Stevie and Crosby spent almost all evening at Navy Pier, walking around, eating ice, having dinner and talking. It had been years since they had done anything like that, just the two of them, hanging out. It was nice, even if they got the occasional weird look, or snide whisper... After all, she was a woman in her late fifties, obviously pregnant, walking around with a man twenty- five years younger. They were bound to raise suspicions.
She looked like a real cougar.
It wasn't until nearly eight in the evening when they finally pulled into the parking garage. It had gotten chilly since they'd left earlier that day, so Stevie was wrapped up in Crosby's jacket, and her nose had started to run, but other than that- she couldn't have been happier.
She felt like, for the first time in many years, that they could actually share a good, normal mother- son relationship... That was all she wanted.
"Did you have a good evening?" He held out his hand, just to make sure she was going to be alright traveling up the steps.
Nodding her head, Stevie pulled her ice cream spoon out of her mouth and stuck it back in the bowl. "I did, thank you." She assured, finally deciding to use one hand to hold onto the railing.
"Good, mom." He also had a great day with her- it reminded him of the woman he once knew.
They might not have always gotten along well, but at one point, Crosby thought his mother was pretty cool. She was home a lot more than Lindsey, so she was always taking the boys on little adventures. Sometimes she would pick them up early from school, they would go to the arcade, eat a ton of pizza and chug as much pop as they could before feeling sick. She might not have always been the greatest mom around, but she loved those boys, even if there were times when it went right over their heads.
"Watch your step," he pointed towards the welcome pat, letting her go to unlock the apartment door. "We should hang out more often." He added, a little smile dancing across his face.
Nodding her head, Stevie couldn't help but chuckle... He reminded her so much of Lindsey, it was insane. "I would like that." She was finally, after so long, starting to feel the way she felt with her other boys- needed.
"Cool," Crosby pushed open the front door, immediately being greeted by his father, and Elise.
They had flown in a couple of hours earlier, took Lucy out to dinner once they'd gotten to the apartment and then just waited around for awhile... Lindsey was just thrilled to see his son finally stepping up to be the man he had the potential to be.
"Hi!" Stevie's eyes lit up instantly, almost tripping over a couple of loose shoes in the doorway to get to her husband.
"Hi, baby." He pushed himself off the couch, wrapping one arm around her waist as the other met the back of her head.
"What are you doing here?" She laughed softly, feeling him rock her back and forth.
Giving her a gentle squeeze, Lindsey backed away slowly. "We thought we'd come out and surprise you." He patted her hip, trying hard not to make it obvious as he glanced down at her stomach.
It had been almost four weeks since he'd seen her, and though he would have never said anything to her, he did notice that she had definitely popped.
"And my favorite girl too?" She moved around her husband to give Elise a big hug.
Her words came out a little quickly, too quick that she didn't catch what she had said in front of Lucy... her favorite girl. That probably wasn't the best thing to say, and it didn't got unnoticed by anyone in the room.
Her daughter- in- law let out a deep laugh as she sank into her welcoming arms. "You are absolutely glowing, mom." Elise assured, eyes melting right into Stevie's.
"Thank you, honey." Stevie stepped away, and right back into her husband.
He wrapped his arm around her waist from behind, kissing the side of her head. "I heard that you and Crosby went out today?" He gave his son a simple smile, silently telling him that he was proud that he was doing the right thing for once.
"We did, and it was great." She tangled her fingers in between his, titling her head up to look at him a little better.
"It was a ton of fun." Crosby piped in, sliding through the room to sit on the arm of the sofa.
Nodding his head, Lindsey returned the smile. "I'm glad." He was glad, and everyone else should have been glad too, because if he had stepped off the plane to an unhappy Stevie, things would have been a lot different.
"So are we having a big slumber party?" Stevie joked, only because she knew better than to think they could all cramp into that apartment and not argue... especially her and Lindsey.
He chuckled, definitely not on board with that idea. "We're going to a hotel."
~
"What?" Lindsey creased a brow, half a smirk on his face as he watched his wife slide up the bed.
"I'm not kidding, Lindsey." Shacking her head, she sank right into the blankets next to him. "He kissed my head, and rubbed my stomach like it was good luck." She couldn't get over it, because it was so weird... It made her skin crawl.
"I'm sorry, baby." He turned on his side, sliding his hand up her hip as she crawled in close. "How are things with Crosby and Lucy?" He ran his fingers through her curls.
Letting out a heavy sigh, she closed her eyes softly. "I really don't think Lucy likes me." She hadn't told him much about life in Chicago, only because she knew how he could get... a little over protective and that was the last thing she wanted at that time.
"How could she not like you?" He was teasing her a little, but he was also trying to be sympathetic.
All of the girls the boys had ever gone out with, totally adored Stevie, probably more than her own sons did. But Lucy was different, much different. She liked Stevie a lot in the beginning, but then she started to see why Crosby shared such a rocky relationship with her. Lucy thought her presence was a bit much, and suddenly she was also under the impression that Stevie was maybe a little spoiled, and selfish.
Shrugging her shoulders, she kissed his neck softly. "How are you? How is work? How are the kids?" Stevie didn't want to talk about Lucy, not in the slightest.
He laughed at how fast she was just rambling away. "I'm better now that I'm with my girl." He replied.
Raising a brow, Stevie pushed herself up on her elbow. "Oh, you're such a sweet talker." She smirked, leaning down to capture his lips for a long moment.
Lindsey carefully pushed her back down into the sheets to hover over her. "I've missed you." He looked down into those brown eyes, falling in love with all over again.
Using the pad of her thumbs to run back and forth under his eyes, she let out a very content sigh. "We'll be home together before you know it."
