat and my eyes blur with tears.

Only when Bailey begins to lick and nudge me with his wet nose do I realise I've lost control of my senses, and he snaps me back to the harsh reality.

How badly is he injured? What happened? Will he be okay?

Please be okay, Nathan.

Nausea greets me, pulling me back further to the real world, and when I look down at the phone, the timer on the call flickers to two minutes.

"I don't... Is he okay? I can't leave the girls, Char," I cry to her, tears flooding my cheeks.

"Laura is on her way over to you; she'll be with you any minute now," she assures me.