Be safe.

I.

Alison pov

I wake up and check my phone to see the time and it's 6:30 am. I still have half an hour before I have to wake up the girls for school. I check my emails to see If maybe I have some news from my wife. I haven't talk to her in about two weeks and I'm worried sick something happened to her. She's a soldier and me and the girls miss her a lot. I have no emails nor calls from her and I start crying. I hug the teddy bear she gave me, it still smells like her. It has one of her shirts on it and I sleep in one of her shirts too as it has her smell and it soothes me. I quickly take a shower, make breakfast for my girls and go wake them up. I stand at her their door and just look at them sleeping, Lily looks so much like Emily and Grace looks more like me. But their personalities are both a perfect mix of both Emily and I. I love our little girls so much.

A: Time to wake up my princesses

I go to Lily's bed and slowly kiss her head and do the same for Grace. As I open the shutters, they both complain because of the lights, it's like that every morning. The girls struggle to wake up; They are definitely lazy bugs, just like me. Em is a morning girl. I give them their clothes and go back downstairs to make myself some breakfast. 10 minutes later, they finally come down to eat. I put some music on and we all eat together but we are missing someone. After a nice breakfast I peace, the girls go back upstairs to brush their teeth and their hair, and I take this alone time to write a quick email to Emily.

" Hey love, how are you? I haven't heard from you in weeks, I'm worried sick. Just tell me you're okay please?
The girls and I miss you so so so much. I love you forever and always my mermaid. -Alison"

I attach a picture of me and the girls to the email. It's one from yesterday when we played at the park after I picked them up from school. I check the time, call the girls because we are now late.

A: Grace, Lily come on girls
G: comin' mom
A: hurry, we are late
L: Yeah yeah
A: no attitude young lady

We are late every morning because the girls take way too long in the bathroom. I drop them to their school and go the High School where I teach English. The day goes by really fast. Today is Thursday so this means I have to stay for some after hours as it's my turn to supervise detention. The girls are with Emily's mom. I sit at the desk in the detention room and just grade some papers from my students. I made them read "Great Expectations" and I asked them to write me an essay about their favorite quote from the book, explain the quote and say why it's their favorite. My phone beeps meaning I have a new notification. I take it, a bit scared that Pam tells me something happened with one of my girls but it's an email. I feel excited suddenly, thinking it might be from my wife but it's just Principal Hackett remembering me that next week we have our Christmas party at work so this means at the end of next week is Christmas break and in 18 days it's Christmas and I still have no news from my wife. It's going to be my first Christmas without her in years and the first one for girls. Tears start to fall down and I didn't realize it until one of my student asked me what's wrong. I wipe my tears away and finish detention grading papers, thinking about Emily. It doesn't help when students chose our quote for their essay. After one more hour, detention is over and I practically run to my car to go get my girls. I drive to Pam's and knock on her door.

P: Hey Alison
A: Hello Pam, how are you?
P: Come in sweetie, I'm fine. How about you?
A: I'm fine too
P: how are you holding on? How are the girls holding on?
A: it's hard, it's almost been a year and I miss her so much Pam.
P: I know, I do too. Did you talk to her recently?

I nod my head no and start crying again, Pam takes me in her arms ad I just cry more. She strokes my hair and of course the girls come in the room. I never cried in front of them, I quickly turn away and wipe my tears away.