Running Low

Playground

      Bailey held the wooden plank in place as Matthew hammered the nails into it. "Do you think the kids will like it?" Matthew asked, looking at the half-built climbing frame in their back garden.

      "Watch it! You're going to hit me with that!" Bailey exclaimed as Matthew used the hammer without looking.

      Matthew quickly looked back and stopped it above her thumb. "I was never going to actually hit you with it."

      "Mhmm. Sure."

      Matthew rolled his eyes, blushed slightly, and carried on hammering the nails in, watching this time. "Almost lunch time now, actually," he realised, hearing his stomach growl.

      "Food!" Bailey let go of the wood and ran into the house.

      "Three nails will do for now," Matthew muttered to himself, laughing. He put the hammer back in his Dad's tool box and closed the lid. Then, he followed Bailey inside.

     Rachanna, Sky, Farren and Juliette sat round the kitchen table. Thaddeus, Malia and Blake were helping get food out of fridges and cupboards.

      "Mum, you really shouldn't run so much," Malia advised Bailey, glancing nervously at her Mum's pregnant tummy.

      "He wasn't kicking, so I took advantage," Bailey said simply.

      "It's almost like pregnancy has made you less lazy," Matthew laughed, remembering when they first moved in together and she would act like he was the Butler.

      Bailey stuck her tongue out.

      "And you wonder why Juliette always sticks her tongue out," Thaddeus laughed, setting the plates out on the table.

      "Just eat your sandwich," Bailey said quickly.

      "We don't have sandwiches."

      "Then... eat your plate," Bailey said.

      "I can't," Thaddeus said, really confused.

      "Exactly, it'll keep you quiet."

      Malia mouthed 'ha' and sat down once all the food was out. Thaddeus blushed a little and sat down next to her. Then he leaned over to Malia, whispered something, earned a nod in reply, and actually lifted his plate up and bit it.

      Bailey rolled her eyes, put her face in her hands and leaned against the counter. "I'm done. I'm actually done."

      Matthew suppressed his laughter and comforted his wife. "I can't wait to finish that playground so these kids can get out of this house," Bailey laughed, emotionally different to normal because of pregnancy.

      "We'll finish it," he assured her.

———

      The next day, Matthew came home from the hospital with a new little boy.

      "Hiya Daddy!" Rachanna grinned, almost toppling him with a hug.

      "Hi Dad!" Thaddeus grinned, walking into the hallway with Malia. They both asked at the same time, "Where's Mum?"

      Blake came into the room with a big smile on his face, having heard the word 'Mum'.

      Matthew ruffled Rachanna's hair affectionately and then, with tears in his eyes, he led them to the kitchen and sat them all round the table.

      "I want you to understand, she chose this. She-" his voice broke. "She chose this."

      "Chose what? Dad! You're not making any sense," Malia exclaimed, panicking.

      "The doctor said that the baby was going to die," Matthew said, cradling the newborn in his arms, probably a little too tightly, his tears dripping onto the blanket.

      "But our new brother's okay," Malia said. "So what's the problem?" As soon as she said it, she knew. She didn't know how, but she knew. And so did Thaddeus.

      Thaddeus left the room, his chair scraping loudly across the floor, scratching the tiles. He ran up the stairs and lay on his bed, crying heavily.

      Malia broke down at the kitchen table. She didn't have it in her to move. "Mummy..."

      Blake wasn't certain. He thought he knew, he was scared that he'd got it right. So he asked, "What happened to Mum?"

      Matthew broke down himself, it was too much. It was too much to see his children cry, too much to look at the newborn in his arms and know they'd grow up motherless, too much to have seen the look in Bailey's eyes as she'd said so adamantly, "It has to be me."

      "She died to save your brother," Matthew whispered, he didn't have the strength to raise his voice even slightly. He also knew there was no sugar coating this.

      Rachanna ran over to Juliette and hugged her and sat on the floor with her little sister on her knee.

     The twins, Farren and Sky, hugged each other.

      Blake cried and hugged his dad. They hugged for a long time. Neither knew what to say and neither knew what they wanted to hear. This time, 'it's okay' wasn't going to cut it.

      Eventually, Blake leaned away and took baby Ryan into his arms gently, as if he'd done it a thousand times. "She died to save you, so I'm going to protect you. For her." Matthew put a hand on his son's shoulder.

      Outside, the rain beat down on the unfinished playground.