Stevie stayed completely silent almost the entire way back to the hotel, trying to recount everything that the day had to offer, all while Lindsey sat on the edge of his seat... Literally.
They had spent all afternoon at their sons home, getting to know Lucy and Stevie was even able to have a moment alone to talk to Crosby. It wasn't in-depth, or very sentimental- it was simple and short. He told her that she looked really good, being an empty nester really did her well and she complimented him on his new found maturity... He wasn't the little boy that fell off his bike on purpose to scare her, or the teenager that fought with his brothers over the drop of a pin.
"Are we gonna talk about this, Stevie?" He tossed his hands up in the air, standing in the middle of the room in his pajama pants and a hoodie.
Lindsey wanted her to talk about it- he wanted to know what she was thinking... She was just too quiet and it was starting to irritate him.
Stevie sat down on the bed, shifting awkwardly as she shrugged her shoulders. "I don't think I can do it." She had spent all day going back and forth, but to say she felt overwhelmed would have been an understatement.
Five days earlier, the only major decision in her life was deciding what outfit she would wear to hang out with all of her other middle aged friends and suddenly she had to decided if she wanted to carry another baby.
She wasn't at the stage in her life anymore- that was all behind her and she knew it. She liked to do things and being pregnant just seemed like it would interrupt her life. She was really torn and she felt like the only person that she could truly talk to about it, was defending the other side.
He sighed heavily, eyes melting right into hers. "This is our son, Stephanie." He didn't call her that very often, only when he was really trying to get something through to her.
"I know, I was there." She nodded, half a smirk on her face. "I remember."
"He's asking you for one thing." He held up his index finger before he allowed his hand to hit his side with a thud.
"Lindsey, he isn't asking to borrow the car." She didn't understand how he could make it seem so simple, because carrying babies isn't easy... she had three, she would have known. "He's asking a lot from me." She didn't know how else to get it through his head besides to yell. He heard her better when she spoke loud and mean.
"So what? We just don't help them at all?" He creased a brow, voice also rising a little.
They used to fight about their boys all time, every other night it was something different. It took a long time to fix those wounds and then suddenly, there they were yet again, arguing over something that was just so far beyond their control.
"Maybe we should just give him the money to find someone who is looking to be a surrogate." Stevie wasn't a huge fan of helping the boys slide through life on mommy and daddy's dime, but she also knew how much it hurt to want a family that badly. "I'm gonna be fifty- eight in a few months, Linds." Shaking her head, her eyes grew very dim. "If I'm even able to do this for them, the chances of me bouncing back just seems impossible."
Lindsey grew quiet, heart sinking as sat down on the bed next to her. He hasn't thought about that... of course he hadn't, he wasn't the one being pressured to do something that intense. "I'm sorry, baby." He knew it had been a long couple of days and he didn't want to make her feel like he was also a huge driving force in whatever she decided.
If she didn't want to do it, he wasn't going to make her feel bad about it. Not at all.
"Can we agree that arguing this week isn't worth it?" Her eyes stayed glued on him as he laid down, head resting in her lap. "We have one more day with him." She bit down on her bottom lip as his blue storms finally met hers.
She didn't want to fight with him... not even if she felt like he had some explaining to do.
"No arguing." He agreed, running the tips of his fingers up her arm. "There are funner things we could be doing." He smirked, lightly flicking the silk spaghetti strap of her nightgown down her arm.
Bending down, she kissed the top of his head. "We have an early morning, dear." She had far too much on her mind to even think about that. "We can cuddle." Stevie's eyes wondered his face as she ran her fingers through his curls.
"My girl." he slid over, laying on his back as he held his arms out for her.
She smiled softly, sneaking down the headboard to wrap an arm around his chest and throw one leg over his middle. But suddenly, before she could even get comfortable, her mind was racing yet again. "How many times have you met her?" Stevie wasn't oblivious, not to the fact that they were all making little comments that caused her to question how honest her husband had been.
He looked down at her, rolling his eyes softly after he knew she wouldn't catch it. "I thought we weren't going to fight." He had tried hard not to make it obvious, but he knew after the hugging Lucy right away, Stevie would start to wonder.
"We won't... if you're honest." Her hand slid up his chest, feeling his heart start to pound... he was anxious.
"They came out to California a couple of months ago." He was hoping that was enough, because he didn't want to lie, but he also didn't want to hurt her feelings.
"They came to our house?" She asked, just to clarify.
"I took them all out to dinner." He sighed.
Pushing herself up, she glared back down at him. "Who?" The look in her eyes told him that she wasn't as mad as she was upset... which was exactly why he didn't want to tell her.
"The boys, Elise and Lucy." His words caused her to slip out of bed, silently taking back the agreement she had made not to argue.
"So you were with all of our children without me?" She couldn't remember the last time she had all three of her boys in one room... it had been a really long time.
"What do you want me to say, Stevie? The truth?" He knew she wouldn't like it if he was honest, but he also knew that he probably shouldn't have kept it from her to begin with.
She shrugged her shoulders, scoffing softly. "No one ever tells me the truth anyway." She fired back, hands flying out to her sides.
Shaking his head, he rolled over in bed. "I'm too tired for this."
