Stevie didn't let go of his hand all evening- not even in the car on the way home. It made her feel safe in an odd way, almost like she was right at home.
It had been a long time since they had shared any sort of emotional, or physical connection. And even though simple hand holding wasn't much- not for two people who had been married for two decades, she still really needed it.
For the first time in years, she actually felt like they were trying. They were trying to understand one another again, even though they had a lot of work to do in order to accomplish that.
"We should try to do this more often." Lindsey's eyes wandered from the road, towards his wife for a brief moment. "I think it was good for us." He didn't admit those sort of things very often, but he could tell, just by looking at her that she needed to hear it.
"I would really like that, Lindsey." Her voice was still so quiet and soft as she stared over at him long after his eyes had drifted back to the road.
She had missed that man- the one that cared and understood. She had missed him more than she had missed just about anything.
Nodding his head, he slowly brought her hand up to his lips to leave a very gentle kiss on the tips of her fingers. "This isn't going to be easy, Steph." He admitted with a very low sigh. "But our marriage is worth it." Lindsey truly, with every ounce of himself, believed that.
He didn't want to lose her, but he also knew that they couldn't keep living the way that they had been living, either.
Changes had to be made and he was more than willing to choose the route that benefited their family first, as was she.
"I totally agree." Stevie assured, biting down on her lower lip as she sank back into the passenger seat a little more.
The rest of the ride was quiet, but not uncomfortable... It was never really uncomfortable, not even at their absolute worst. They had been married for so long that silence was sometimes key, even before everything had changed.
It was only a little after nine when they slipped through the front door of their home, where darkness lingered and more silence awaited.
"Do you think they're already sleeping?" With her shawl draped over her shoulders, Stevie led the way through the foyer.
"I doubt it." He half chuckled, flicking on the light behind her.
But just as she was getting ready to turn the corner into the kitchen, Carrie emerged very abruptly, almost bumping right into the blonde. "Crew and a couple of his friends are next door, playing soccer and the girls are both sleeping." She announced in a very rushed tone.
Her heart was beating at an unhealthy rate as she looked right into Stevie's eyes and lied to her. She didn't want to, but the teenager had left her no other choice.
"Lola's asleep this early?" Lindsey was the first to question that as he moved around both ladies to get further into the room. "It's a Friday night." He creased a brow, finding that very hard to believe.
"She's probably still mad that I told her no." Shrugging a shoulder softly, Stevie set her clutch down on the table. "I'll just go check on them." She felt bad, but she also really didn't at the same time.
She knew what it was like being a teenager... She was one in the 60's, which was a hell of a lot crazier than the 90's, but the world was still so dangerous. And she wouldn't have been able to handle it if something were to ever happen, not to another one of her babies.
She was a parent, not a friend and she reminded them of that constantly.
Carrie sucked in her lower lip out of built up nerves, trying to decide what she should do.... "Lola snuck out of her bedroom window." She wasn't going to throw herself under the bus, not when she had so much at stake.
Pausing in the doorway, Stevie glanced back, almost ready to laugh. "You're not being serious..." her face fell when the younger woman slowly shook her head.
"She snuck out her bedroom window?" Lindsey raised a brow as he held out his hands in disbelief. "And you weren't going to tell us?" He scoffed, not at all enthused with her in that moment.
"I..." she stuttered on her own words, suddenly very embarrassed. "I didn't know until a couple of-"
"Not an excuse." He grabbed his keys off the counter, jaw settling as he trailed back through the room.
"Take Crew with you." Stevie let out a very deep sigh as she brought her hand up to her forehead. "You can go home for the night, Carrie." She added, waving her hand lightly as she ventured back into the hallway.
She was going to go up to her room, slip into bed and sleep it all away.
Nothing good could ever really last too long for them.
~~~
"What were you thinking?" Lindsey looked at her through the review mirror, deep blue eyes burning right into her identical set.
Lola rolled her eyes, shifting in her seat so she didn't have to look at him. "I was thinking about how much fun I was going to have." She mumbled, staring aimlessly out the window.
She couldn't believe Carrie had told them that she had snuck out her window... That was going to get her into far more trouble.
"Your mother told you that you weren't going to the pier tonight." Lindsey was mad, but also really disappointed.
"She doesn't listen to anyone." Crew threw in his two cents too, just so his older sister knew that she had disrupted everyone's evening.
"She's totally irrational, dad." Lola argued, ignoring her brother's comment for everyone's sake. "The woman won't even let me take drivers training, because she wants me to be a hermit." She shrugged her shoulder as she slouched down into her seat. "I don't want to be like her." She grumbled, a look of pure disgust written across her face.
Biting down on the inside of his cheek, Lindsey shook his head. "I'm not kidding, Lola..." he lingered, "Give your mother a break, please." Lindsey tried his best to stick up for her, but it usually just went in one ear and right back out the other with their oldest.
"Why are you defending her all of a sudden?" She tossed her hands out to her sides as she let out an annoyed scoff. "She has issues and-"
"I said, cut her some slack!" He shouted, which caused both kids to totally freeze. "She needs some support, okay? And if you're not going to follow the rules, even if they seem unfair, you'll have to go stay with your grandparents." He wasn't usually the mean parent, but that night, he had really had enough.
He wasn't going to tolerate it, not any longer.
"This family will never be the same, so just give up already." She spat, kicking the back of Crew's seat out of frustration.
