Rose slammed the bathroom door. She sat on the floor and started to cry. Jack went upstairs to find Josie in her room, and Maddie and Myles were also sitting on her bed. All three of them looked like they had been crying. "Where's Mom?" Josie asked.
"Downstairs," said Jack, sitting down next to his kids. "I have your medicine, Josie."
"Thanks," said Josie. She took the medicine and lay down. "I'm going to sleep."
As she said that, the twins both left the room. Jack sat on the edge of her bed. "How much did you hear?"
"Enough," said Josie, crossing her arms. "I hate it when you fight."
"We hardly ever fight," said Jack. "And this wasn't a fight, it was a disagreement."
"Doesn't matter," said Josie. "I hate the fact that I caused a fight between you and Mom."
"You didn't," said Jack. "This had nothing to do with you."
"You were fighting about me," said Josie.
Jack sighed. "I promise you, Josie, this wasn't about you."
"You promise?" Josie asked.
Jack smiled. "I promise." He kissed her cheek and tucked her in. "Good night, Josie. Sleep well."
"Good night," Josie whispered back. She sat up again. "Dad?"
"Yes, sweetheart?" Jack replied.
Josie took a deep breath. "Are you and Mom getting divorced?"
Jack was stunned. "What?"
"Well, Libby told me that her parents were getting divorced because they fought."
Jack sat down on the edge of Josie's bed. "No, Josie. We're not getting divorced. I promise you that nothing, and I mean nothing, can pull your mother and I apart."
"I know," said Josie.
Jack sat next to Josie and held her hand. "I want you to know how important you are to me. You kids and your mother are the most important people in the world to me. And one little argument can't change that."
"Thanks," said Josie.
"Good night, Josie," said Jack. "I love you."
Jack closed Josie's door and walked downstairs. He was surprised not to see Rose downstairs. Confusedly, Jack returned to the third floor and checked their bedroom, but Rose wasn't there either. Jack ran back downstairs to the bathroom. He heard her muffled sobs through the door, so he knocked. "Rose? Can I come in?"
Rose slowly stood up and opened the door. Standing on the other side of the door was Jack, who looked so worried about her. Slowly, Rose wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him into a hug. "I'm so sorry," she whispered. "I'm so sorry. You were right."
Jack wrapped his arms around his waist and hugged her back. He kissed her shoulder blade and sighed. "I'm sorry too. It's never right for me to yell at you the way I did."
"I love you so much," said Rose. "And I don't want you to ever think I don't notice or appreciate how much you do for me and the kids, because I do. I was just… stressed and tired and that together with the hormones just made me… crazy."
"I love you too," said Jack. He hugged her tightly. "And I love how you take care of the children. I love how much you care about them and want them to be happy. And I don't want that to change."
"Let's just put this behind us, okay?" Rose asked.
"Of course, Rosie," said Jack, wiping her tears.
•••
It was the next morning. Jack was sipping his coffee when Rose came downstairs. "Good morning," said Rose. "Where are the children?"
"Josie's still asleep, and Maddie and Myles are getting ready to leave for school," said Jack. Rose walked over to him and took his hands in hers. "So are we okay?"
Rose smiled. "Yeah, of course we're okay," said Rose, wrapping her arms around his waist. Jack hugged her back and kissed the top of her head.
"I want to stay home with you and Josie today," said Jack quietly.
"You have to go to work, you have to bring the kids to school," said Rose. "Don't worry about me, I promise you everything will be fine."
Finally Maddie and Myles came downstairs. "Daddy, we're ready to go," said Myles.
"Okay, let's go," said Jack. He kissed Rose. "I love you."
"I love you too," said Rose. She kissed both children. "Have a great day."
Rose sat downstairs, reading a book and drinking a cup of tea. Finally, she heard a voice upstairs. "Mom?"
Rose smiled and walked upstairs. "Hi, darling. How do you feel?"
"Super," said Josie sarcastically. "Can I have some toast?"
"You have your appetite back. That's a good sign," said Rose. She made Josie some toast and carried it back upstairs.
Josie ate her breakfast and Rose sat with her, making sure she was okay. "Are you going to tell me what happened yesterday with you and Dad?"
"No, because nothing happened," said Rose with a smile.
"Oh, come on," said Josie, crossing her arms. "You and I both know that you and Dad fought. And you never ever fight."
"Well, it's all resolved now, so it doesn't matter," said Rose. "But I will say one thing. Do you notice how Dad and I never fight?"
Josie nodded. "Yeah, that's why it's so scary when you do."
Rose smiled. "That's a good thing. I don't know if you can understand that, but it is. And no matter what happens with Dad, no matter what fights we may or may not get into, I will always love him, and he will always love me. And most importantly, we will always love you three, or four. I promise."
Josie smiled. "You're the best parents in the world. And by the way, Dad said the exact same thing last night."
Rose smiled and kissed Josie's forehead. "Josie, you're burning up!" She picked up the thermometer from the night before. "You're worse than you were last night. I'm going to call Aunt Jena."
Rose left and called Jena, who said to bring her over. She was working at the hospital and couldn't leave. "Come on, I'm taking you to the hospital to see Aunt Jena," said Rose with a frown.
"Fine," said Josie. She really did feel sick, but she was trying to hide it. She hated being sick, and she hated being in hospitals. Most of all, she was worried about Rose getting sick. "Mom, you're pregnant and I might be really sick. You should stay away from me. I don't want to make you sick."
"Stop worrying about me. I'm worried about you," said Rose. "Now get in the car. We're leaving."
Josie and Rose were in the car. Josie was in the back row, and Rose was driving. "Mom," said Josie suddenly. "I think I'm gonna throw up."
Rose took a deep breath. "Okay, darling, open your window, and just take deep breaths. I can't pull over right now, but I will as soon as I can."
Rose kept looking back at Josie. She did so every few seconds, so she didn't notice when a truck was coming towards them in the opposite direction. All of a sudden, Rose looked out the windshield and saw the truck coming towards them, but it was too late. All of a sudden, everything froze. And then they crashed.
