moments ♡

uncertain ♡

He'd assured her that it happened to the best of them. It hadn't only been him. He hadn't done anything wrong. His workplace was struggling, and he was merely a casualty of major budget cutbacks.

Once the kids were in bed, they convened at the dining room table. The dread and uncertainty were so heavy and thick that they were downright tangible.

"What are we going to do?" she asked. She wasn't sure if she was asking him or the wall or the universe or herself.

He met her eyes. "There are other places I can do what I do," he said. He chewed at his lip, and she fought tears. "There are other places. I'll get a little bit of severance pay."

She nodded. "Right. That'll buy us time until bills are due." She thanked the heavens for the billionth time that their house was theirs and was thoroughly paid off. "We have another couple weeks on lights, water, the cars..."

He took a long breath. "I'm sorry, Babe." He buried his face in his hands. "There's so much. There's just so much we need to take care of."

"Babe, I got a perfectly good degree. I can go to work and you can play mister mom for a little while if we have to do that -- "

"No." He interjected. "Wait. Do you want to go to work?"

Her shoulders raised themselves to somewhere near her ears. "Maybe? I feel like I should contribute." She took another long breath. "Especially now. I don't want for you to stress yourself out looking. I could look, too. The kids are both in school. I could work a little -- even part-time -- and bring in a few extra bucks a week."

"I support you," he assured her. "I still feel like i need to keep looking, though. I don't know how sure anything will come through for either of us given the time of year that it is. There may not even be anyplace hiring right now."

"We don't know if we don't try, Sweetheart." She reached across the table and took his hand. It seemed to startle him. His eyes welled up. "And it turns out fine. It always does."

He stood to pull his girl into his arms and kiss her and hold her tight. He didn't know what the future held for him or for his family, but in the moment, he held her, and knowing that made any possible future seem like something he was capable of facing.