Picking up the Pieces

38

September 11, 2015

It was the day of the back to school open house and dance registration. So everyone, Hallie, Makenna, and Brielle, were in Liz's room.

"What is this meeting hall?" She asks when she walks in from making copies.

"We're trying to think of the best course of action." Hallie explains.

"What do you mean?" Liz wrinkles her eyebrows.

"Well it's open house tonight. So dad's picking up Kara and they're on their way here with Wendy's for us. But Hallie and Brielle have dance sign up so they were trying to figure out who should drive to the Big Bear or if they should just go separately. But dance sing up isn't until four and they want to go to Starbucks at Meijer, and I really want to go, but I don't want to go to dance registration." Makenna states.

"We can bring you back something." Hallie shrugs.

"But I'd have to get something cold so it's still good when you get here and I don't know what they have that's good." She shrugs.

"Okay wait, you have Wendy's coming. You don't need Starbucks. C'mon Hallie, I'll drive. Liz can I just leave my backpack in here?" She asks.

"Absolutely don't forget your purse though." She states pointing to the black leather bag.

"Right, c'mon Hallie." 

***

Stevie and Reinie met them at the Big Bear, Reinie having taken a personal day from the hospital . But Lindsey and the other Buckignham's are with them.

"What's going on?" Hallie asks sipping her Mocha Latte..

"I was just getting to know Mr. Buckingham." Reinie explains grabbing her child's drink and sipping it.

"Ew why'd you get mocha." Reinie makes a face.

"I like mocha." She shrugs.

"What did you get?" Reinie points to Brielle.

"Um, Iced Peach Green Tea." 

"Oh I knew I raised you right." Stevie smirks sipping her daughter drink.

"So what are you girls taking this year?" Reinie questions.

"Um, Lyrical. Pointe, Ballet, and Jazz. I'm also going to teach the little babies." Hallie smiles.

"I am too actually. Ms. Luanna asked me a few weeks ago if I'd like to help teach the little kinder tappers. I'm quitting the pool. It's just gotten a little too hard with school and everything." Brielle nods.

"That's a very grown up decision. I'm proud of you." Reinie smirks.

"Yeah, I think so. I love lifeguarding but there's so much I want to do this year. Anyway, but I'm doing Senior Experience, Tap, Cabaret, Lyrical, Jazz, and Ballet." 

"Oh my gosh Senior Experience. I'm doing that too." She nods.

"You all are. It's kind of sad. I can remember when you were early birds." Reinie smiles wiping a little tear away,

"Mom stop." Hallie.

"No, I won't stop." She sniffles.

"It's a year of lasts isn't it?" Stevie pulls Brielle into her arms.

"Yeah it is. I don't know if I'm ready." Brielle sighs.

"You are, just don't run off and join a band on me. I can't handle that one." Stevie smirks.

'No, I don't wanna sing. But let's go sign up so we can go back to school." Brielle grins hugging her mother. 

***

Lindsey watched at the school as Stevie effortlessly mingled with the other parents and had pretty much joined a group fo friends and he watched all four of his kids doing the same thing. They had only been at that school for a week but they were all starting to make friends. But as he watched Brielle in particular meander between teachers and students something hit him and he felt his heart break. She and Stevie had a life in Michigan, they have a part of them that he isn't a part of. Makenna's father and Hallie's father are watching her Brielle like she's their own and it hurts Lindsey a little bit. He wants that relationship with her but he's missed it all.

When they get home that night, Lindsey goes right up to the bedroom and he starts looking at the pictures in Stevie's room. There's one of Brielle at age three with her blonde curls she holding out a daisy to her mother. There's one where she's probably about five or six with hip length long waves and she's posing next to a think of blueberries, most likely because they had gone blueberry picking. There was another one where she was around the same age. It was a dance picture, she had her little tap shoed foot out to the side with just her heel on the ground, she had her hands on her hips and hair hair was pulled back half up half down. She had brown feathers on the top of her head and a gold lame leotard on and there was a brown feather tutu on it. There was a bigger picture, most likely a senior picture that she had gotten done. Then there was one on Stevie's nightstand, very fresh out of the womb, Stevie was still in the hospital and she was sitting on the bed in her green silk pajamas one leg dangling off and she had the baby held up slightly at an angle. The face on Stevie was priceless she looked contended and happy and finally like she had a purpose in the world. 

"What's the matter Linds?" Stevie asks coming into the bedroom. 

"I um....I realized something tonight Steph." He sniffles picking up the picture of Stevie and Brielle in the hospital.

"What? What did you realize?" Stevie crosses her arms. 

"I realized that I'm not apart of Brielle's life and I hate this feeling." 

"What?" Stevie inquires.

"You kept her from me at first and I understood why you did that and I wanted too. I wanted to come around more. That summer that The Mac came here and we were in the pool that was the best summer of my life and then I told Kristen about her and Kristen said it was our kids or my daughter with you and there was so much more at stake with me and Kristen. But now that Kristen and I are over and I brought the kids here I just...Missed so much and watching you and her mingling around tonight I knew none of those people but my kids have made friends quickly and I just felt out of place and I started thinking about how much I missed." Lindsey explains. 

"Lindsey, you are here now and that is all that is important." Stevie smiles rubbing his biceps.

"She doesn't like me Steph. Brielle doesn't like me." He shakes his head.

"She doesn't know you. You have to show her how much you love her." Stevie smiles sadly.