Photo credit: Abhijit Chendvankar via Foter.com / CC BY-NC-ND
This is the fourth installment in a series, so if you have not already done so, you might want to read Part I, Part II, and Part III before continuing.
Ethan was asleep when Joseph pulled up to the house Ashley had rented until they could find more permanent accommodations. Joseph lifted him gingerly out of the car and carried him inside.
Ashley started to cry out her excitement at their safe arrival when Joseph mutely shushed her, indicating the sleeping child in his arms. Ashley, having long since learned the value of a sleeping child, took the hint and stealthily arranged the couch in the family area for Ethan to lie down on. Joseph set him down and Ashley pulled a blanket over him, gently brushing his bangs away from his face and kissing his brow before she and Joseph escaped outside to talk.
“Where’s Matt?”
“In the bedroom, asleep. By the way, we only have one bedroom.”
“That’s going to be fun.”
“There’s not much else available here and I wanted to conserve money as long as possible, not knowing how or when we’ll get a chance to replenish our funds.”
“We’ll figure something out.”
Ashley nodded, her eyes taking on a vacant look briefly before she snapped herself out of it. “I take it you got the message out?”
“As much as I could. I went on TV. I blogged about it. Talked about it on every social media outlet I could think of. Most people called me crazy, but at least I can say I tried.”
“Like I said. All it takes is one person…”
“To make it worthwhile. I know. Have I mentioned how much I hate it when you’re right?”
Ashley smiled wryly. “Not nearly as much as I’m going to hate it if you turn out to be right about this dream of yours.”
Joseph nodded. “I know. Part of me is still hoping it was nothing more than a nightmare. But we can’t take that chance.”
“So. What now?”
“I’m tempted to wait and see what happens before looking for work, but I have no idea how long we’ll be waiting if I do that. Whatever happens up there is bound to affect us down here, even if it doesn’t kill us directly.”
“You’re not making me feel any better.”
Joseph put his arms around his wife and pulled her close. “I’m sorry. We’ll be fine. I’ll start looking for work tomorrow. Even if it’s temporary, it’ll be better than nothing. We’ll figure something out. I promise.”
Ashley hugged him tightly. “I know. Do you want me to look for work, too?”
“Not yet. You should focuse on getting the kids settled in. This is going to be a big change for them and they’re too young to understand everything that’s going on. Once we’ve developed a routine and enrolled them in school, you can start looking for work.”
“That sounds sensible.”
“Enjoy it while you can. I don’t know how much longer anything ‘sensible’ is going to last.”
To be continued…
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