Lotto

20

June 11, 1978

As soon as Lindsey and Stevie walked to the backyard of Greg and Eliza's house-much like they did every Sunday for Sunday supper-Stevie dropped her purse on the glass patio table and waited until Freya had run off to play with Max and Sherri, before she turned to her in-laws and growled.

"Because of you two, we had to give our three year old the sex-talk."

"What?" Greg asks.

"She overheard Eliza saying she was having a baby." Lindsey explains to his older brother crossing his arms and plopping down on the chair next to Greg.

"You weren't telling anyone yet." Greg scolds his wife.

"It was my mom, I couldn't not tell my mom." Eliza sighed in defeat.

"I haven't even told my mom." Greg exasperates.

"Well I'm sorry, I was excited. I'm a maternity nurse for Christ Sakes. We weren't telling anyone because I'm only nine weeks. We just found out last Friday." Eliza gnaws on her lip.

"Well I'm going to go call my mother now because if she finds out Stevie knew before her all hell will break loose, Lindsey when I come back to you want a beer?" Greg looks to Lindsey.

"I'll just drink yours." Lindsey grabs at the bottle and swigs it back and Greg makes a face at his baby brother.

"Steves do you want anything?"

"Iced Tea or lemonade if you have it."

"peach?"

"Fine." Stevie nod.

"So when are you guys going to have another baby?" Eliza asks.

"Why does everyone keep asking us that. We're not." Stevie shakes her head.

"Because you're the only one left that only has one child Cory was miserable before Amy was born." Elizas scolds.

"Cory was not really miserable, she was more spoiled than anything." Stevie explains.

"So you're going to raise her to be spoiled." Eliza accuses.

"Eliza, it's not your body it's not your choice." Stevie rolls her eyes.

"I just think you guys should consider having another child is all." Eliza rolls her eyes.

"I don't want another child. Why is that so hard to understand." Stevie shakes her head.

"Lindsey do you want another child?" Eliza looks to the other person at the table.

"I want as many children as Destiny wants me to have, I love children and if we're meant to have more, that's fine as much as I would like to, if we aren't meant to have anymore that's okay too." Lindsey shrugs.

"What are we talking about?" Greg asks coming back out onto the patio.

"I was just trying to figure out why Lindsey and Stevie don't want to have another baby is all." Eliza shrugs.

"It's not your business though Liza, I Love being an Uncle, but if they want to have more children they can have more children If they don't they don't it doesn't concern you." Greg shrugs.

"Thank you Greg." Stevie looks at him.

"All I'm saying is that I think Freya would benefit from having a sibling. Cory had a total 180 when Amy was born and even Max is a different person now that Sherilyn's here and I can only imagine what they're going to be like with baby Buck 3 shows up. Now I have to pee again." She stands up and makes her way into the house.

***

Freya had passed out on the way home so as Lindsey was tucking her in, he sighed and looked at Stevie, "Would it be a bad thing?"

Her eyes just go bug eyed and she walks away from him.

"C'mon Steph, I'm serious would it be such a bad thing to have another baby?" Lindsey asks following her into the master bedroom. 

"Lindsey I am NOT having another baby." Stevie shakes her head.

"But she's growing up so fast and we have two empty rooms, Now that Greg is living here my mom can go stay with him." Lindsey sighs.

"Lindsey I don't want another baby. Why isn't that going through your head." Stevie sighs.

"Why don't you want another baby?" Lindsey asks.

"IT WAS FUCKING TRAUMATIZING" She yells at him shutting their bedroom door so they don't wake up Freya.

"What?" He asks genuine concern written on his face.

"WERE YOU NOT ENTIRELY THERE WHEN THE DOCTOR POUNDED ON MY STOMACH TO DELIVER THE PLACENTA. I WAS BRUISED LINDSEY, I HAD A BRUISE ON MY STOMACH FOR TWO MONTHS AND I LOOKED LIKE I HAD GOTTEN BEATEN BY A TIRE IRON. I'M NOT DOING THAT AGAIN I STILL GET NAUSEAS WHEN I THINK ABOUT IT, IT PHYSICALLY MADE ME THROW UP!"

"OH IT DID NOT STEVIE."

"YES IT DID WHEN YOU TOOK FREYA TO BE WEIGHED AND EVERYTHING STOPPED I PUKED"

"SO WHAT, WE CAN GET A NEW DOCTOR! IT'S 1978 THINGS HAVE CHANGED." Lindsey fights.

"It's only been three years, What could've possibly changed in three years?"

"Stevie we can get a new doctor it'll be different this time." Lindsey rolls his eyes.

"Lindsey I am not having another baby. I'm sorry but I refuse." She shakes her head walking into the bathroom slamming the door and locking it.

Lindsey goes to bang on it to let him in but he hears the tub turn on and he sighs, calling through the door, "YOU KNOW YOU'RE ROBE IS IN HERE."

She unlocks the door but only opens it wide enough to shove her arm out and then she does the grabby hand motion. He huffs but grabs the white silk bathrobe and hands it to her.

"Can we at least talk about and think on it some more?"

"NO, I'm not having another child end of discussion." She slams the door again and he sighs before walking out of their bedroom and going downstairs to make himself a very, very stiff drink.

He understood why she didn't want another child but it didn't help the fact that he really wanted another child. He had always wanted two or three kids running around and Freya was amazing, she was great Lindsey loved her to pieces but he wanted another one. Another one that looked like her mother and her big sister. And it was a hard pill to swallow knowing that his wife didn't want another baby.