Sitting in the passenger seat, Stevie shifted awkwardly. "I can drive myself, you know?"
"I just wanna go with you." He did, but then again, he didn't.
She had started getting really sick in the days leading up... sicker than she had ever been when she was pregnant naturally. She had spent the entire day before in bed, not even crawling out from under the covers when Becky stopped by to drop off a pair of heels Stevie had let her borrow. And she was back to skipping her Fridays with the girls, even though she had really wanted to go.
He was worried about her, but she continuously assured him that she was okay, just a little drained. She was quickly approaching week nine... Week nine of forty, which just seemed dreadful in Lindsey's opinion.
"Did I tell you who called me this morning?" She knew he was just saying that, so she wasn't going to drag out their conversation just for him to tell her that he didn't want her driving alone... She knew that's why he insisted on tagging along.
Lindsey smiled softly, shaking his head causally. "Who called you?" He knew it was Crosby, at least he had hoped it was for his sons own good.
"Crosby called to check in on me." She shrugged, a little giddy, but not too much... she didn't want Lindsey to know just how excited it had made her.
But, Lindsey had known her for far too long and the way her lips curved up very softly gave it away for him.
"Good, he should." He wanted to say about fucking time, but he held off on that.
She just nodded, a small smile still tugging at the corners of her mouth. "You told him to, didn't you?" She wasn't oblivious to the fact that Crosby wouldn't willing pick up the phone and call her, not unless his life depended on it.
Raising a brow, Lindsey sighed softly. "Listen, okay?" He held up his hand in defense. "I just thought that he needed to step up to the plate and do what was right." He lingered, glancing over at her for a split second. "Don't get upset, okay? I want to make sure that you feel like what you are doing isn't being unnoticed." He wasn't going to lie to her, not when the truth was that simple.
"That means a lot." She told him as she reached over to take his hand.
She knew Crosby wouldn't have called just randomly- he hadn't in the ten years he'd lived Chicago. She was pretty thankful that her husband had thought enough of her to do that to make her feel better.
Lindsey paused, still tangling his fingers in between hers, even though he was a little shocked by that reaction. "You know that all I want is for you to know that you're appreciated." He might have had a different way of showing it, but he really loved his wife.
The only reason he'd been so opposed to the surrogacy was because he knew he wouldn't be able to handle it if anything were to go wrong.... That was still the case, but he couldn't spend the entire nine months worrying about the what if's.
"I know, and thank you for that." She brought his hand up, kissing his knuckles softly.
It wasn't that the boys didn't respect their mother- they did, for the most part, but that didn't mean that they always understood that she had feelings too, especially when they were growing up. And even though she didn't act hurt by the things they did, or the things they said, there were still moments where she felt a little beaten down.
"He said that they were going to plan another trip out here in a few weeks, before the second trimester begins." She recounted, running the pad of her thumb back and forth across the top of his hand.
Lindsey smiled softly, nodding his head. "He should,"
They spent the next couple of minutes in comfortable silence, the quiet music flooding the car as they headed towards the restaurant. She had been working like normal- her morning sickness wasn't going to affect that, even if it meant she just spent the day taking catering orders in the back instead of helping get meals out.
It was busy at the restaurant, like always, but it seemed extra crowded that afternoon, which made Stevie sigh as she led the way through the back door.
"Watch your step, Mrs. B!" One of the guys heading out motioned to the wet floor, a gentle smile on his face as he passed by.
"Thank you, dear." She chuckled.
"Yeah, that needs mopped up." Lindsey mumbled, making sure she had gotten around it alright before disappearing to get it taken care of.
Stevie ventured through the back, slipping by all the cooks with waves and smiles. It was hectic, especially with the mix of everyone talking over one another to get orders through and the music playing in the background... She felt a little stressed out.
"Hey, mom." Elise greeted her with an unexpected hug as soon as she popped through the double doors that separated the crazy kitchen from the crowded dining room area.
"I didn't know you were here." She was happy, of course, but also a little surprised.
Nodding her head, Elise fell back on her heels. "We're all here." She assured, tilting her head back to the door.
Smirking lightly, Stevie slowly pushed open the door, peeking into the dining room to see her two youngest sons waiting tables. "Why are you here on a Saturday?" She was thankful, but both boys worked all week long... She thought they should enjoy their days off.
"We want to help you, take some pressure off." Elise shrugged, knowing deep down that Stevie wasn't used to a lot of help.
She never asked for it, especially not from her children. She wanted them to be themselves, which is why she never pushed them to work for her, or go on the road with Lindsey.... They had their own personalities, they didn't need their parents being a puppeteers for their lives.
"I'm happy you're all here." Without much thought, Stevie spun around and right before she could catch herself, she hit the floor with a loud thud.
